Kings Article: LA Kings: Jaret Anderson-Dolan Is Exceeding Expectations

[Bandit]

I can't f***ing wait until this kid is permanent fixture on the Kings. It's going to be epic.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I can't f***ing wait until this kid is permanent fixture on the Kings. It's going to be epic.

what are we expecting out of this kid? In his games with the Kings, I haven't been impressed.

 

[Bandit]

what are we expecting out of this kid? In his games with the Kings, I haven't been impressed.

I’ll be thrilled if he’s Jarret Stoll.

 

[Statto]

what are we expecting out of this kid? In his games with the Kings, I haven't been impressed.

I disagree. He didn’t do anything flash or spectacular but I thought he looked ok. Not much more than solid but he didn’t look out of his depth, played the system and knew his role. He definitely grew after his call up and his influence on the Reign seemed to increase over the few games I saw. I feel his progression has been good and he will certainly be in the fight for a roster spot. I put him ahead of Amadio already, on my own depth chart.

I’ll be thrilled if he’s Jarret Stoll.

I think this is a great comparison in terms of his upside but maybe he slides over to wing in a bottom 6 role or perhaps ends up traded. That’s simply due to our Centre depth which is fast becoming a log jam.

 

[kilowatt]

I disagree. He didn’t do anything flash or spectacular but I thought he looked ok. Not much more than solid but he didn’t look out of his depth, played the system and knew his role. He definitely grew after his call up and his influence on the Reign seemed to increase over the few games I saw. I feel his progression has been good and he will certainly be in the fight for a roster spot. I put him ahead of Amadio already, on my own depth chart.



I think this is a great comparison in terms of his upside but maybe he slides over to wing in a bottom 6 role or perhaps ends up traded. That’s simply due to our Centre depth which is fast becoming a log jam.

Given how highly management has spoken of both Jaret and Mikey Anderson, I’d be surprised if we traded either of them. Both are supposed to be character changers.

 

[Statto]

Given how highly management has spoken of both Jaret and Mikey Anderson, I’d be surprised if we traded either of them. Both are supposed to be character changers.

I agree and I am rooting for him. He’s certainly the sort of character we need in the organisation and those intangibles are so important. The reality is though that we will at some point have to move some of our prospects as there won’t be room for them all. Some of our Centers may be good candidates for playing wing, but not all of them will.

 

[johnjm22]

I think JAD and Kupari are our most overrated prospects.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but I'm not expecting him to be much better than Nick Shore.

 

[Stimpythecat]

Given how highly management has spoken of both Jaret and Mikey Anderson, I’d be surprised if we traded either of them. Both are supposed to be character changers.

Normally I would completely agree. But management also spoke very highly of Clifford and he's now a Leaf. So I am not taking anything for granted.

 

[kingsboy11]

I think JAD is going to be one of our most essential bottom 6 players in the coming years. I don't see him anymore than a 3C, but could probably play up and down the lineup depending on injuries. I think what's going to make him essential is his character and leadership skills. It oozes out of him and for a kid to be like that at his age is special. He's not going to put up a huge number of points, not going to score a lot of goals, but I think he will solidify the roster when its time to compete again. It will probably take a few years before we see him truly starting to make a difference in the NHL, but he's a gamer and wants to improve.

The Kings have been doing the right thing with him not putting him in the NHL right away. I think he could've played in the NHL all last year if they wanted him to, but its much better for his development to play in Ontario. I don't think he makes the team out of camp, but he'll be shuttling to and from Ontario I think for a good portion of the year.

 

[Bandit]

Normally I would completely agree. But management also spoke very highly of Clifford and he's now a Leaf. So I am not taking anything for granted.

Well sure but that was after what? 10 years and 2 Stanley Cups?

 

[Stimpythecat]

Clifford was still traded just a few months after being praised to the skies. It's not like the glowing assessment of him was prior to those cups.

 

[Bandit]

I dunno, prtetty sure Clifford was praised plenty his entire time here, but yes it is true that anyone can be traded at any time.

 

[kilowatt]

Clifford was still traded just a few months after being praised to the skies. It's not like the glowing assessment of him was prior to those cups.

Sure but the writing was on the wall for him and any other veterans on the team that another team would want. Look at the comparisons from when Clifford was drafted and JAD since he was drafted. All the talk is pretty much the same.

 

[redcard]

Clifford was still traded just a few months after being praised to the skies. It's not like the glowing assessment of him was prior to those cups.

Clifford was a 29 year-old veteran on an expiring contract of a bottom feeding, rebuilding team.

