EL SEGUNDO –– The next generation of Kings hit the ice on Monday to kick off development camp, including their two highest selections in last week’s draft.
Forwards Elton Hermansson (No. 19 overall) and Liam Lefebvre (No. 46 overall) were among the 11 2026 Kings draftees and a pair of 2025 picks making their first appearance at “D camp.”
“I wouldn’t say that anything has taken me by surprise. I’ve been pretty prepared for this. It’s been fun. A lot of new people, new systems and stuff, so it’s fun,” said Hermansson, the son of a longtime European pro who went into coaching.
Hermansson will return to MoDo for next season, the same program where his father coached a young Adrian Kempe in the 2010s. He also has designs on making Sweden’s World Junior roster for next season.
“It’s a big goal, and something you work towards,” Hermansson said.
Lefebvre was pleased to be a King after a strong combine interview and productive conversations with his representative from Quartexx Management. He had joined Kings prospects Jared Woolley and Vojtěch Čihař at the Memorial Cup this spring.
“It was good that we shared that experience, but now it’s good to be on the same side as them,” Lefebvre said.
The Quebecois center was passed over in last year’s draft after going through an injury-plagued year on the U.S. prep circuit. His initial plan of going the NCAA route shifted to returning to Quebec to play junior hockey, a decision that helped him go from undrafted to top-50, a rare feat.
“I was able to use that as motivation as well, going through that disappointment, but then continuing to build on all the things I had to improve on,” Lefebvre said. “As the year went on, I got some recognition for that and kept working at it.”
RETURNING PLAYERS IMPRESS
Lefebvre wasn’t the only Kings prospect who embodied the phrase “what a difference a year makes.”
Brendan McMorrow, a 2025 seventh-rounder whose stock has risen considerably in just 12 months, skated for Team USA at the World Juniors and won a national championship with the Denver Pioneers.
“He skates, he works. He’s got pretty good hands to go with those feet; he had a nice breakaway goal,” said Jarret Stoll, a two-time Stanley Cup champion who now works in player development. “He had a heck of a World Juniors … he was one of their better forwards, I thought, in the tournament.”
Meanwhile, Čihař competed at the senior level in Czechia and the junior level in Canada last season. A superb performance at the World Juniors with 12 points in seven games en route to a silver medal gave him a springboard into his debut with the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets, the host of this year’s Memorial Cup. Already known for his detail-oriented game, energetic play and competitiveness, he showed considerably more offensive ability against his own age group.
Stoll said Čihař reminded him of another second-rounder, Akil Thomas, in that he was “uptight” and “uncomfortable” at his first camp last summer. This year, he was not only more impactful on the ice but looser and more jovial around the boys.
“It was great of (Kings general manager Ken Holland) to get him over here, to Kelowna, to get in the playoffs. He became a big part of that team as the season went on, playing with (Utah Mammoth prospect Tij) Iginla,” Stoll said. “When you watch him play, he just does the little things right. He makes the right play, he makes the smart play.”