LA Kings Do Their Best At 2016 NHL Entry Draft

This past weekend in Buffalo, New York, the National Hockey League held the 2016 NHL Entry Draft at the lovely First Niagara Center, where the future (possible) stars of the sport of hockey, go through their right of passage of being selected to their respective NHL teams/organizations.  I was fortunate enough and honored to be credentialed to cover the two day event for CaliSports News and easily drove up to the city of Buffalo on what was a warm and beautiful day.

Now the annual entry draft is both an exciting yet mysterious event, as teams attempt to climb up the selection ladder in hopes that they can select the proper prospects (or future superstars) for their team.  Things don’t always go as planned of course, as it really is just a giant gamble for every team, as no one can really know for certain which players will go on to shine in the NHL, and which ones will just disappear. Some highly touted prospects, including some projected 1st overall picks can turn out to be complete busts, like the late Doug Wickenheiser for the Montreal Canadiens, (this one was truly a sad story), Alexandre Daigle for the Ottawa Senators, (who apparently didn’t even like playing hockey), and Rick DiPietro for the New York Islanders turned out to be.  Some others do live up to the extreme expectations unfairly placed on their shoulders and turn out to be exactly or maybe even better than what they were expected to be like Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Patrick Kane (well at least on the ice) of the Chicago Blackhawks were.  Some players were well over hyped before and when they got drafted but still ended up having fine careers in the NHL, such as Eric Lindros or Roberto Luongo and sometimes even, a shiny diamond in the rough can be discovered very late in the draft where many general managers and scouts either ignored or were afraid to look, and these hidden in plain sight gems went on to become champions and/or Hall of Famers like Luc Robitaille with the LA Kings, and Patrick Roy with Montreal (and then later with Colorado). Some picks like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, were not 1st overall selections, but were still high picks in the draft and are playing in the NHL as elite players in the league.

Like I said, it’s all just a gamble but in the end, every team’s goal is to try and gain the best draft selection spots that they think they can get and draft as many prospects as possible. The obvious (but not always) best spots on the draft ladder is in the first round, which was a spot that the LA Kings had no draft picks to choose from for the second straight year, (The Kings haven’t had a first round pick since they picked Adrian Kempe back in 2014).  Last year, the LA Kings traded away their 13th overall spot to the Boston Bruins in the Milan Lucic trade. This year, they didn’t have a first round selection due to trading the 21st overall pick away to Carolina back in 2015 in the Andrej Sekera deal.  Both Sekera and Lucic turned out to be just rentals and of course, (and remember this everyone), hindsight is 20/20 and the LA Kings had their reasons at the time for those trades.  We all can debate the importance and merits or mistakes of both of those trades today until we all are blue in the face, but as of today, both trades left the LA Kings with nothing left to show for it.

So really there wasn’t anything the Kings could do on Day 1 of the draft but try to work out a deal with someone, (which didn’t happen until Day 2 and not for a lack of trying) or just sit there and take the punches in the gut while watching team, after team make their selections, including Carolina with LA’s old pick. Despite the uneventful first day for the LA Kings, Dean Lombardi and company still did their best during day 2 by adding depth to the organization’s pipeline. 

With the draft picks that they did have, the Kings happily selected the left shooting, defenseman Kale Clague, 51st overall from the 2016 WHL Champion Brandon Wheat Kings, after he surprisingly was still available to be chosen.  The legendary Hall of Fame journalist Bob McKenzie of TSN had Clague pegged as the 30th overall pick, (which belonged to Anaheim), on his mock draft list but somehow Clague slipped through the cracks to the surprise and benefit of the Los Angeles Kings.

Here is what  Bill Placzek of DraftSite.com had to say about Clague;

“Poised puck hander with good vision, hockey sense, and offensive instincts. A strong transition player who has excellent four direction mobility and elite straight ahead acceleration. Displays good composure and is solid in his end at the junior level and stays home until he is sure he can join in on the attack. His feet aid not only his gap control, but let him burst in and disrupt their entrances. Gets his stick out and breaks up the passing lanes in opposition attacks. He is a good outlet passer in transition, able to get out of tight spaces and can jump up and join the attack and tear through the opposition neutral zone positioning. Terrific one timer, and a no-look pass/shot that is never telegraphed. Excellent touch passer and he can barrel across the blue line, fake a shot, and glide in closer for an even better one. Can get caught down low when he activates, but I can’t think of any NHL club that will have concerns about his size or long range upside.”

Sounds good to me!

