Prospect Info: 2023-24 Kings Prospects in CHL/College/Europe

[King'sPawn]

Caser--Russian focused poster and a good source, says Bulat Shafigullin Extended with Neftekhimik until the end of 2025/26.

Pretty much figure that Dergachyov and Shafigullin will never come to North America. Kirsanov is still a longshot.

 

[King'sPawn]

Kings results for 12/29:
Alexander Dergachyov: 1 G, 2 A
Otto Salin: scoreless (WJC)
Kasper Simontaival: 1 G (Spengler Cup)
Braden Doyle: scoreless
Kenny Connors: scoreless
Jack Hughes: 1 G
Ryan Conmy: 1 G, 1 A

HIGHLIGHTS
Jack Sparkes assist


Jack Hughes goal


Ryan Conmy goal and assist

 

[Docgonzo]

The 2022 college prospects seemed to have hit the sophomore slump, except Jack Hughes who’s been in a slump since freshman year.

 

[King'sPawn]

LA Kings Sign 2022 Draft Pick Angus Booth, Non-NHL Trade Coming Next

mayorsmanor.com

A bit written about Angus Booth:
- Kings signed him. This means after his season ends in major junior, they can assign him to the AHL.
- He's on Shawinigan, which is at the bottom of the division. But it looks like he may be traded to another team in the Q.

On another note, Salin and Finland play Sweden. They are currently 4th. That's the lowest position that can be hit, guaranteed.

Third place is attainable if:
- Finland beats Sweden in regulation
- Germany loses to Latvia in regulation, then beats Canada in regulation, creating a three-way tie. If Finland's goal differential surpasses one team, then they'll get third.

Second place is possible if the above conditions are met to create a three-way tie, but Finland's goal differential beats both teams.

Consequently, Finland's likely to get 4th.

That means they'd play the 1 seed from Group B, which will be USA or Slovakia

 

[King'sPawn]

A few odd things with Dvorak. Not trying to jump to any conclusions, but wanted to point them out:
- he has not played since Dec 10. Looks like Swift Current of the WHL is still trying to bring him over, based on the previous article from Hoven. Probably won't be until the new year.
- I've never heard of a player declining to play in the WJC. Add to it that Czechia's coach was Dvorak's coach from previous years. So, declining to play for a team under a previous coach on the big stage, citing "personal reasons" is very strange, indeed. He will still be eligible to play next year, though, so it's not like he's missing out on his only chance.

Still hoping to hear more news on him.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yeah lot of mystery surrounding Dvorak. Hope we didn't grab a head case on lack of due diligence.

Honestly I really really like Ruuttu but outside of Kempe the Euro scouting/drafting has been questionable at best, no hits there. Just going down the list

Kempe rd 1 great pick
Kupari rd 1 ehhh he'll play
Bjornfot rd 1 jury's out, tweener right now
Cernak rd 2 hit buuuut Kings blew it?
Fagemo rd 2 jury's out, he's a tweener right now
Chris Gibson Rd 2 whiff
Zykov rd 2 whiff
Lintuniemi rd 2 whiff
Grans rd 2 too project-y
Helenius rd. 2 they got 'their guy' probably too high but I'm sure someone would have size queened him so can't hate here
Dergachyov rd 3 just gonna call it a whiff
Shafigullin rd 3 same
Parik rd 3 hit but Kings blew it?
Simontaival rd 3 not looking great
Kirsanov rd 3 possibly great pick but right now he's just another nonstarter
Porkins rd 4, ehh prob as good a pick as you could ask for if being fair
Nousiainen rd 4 liked the pick but no progress
Moverare rd. 4 i'd say a hit
Markkannen rd. 4 not looking great
Bartosak rd 5 was a good promising pick but--headcase
Hrenak rd 5 i liked it
Chromiak rd 5 seems to have stalled out but good pick
Hyka rd 6
Sodergran rd 6--injuries kinda messed him up, probably a relative hit
Schumacker rd 7
Kubalik rd 7 good pick but never wanted to play for Kings? due diligence issue again?
Lee rd 7 good pick
Jamsen 7 good pick


You know maybe the drafting hasn't been questionable--but i'm wondering if the due diligence is. Is there some sort of cultural disconnect in LA? More than just being 'far from Russia' that is. It seems like all of the europeans they draft that could be something either don't want to be here or actively get chased out. Kubalik, Bartosak, Parik, Cernak...and then literally all the Russians--Shafigullin, Dergachyov, Kirsanov, Prokhorkin. Hopefully Dvorak isn't having similar concerns. In any case, out of 28 picks, including 15 in the first 3 rounds, the only thing they have to show for it is Kempe.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Yeah lot of mystery surrounding Dvorak. Hope we didn't grab a head case on lack of due diligence.

