While all but two of the Kings were away from the ice during the 4 Nations Face-Off break, their prospects were still busy paying dues all around the world.
As the Kings seek to restock their once-formidable organizational depth, here is a glance at some aspiring royalty who could one day be skating alongside the likes of Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty.
Liam Greentree, Forward, Ontario Hockey League
In the course of eight months since he was selected with the No. 26 overall pick, Greentree has established himself as the Kings’ top prospect. He’s already eclipsed his scoring total from his draft year, and in 12 fewer games. A much-improved supporting cast allowed his Windsor Spitfires to clinch a playoff berth and his plus-minus rating to soar from -14 to +42.
Greentree ranks in the top four in goals (third), assists (fourth) and points (second) in the OHL, where he’s twice been named Player of the Week this season. Like Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, Greentree was not extended an invite from Team Canada for the World Junior Championships, something Greentree’s coach in Windsor has said motivated him.
With his blend of size (6-foot-3, around 220 pounds), supple mitts, sound instincts, propensity to misdirect defenders and firm shot, Greentree has all the tools of an archetypal power forward, minus the skating, at this point.
Koehn Ziemmer, Forward, Western Hockey League
Like Greentree, Ziemmer (No. 78 overall, 2023) was a player who the Kings entertained selecting higher before he fell into their laps as a strong value. Also like Greentree, skating and mobility were his major issues, along with body proportion.
Ziemmer has worked on both areas since then, as was evident during his offseason appearances in El Segundo, including time on a line with Greentree. When he returned to his WHL club, the Prince George Cougars, he set his sights on organizational records. He’s already tied for Prince George’s franchise mark in goals (120), and he sat one point shy of Ducks forward Jansen Harkins for second all-time in career points by a Cougar on Monday morning.
After missing significant time following ankle surgery last season, Ziemmer has been relatively healthy this year. While he might not be a top-tier prospect, Ziemmer possesses many similar power-forward qualities to those of Greentree and he’s a right-shooting winger with the ability to redirect pucks effectively as well.
Goalies Galore
Once a gaping hole in their top-to-bottom depth, Kings general manager Rob Blake and cohorts patched it multiple times with a trade for Erik Portillo two years ago and selections of goalies in consecutive drafts, Hampton Slukynsky in 2023’s fourth round and Carter George in the second round last year.
Portillo already made his NHL debut, an impressive 2-1 victory over the Ducks on Nov. 29, but projects to ease into a backup role behind newly reacquired Darcy Kuemper in the coming campaigns. His numbers have dipped in the minors this season, but neither his top-end performance nor his bottom-line record have suffered in the process.
Slukynsky is a freshman at Western Michigan University, where he has put up lean numbers (1.57 goals-against average, .942 save percentage). Last week, he earned The National College Hockey Conference (NCHC) Rookie of the Week honor. George manned the net for both the struggling Owen Sound Attack and Team Canada’s World Junior selection this season, shining in four appearances during the tournament. While Canada failed to medal, George backstopped them to gold at the U18 level and in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well last season.