Before the Kings made their next selection in the fourth round, Lombardi pulled off a trade by sending defensemen Nick Ebert to Dallas, for American goaltender Jack Campbell.  This was a trade that needed to be made as the Kings’ organization was suffering from a critical lack of goaltending depth. Campbell was a highly touted prospect after he won back to back Gold Medals for Team USA at the under-18 junior tournament in 2009 and 2010 and then the Gold Medal for Team USA at the 2010 World Junior Championships and was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars.

https://youtu.be/5pG8l_-gHAg

Since then he has struggled with his play and with injuries but the LA Kings have one of the best training facilities in the league and one of the best goaltending coaches in the sport with Bill Ranford, so it’ll be interesting to see what progress can be made with Campbell.  Best of luck to Mr. Ebert, (who was a part of the Kings’ affiliated Manchester Monarchs when they won the 2015 Calder Cup), with his next adventure and welcome to Los Angeles/Ontario, California Mr. Campbell!

The Kings then selected another left shooting defensemen in 6’2, Jacob Moverare, 112th overall from Sweden.

Here is what Bill Placzek said about the young defenseman;

“Swedish defender with good size, footwork, and stick. He doesn’t wow you with high offensive attack skills, but nonetheless is a very smart and responsible defenseman. He is an excellent backward skater with good physical package. A rangy defender who maintains his gaps and seems to make good decisions on when to attack the puck carrier and when to back off. His big stick gets in the passing lane and displays smart body placement in his end. He can take or receive a puck and quick change direction and transition the puck up-ice. He skating motions a bit stiff laterally, but there’s nor denying he can quickly get where he wants. He walks the blue line on the PP attack. Has a strong point shot but it’s accuracy and placement are areas for improvement. Simply doesn’t seem to have the head to help contribute much as an attacker. A prospect you let develop his feet and attack skills, but looks like a good safe bet for the team that will do just that.”

With the 142nd overall pick, the Kings drafted the left handed American center, Mikey Eyssimont from (Dean Lombardi’s favorite) St. Cloud State University of the NCAA.

Here is what @DJPowersHF, who covers the NCAA for California Rubber Magazine, had to say about the former St. Cloud State Huskie;

@LAKings picks up an awesome pick in @SCSUHUSKIES_MH F Mikey Eyssimont! Has great finish ability, hands & really fun to watch. #NCHCHockey

— DJ Powers (@DJPowersHF) June 25, 2016

With their last selection, the Kings chose hard nosed, stay at home defenseman (think Matt Greene and his mean streak), Jacob Friend from the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack with the 202nd pick. 

Here is what BayshoreBroadcasting.ca had to say about Friend, (who turns out really isn’t that friendy … WITH HIS ENEMIES!);

“In his first full year in the OHL, Friend established himself as a physical presence on the Attack blue-line, leading the league in fighting majors in the 2015-16 season. The Bowmanville, Ontario, native fought 13 times, tallying a total of 106 penalty minutes to go along with his solid offensive production from the blue-line.”

Despite not having any picks in the first round, Lombardi and Co. seemed to have done their best with what they had at adding some much needed defensive and goaltending depth, while adding another gifted forward to their system. Congratulations to all the new members of the LA Kings’ organization and welcome to the Kingdom!

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Here are some other news and notes from the NHL draft.

It was no surprise to anyone that the Toronto Maple Leafs went with San Ramon, California native Auston Matthews of the ZSC Lions with the 1st overall pick.  

This was Toronto’s first overall selection since picking Wendel Clark, (you know, the guy Marty McSorley epically fought during game 1 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Final), back in 1985.

With Matthews being taken by the Leafs, it was then no surprise that the Winnipeg Jets would choose the flashy left winger Patrick Laine from Finland, with the 2nd overall pick.

Columbus threw a curveball and stunned the crowd with their 3rd overall pick when they chose Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, instead of Jesse Puljujarvi from Sweden, (who went to the Edmonton Oilers 4th overall instead), or London Knight Memorial Cup Champion Matt Tkachuk, (the son of former NHL’er and 1996 World Cup of Hockey Champion with Team USA, Keith Tkachuk), who was selected instead, 6th overall by the Calgary Flames, (complete with the hair slicked (and moody) Brian Burke).

During the draft, the Chicago Blackhawks (who also had no first round picks in this draft, HA HA!), traded pest Andrew Shaw to the Montreal Canadiens for two 2nd round draft picks.  Montreal also traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for two more second rounders.  Montreal then selected the talented defenseman Mikhail Sergachev of the Windsor Spitfires with their 9th overall pick.

The St. Louis Blues then traded away their long time goaltender Brian Elliott to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick in the 2018 draft and a conditional third-rounder. Elliott was approaching the last year of his current contract and will be a free agent by the end of next season.