Honestly I really really like Ruuttu but outside of Kempe the Euro scouting/drafting has been questionable at best, no hits there. Just going down the list

Kempe rd 1 great pick
Kupari rd 1 ehhh he'll play
Bjornfot rd 1 jury's out, tweener right now
Cernak rd 2 hit buuuut Kings blew it?
Fagemo rd 2 jury's out, he's a tweener right now
Chris Gibson Rd 2 whiff
Zykov rd 2 whiff
Lintuniemi rd 2 whiff
Grans rd 2 too project-y
Helenius rd. 2 they got 'their guy' probably too high but I'm sure someone would have size queened him so can't hate here
Dergachyov rd 3 just gonna call it a whiff
Shafigullin rd 3 same
Parik rd 3 hit but Kings blew it?
Simontaival rd 3 not looking great
Kirsanov rd 3 possibly great pick but right now he's just another nonstarter
Porkins rd 4, ehh prob as good a pick as you could ask for if being fair
Nousiainen rd 4 liked the pick but no progress
Moverare rd. 4 i'd say a hit
Markkannen rd. 4 not looking great
Bartosak rd 5 was a good promising pick but--headcase
Hrenak rd 5 i liked it
Chromiak rd 5 seems to have stalled out but good pick
Hyka rd 6
Sodergran rd 6--injuries kinda messed him up, probably a relative hit
Schumacker rd 7
Kubalik rd 7 good pick but never wanted to play for Kings? due diligence issue again?
Lee rd 7 good pick
Jamsen 7 good pick


You know maybe the drafting hasn't been questionable--but i'm wondering if the due diligence is. Is there some sort of cultural disconnect in LA? More than just being 'far from Russia' that is. It seems like all of the europeans they draft that could be something either don't want to be here or actively get chased out. Kubalik, Bartosak, Parik, Cernak...and then literally all the Russians--Shafigullin, Dergachyov, Kirsanov, Prokhorkin. Hopefully Dvorak isn't having similar concerns. In any case, out of 28 picks, including 15 in the first 3 rounds, the only thing they have to show for it is Kempe.

Weren't Zykov and Gibson picks out of the QMJHL?

 

[King'sPawn]

Weren't Zykov and Gibson picks out of the QMJHL?

Yep. And Hrenak was out of NCAA, and he played in USHL the season before. Andre Lee was out of USHL. Bartosak was the WHL. Lintuniemi was the OHL.

Chromiak also went to the OHL in his draft year due to lack of playing time in Europe. There were already questions about him, as that rubbed some people the wrong way.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Sorry yeah literally just breezed thru by country of birth. Doesnt seem like it changes much.

 

[King'sPawn]

Sorry yeah literally just breezed thru by country of birth. Doesnt seem like it changes much.

I get it. I needed to check as I forgot which ones come from where. Sorry if it sounded like I was piling on.

To your point, a few times they just seem like players who don't pan out. That happens. But yeah, if there's a serious issue with Dvorak, it will be a huge red flag if they missed something. Especially since a few players taken a few picks after him are tearing it up...

Like Ziemmer's teammate, Riley Heidt, has 65 points in 33 games. Or Lenni Hameenaho has 17 points in 26 Liiga games. Hunter Brzustewicz has 56 points in 35 games as a defenseman (for reference, Brandt Clarke had 59 points in 55 games in his D+1). Jacob Fowler is doing well in college and backstopping USA in the WJC (I like the Slukynsky pick, but having another goalie in the pipeline would have helped, too).

I'm not bringing this up to lament the picks, as I like a lot of who the Kings picked. But it would be a critical miss if they did miss something with Dvorak.

On another note, I realized I forgot another scenario of Salin/Finland getting third, and it's partly happening: Latvia is up 3-0 against Germany. If Latvia wins and Germany and Finland lose in regulation tomorrow, that creates another 3-way tie. Goal differential is the tiebreaker for these scenarios. Finland's at +0, Germany is -7, and Latvia is -17.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I get it. I needed to check as I forgot which ones come from where. Sorry if it sounded like I was piling on.

To your point, a few times they just seem like players who don't pan out. That happens. But yeah, if there's a serious issue with Dvorak, it will be a huge red flag if they missed something. Especially since a few players taken a few picks after him are tearing it up...

Like Ziemmer's teammate, Riley Heidt, has 65 points in 33 games. Or Lenni Hameenaho has 17 points in 26 Liiga games. Hunter Brzustewicz has 56 points in 35 games as a defenseman (for reference, Brandt Clarke had 59 points in 55 games in his D+1). Jacob Fowler is doing well in college and backstopping USA in the WJC (I like the Slukynsky pick, but having another goalie in the pipeline would have helped, too).