JAD is a 20 year-old prospect with no UFA rights for 7 years on a bottom feeding, rebuilding team.

All the reasons that earned Clifford that praise is why he stuck around so long in the first place.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings would be fortunate if Anderson-Dolan is anything close to a Stoll, even Clifford, but he's not as big and not as built as those two, so we'll have to see if he can withstand the vigor of handling checking line duties. His numbers in the AHL were just okay for a first year pro.

We're seeing a smaller center like Lizotte make a living as a bottom two center he's surpassed Amadio in being a permanent fixture in the lineup. There's a two-year age difference between Lizotte and Anderson-Dolan, so hopefully in another year or two Anderson-Dolan will have cemented himself as the player we're hoping he becomes.

We also don't know where exactly he's going to make a living, whether it be on the wing or at center.

 

[redcard]

The Kings would be fortunate if Anderson-Dolan is anything close to a Stoll, even Clifford, but he's not as big and not as built as those two, so we'll have to see if he can withstand the vigor of handling checking line duties. His numbers in the AHL were just okay for a first year pro.

We're seeing a smaller center like Lizotte make a living as a bottom two center he's surpassed Amadio in being a permanent fixture in the lineup. There's a two-year age difference between Lizotte and Anderson-Dolan, so hopefully in another year or two Anderson-Dolan will have cemented himself as the player we're hoping he becomes.

We also don't know where exactly he's going to make a living, whether it be on the wing or at center.

I'd be fine with Lewis 2.0

 

[cyclones22]

If the likes of JAD and Akil Thomas become 3rd liners who can provide energy, defensive responsibility, pitch in some on special teams and 10 to 15 goals each, those are homerun second round picks. That's the kind of 3rd line production that contends for Cups.

I'm as guilty as the next guy for wanting every pick to be top six / top pairing players. But that's when the Kings talent pool was bereft of talent and our hope was that our picks could play above their draft position. Not anymore. The Kings have legit top talent that don't have to play above their potential, but just come close to it in order for the team to be successful.

 

[DoktorJeep]

A 3C on a good team needs to get you between 10-15 goals a year. A guy like Stoll was scoring 20’ish goals a year before he settled into the 3C spot. It’s early, so you can’t write him off. But it’s hard to see if JAD will have enough goal scoring to stick as a middle six forward. If he is a 10 pt a season 4th liner at best, then that’s ok, but not exactly what the thinking was when he was drafted.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I don't want to get into it again here, but this is your yearly reminder that the Kings bottom six was scoring as much or more as other bottom sixes across the NHL, on top of not being a liability. Even through 2020 we had one of the best bottom sixes in the NHL, even from a production standpoint, even through all the low-scoring years.

 

[ricardfromage]

I like our bottom 6 and have always thought that JAD was going to be our 3rd line C from the moment we drafted him. Sort of a "mini me" player but with better IQ. With Thomas, JAD, Moore, Wagner and the rest I see nothing but solid to great for the long term. After this years draft providing our brain trust does as well as they did last year (which I think will go down as one of our best in decades) we could be close to overflowing with exceptionally talented depth both up on the big club and down on the farm. It is getting gosh darn near exciting! GO KINGS GO!!!!

 

[Rusty Batch]

People say Bottom Six but I don't see how he gets into the third line. 4th line seems plausible though.

You would assume that for the next few years
At least
kopi-Vilardi-Turcotte, Kaliyev, Fagemo, Madden, Iafallo, Kupari, Akil Thomas would be ahead of him.

That is ignoring the guys we add in this draft. In addition to players like Kempe, Grundstrom, Brown, etc... Just doesn't seem like there is much space for him and he will have to try and carve out a 4th line role here.

 

[DoktorJeep]

JAD may be the Steve Reinprecht type throw in as part of a future Drew Doughty trade.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I know we have better prospects now but I would be careful of discounting JAD. If he ends up as "just" a 4C, that means something else went incredibly right, imo. Like, Turcotte Vilardi Kupari are all Cs or something.

 

[ricardfromage]

Sounds like we have a crap ton of very exceptional prospects and every one of them will have to fight it out for a spot on our big club. They way things ought to be. Gotta love it.

 

[KINGS17]

Sounds like we have a crap ton of very exceptional prospects and every one of them will have to fight it out for a spot on our big club. They way things ought to be. Gotta love it.

There are always players who everyone is high on when they are age 19-21 who never fulfill our expectations. For instance, I won't be shocked if Kupari doesn't make it with the Kings. Not picking on him in particular, but with his injury and delay in his development it will be tough for him. The Kings likely already have younger and more talented forwards in the pipeline, especially after the coming draft.