Then came the BIG trade.  The Detroit Red Wings were up to select the 16th overall pick but suddenly there was a long delay.  Of course that means that a deal of some sort was being worked out.  Commissioner Gary Bettman then made the announcement that the Wings had traded the 37-year-old (and future Hall of Famer) Pavel Datsyuk and their 16th overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes for forward Joe Vitale, and the 20th and 53rd overall picks.

Arizona then used that 16th slot to select defenseman Jakob Chychrun of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting while Detroit selected defenseman Dennis Cholowski from the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL.

Now Datsyuk has already announced that he has decided to go back home to Russia and play in the KHL next season, so no worries Kings’ fans, he isn’t going to be showing up wearing a Coyotes jersey anytime soon.  This trade was more about Detroit dumping the remaining year of his contract of $7.5 million, so they could free up some salary cap space, (to maybe … PURSUE UPCOMING UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT STEVEN STAMKOS?!?!?!?!?!)

(The video above is Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi working out a deal … or discussing the Datsyuk trade … or talking about the Civil War … or Derek Jeter … or …)

The Anaheim Ducks selected Matt Tkachuk’s Memorial Cup winning teammate Max Jones of the London Knights with the 24th overall pick and later selected center Sam Steel of the Regina Pats with the 30th overall pick, (instead of Kale Clague as mentioned earlier. In time we’ll see who made the wiser choice with that pick, the Duckies or the Kings?)

The award for “badass moment of the night,” goes to Tampa Bay Lightning GM and Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, who walked to the stage with Led Zeppelin playing in the background as if he was entering the cage for a UFC fight! Awesome!

Now if it still bothers you that the Kings didn’t have a pick in the first round of the draft, then at least take some comfort in knowing that neither did the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins orrrrrrr … Doug Wilson and his San Jose Sharks!

Now before everything was said and done with the NHL Entry Draft, and I had to drive back home, I bumped into the great Daryl Evans again, who is always fun to chat with.

I also had the pleasure of meeting the hardest working journalist in the world today, the LA Kings Insider AND birthday boy, the one and only Jon Rosen! (and YES, I wished him a Happy Birthday AND talked to him about Game of Thrones!)

And I also got to meet the great Chris Johnston from Sportsnet, who I have been a fan of for years and who I ironically found out had helped out my colleague Emily Redenbach, when she was up in San Jose covering the Stanley Cup Final! Cool guy that Chris. Now I’m an even bigger fan!

So that completes my coverage of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and I hope you enjoyed it, but before you go, I must tell this one last tidbit. With the Kings ending the draft weekend with 4 draft selections and a trade for a goalie, I thought I would do my part for the Kingdom and see if I could lend a helping hand by getting the Kings some more scoring and defensive help.  Montreal GM Marc Bergevin was just wrapping up an interview with some French Canadian journalists when I approached him with an offer that I thought he couldn’t refuse. I pitched the idea of the “Habs” trading their star defenseman P.K. Subban and their Captain Max Pacioretty to the LA Kings in a fair exchange for Jordan Nolan and the rights to Slava Voynov!  After thinking about it, (for like half of a half second), Bergevin laughed and answered with a “Nope,” but he did agree to do a selfie with me, so a selfie had to do. I tried my best Kings’ fans. I tried my best.

*If you’re interested, here’s a link to all the selections of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

**Special thanks to Nicole Buckley of the NHL, Mario Hicks, Ryan Cowley, Theresa Walsh Duarte, Faye Walsh, Daryl Evans, LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, Chris Johnston, Marc Bergevin, the helpful staff of the First Niagara Center and the Hockey Gods for making the Sharks sit beside the Pittsburgh Penguins. That was just awesome!

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!

 

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2 Comments

1. 

   Craig Kisro

   June 27, 2016 at 1:36 pm

   Cups or not, when you add up giving up two first rounders for short rentals, along with the Richards and Brown mistakes, and sprinkle in longer than necessary extensions for bottom six forwards, Lombardi’s record is worse than Parker McDonald’s who gave up two first rounders for Glenn Goldsup, and a second for Dave Schultz. The youngsters from Ontario are really going to have to pan out or it is going to be a long season for the team.
2. 

   Faye Howell Walsh

   June 28, 2016 at 4:34 pm

   I don’t know to much about hockey and the players, but some names I heard of. I watched it on t.v. and it was very interesting to see and how young the guys that got pieced. Someday the are going to be famous, just like Wayne Gretzky, Drew Doughty or P.K. But the article was good, and to go there and see who got drafted is a great experience and th experience venture. Keep up the great work Jeff.