I'm not bringing this up to lament the picks, as I like a lot of who the Kings picked. But it would be a critical miss if they did miss something with Dvorak.

On another note, I realized I forgot another scenario of Salin/Finland getting third, and it's partly happening: Latvia is up 3-0 against Germany. If Latvia wins and Germany and Finland lose in regulation tomorrow, that creates another 3-way tie. Goal differential is the tiebreaker for these scenarios. Finland's at +0, Germany is -7, and Latvia is -17.

I totally get it and I appreciate the fact check though. And I’m trying to be careful of reaching a sweeping conclusion here, just raising the question since we seem to have issues—they either don’t come over, do come over and have success elsewhere/want nothing to do with the Kings, or headcase out. Or the usual just normal, fair missed pick. But I’d have to examine how that’s happening in other orgs too and frankly I don’t have time for that so I’ll just leave it be in the macro picture and worry solely about Dvorak heh

 

[King'sPawn]

Finland handed Sweden their first loss of the tournament. They are currently 3rd in the group. If Germany beats Canada, whether it's regulation or OT, then they will be fourth in the group.

Group B is already finalized. USA is first and Slovakia is second. The way medal play goes is:
A1 vs B4
A2 vs B3
A3 vs B2
A4 vs B1

If Finland finishes the group 3rd, they'll play B2, which is Slovakia. If they finish fourth, they'll play B1, which is USA.

But Geekie took a major 11 seconds into the game, and Germany has taken an early 1-0 lead.

 

[King'sPawn]

Looks like the Dvorak move is still going, and it sounds like it's close to imminent:


Also, Canada beat Germany in the WJC: So, these were the rankings:
Group A:
Sweden
Canada
Finland
Latvia
Germany

Group B:
USA
Slovakia
Czechia
Switzerland
Norway

Germany and Norway play each other. Winner stays in this division. Loser goes down to Division I and gets replaced by Kazakhstan next year.

Then the quarterfinals are:
Sweden vs Switzerland
Canada vs Czechia
Finland vs Slovakia
Latvia vs USA

So, with Salin being the only Kings prospect, the big one for us in general would be Finland vs Slovakia.

 

[King'sPawn]

 

[funky]

If the signing is actually true, it may explain why he was left off the world junior roster?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

That would sure be a lot more comforting.

 

[King'sPawn]

If the signing is actually true, it may explain why he was left off the world junior roster?

He was never left off. He was invited and he declined the opportunity.

It's possible he wanted to spend time with family before relocating overseas.

 

[funky]

He was never left off. He was invited and he declined the opportunity.

It's possible he wanted to spend time with family before relocating overseas.

That makes a lot of sense as well. Hope the move pays off.

 

[King'sPawn]

Otto Salin had an assist in Finland's OT goal, sending them to the Semifinals.

Canada eliminated in the quarters. Czechia broke the tie with 11 seconds left, as the puck bounced off Oliver Bonk's skate. Very disappointing outing for Canada.

 

[King'sPawn]

Angus Booth traded from Shawinigan to Baie-Comeau:

This does nothing to the Kings rights. He'll likely go deeper in the playoffs with the Drakkar.

 

[King'sPawn]

Dvorak signing with Swift Current official:

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

Dvorak signing with Swift Current official:

So Dvorak goes from playing against and training with men to the Junior ranks and Blake thinks this is going to turn out well...think again

 

[funky]

So Dvorak goes from playing against and training with men to the Junior ranks and Blake thinks this is going to turn out well...think again

This was posted in Hockey Royalty:

"Dvořák, 18, will most likely see top-four minutes as he was used as the 6th or 7th defenseman for Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czechia league"

link:

LA Kings: Brandt Clarke and Jakub Dvořák updates

It's the new year, and we got updates on two LA Kings prospects, Brandt Clarke and Jakub Dvorak.

hockeyroyalty.com

I guess if you are not getting the minutes needed to develop you do the next best thing.

 

[tigermask48]

So Dvorak goes from playing against and training with men to the Junior ranks and Blake thinks this is going to turn out well...think again

I honestly wish more players would go this route. If you aren't getting the ice time then juniors is a great route, getting top ice time to develop your skills in an NHL-lite environment.

 

[King'sPawn]

Dvorak was sometimes getting less than 5 minutes a game in the men's league, which caused him to be sent down to the U20 team, which generally is not an ideal location to play longterm.

This gives him more playing time and a better route to play in North America.