TOP 10 QUESTIONS: TRAINING CAMP (UPDATE)
The LA Kings 2025 Training Camp is three days old and already we’re starting to get some idea of what the team might look like to start the season.
The players have been divided into three groups and while Coach Jim HIller was noncommital about what the consistency of defensive pairs and forward lines might mean, the fact remains that they have kept the returning NHL veterans in the same combinations all three days of Camp so far.
I’m not a huge fan of speculation but I am a firm believer in patterns and if I’ve learned anything in my years of watching the Kings it’s that once a pattern establishes itself it’s usually going to continue.
With that being said… let’s take a look at the Top 10 Questions facing the LA Kings in training camp and what we’ve learned so far.
QUESTION ONE:Which goalies will go to which teams?
There’s no definitive answer to this question yet but the fact remains that of the 6 goalies in camp only 4 of them have NHL contracts and only Kuemper and Forsberg make more than $1 Million a season.
As we discussed on All The Kings Men, barring some sort of unexpected event, Kuemper and Forsberg will start the season in LA. Copley and Portillo will be assigned to Ontario and Isaiah Saville will likely be joined by Mattias Sholl in Greenville to play for the Swamp Rabbits.
It should be noted that Sholl was not invited to Training Camp but signed an AHL/ECHL contract in July.
QUESTION TWO: How will the goaltenders work be split up during exhibition games?
Jim Hiller spoke to the media after Day Three of Training Camp and revealed that Carter George will play in the Empire Classic in Ontario on Sep 20th.
The Owen Sound Attack (OHL) season is already underway and their next game is the 25th of September. The Kings play on Sunday, have a day off on Monday then have road games on the 23rd and 24th. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first round of cuts sees all the OHL players returned to their junior clubs on Monday (the 22nd). This would give the Kings a chance to play George in the Empire Classic on Sunday and get him into an “NHL Game” before returning him back to juniors for another season.
The remaining preseason schedule consists of six games in Vegas, Anaheim, Bakersfield, Boise, Salt Lake and Los Angeles (Crypto Dot Com Arena). It remains to be seen how Jim Hiller and the goalie staff want to distribute the remaining minutes in the preseason.
QUESTION THREE: With an additional open roster spot, who saw their odds of making the club rise?
QUESTION FOUR: Who is on the fourth line to start the season with Corey Perry out?
I’m going to address both of these questions at the same time. This is where the question of consistency is raised. So far after three days of camp we’ve seen Jeff Malott play with Alex Turcotte and Joel Armia during the scrimmages and skating as a line during drills (as much as that is called for).
Jeff Malott played in twelve regular season games and all six playoff games last season after being recalled from Ontario on March 26th. Malott played the bulk of his minutes with Samuel Helenius and Trevor Lewis but did see himself moved up the lineup from time to time. With Ken Hollands comments about Alex Turcotte being given a serious look as the 4C and Armia being an established NHL role player it seems that, at least for now, Malott is being given the best chance to take Corey Perry’s expected spot to start the 2024-25 season.
Even if Malott starts the season on the roster and the fourth line is Malott/Turcotte/Lewis that still leaves the question of “extra” players. We suspect that the Kings top 9 forwards are all but decided as are the regular six defensemen and the two goaltenders but an NHL roster is allowed to have 23 players on it.
All that is a long winded way of saying “I guess we’ll see”.
QUESTION FIVE: Will any prospects get a real chance to earn a contract / play in the NHL?
There’s a short list of players in camp who don’t yet have an SPC (Standard Player Contract) and with the NHL’s new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) in various stages of implementation, there are plenty of reasons for the club and the players to wait a while to sign any ELCs (Entry Level Contracts).
Given the presence and experience of NHL veterans in the organization it seems unlikely to me that there will be many opportunities for any “prospects” to start the season on the NHL roster.
QUESTION SIX: How many defensemen will the team start the season with?
Last season the Kings began the season with eight defenseman and it’s entirely possible they will do so again this year with Kyle Burroughs and Jacob Moverare both favored by the organization for different reasons. Burroughs and Moverare are both signed to “One Way” Contracts meaning that they are paid the same amount wether they play for the Kings or the Reign.
It’s conceivable that to start the season the Kings keep 8 defensemen on the roster and opt to have a single “extra” forward.
QUESTION SEVEN: What will the D-Pairs be to start the season?
This is yet another instance of consistency raising questions. Before training camp began my assumption was that the Kings would reunited Joel Edmundson and Brandt Clarke as a defensive pair with newcomers Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin skating as a pair.
Through three days of camp, however, we’ve consistently seen Clarke paired with Dumoulin while Ceci and Edmundson have skated together.
While there’s no indication which of those pairs might be the “second” or “third” pair, or even if those pairs will last through camp that is what we’ve seen so far.
QUESTION EIGHT: Will the Top-9 be the same as the end of last season?
So far it certainly seems so and every indication is that the Kings will keep the lines the same at least to start the season. Through all three days of camp the “Top 3” Lines have remained together through drills and scrimmages.
Each line has skated with a different group with the Turcotte line joining Kopitar’s line in Group A all three days.
QUESTION NINE: Will be top PP unit run with four forwards or five forwards?
So far it’s difficult to tell what the Power Play might look like. There was a brief moment where Jacob Moverare was playing the bumper on the Power Play during training camp and shared a laugh about it in the locker room after skating.
QUESTION TEN: Will Adrian Kempe sign an extension before the season begins?
Plenty of time remains for this to happen but as of today… no news.
So there you have it. This is my first “real” article as new owner/operator of The Royal Half… for those who remember how it used to be… I’m sorry there weren’t more jokes, photoshops and GIFs. Maybe in the future.
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