As their position stands, the Kings will have a first-rounder in attendance at July 1’s opening of rookie camp for the first time since Brandt Clarke’s arrival in 2021, but their pickings on Saturday’s Day 2 of the NHL Draft project to be slim with just one other pick in the top 180 after No. 21 overall.
In Clarke’s draft year, the Kings consolidated their picks and selected just four players. They enter this draft with four picks, and only three on the second day barring any last-second acquisitions, when six rounds will unfold. After picking No. 21 overall, the Kings won’t be up again until No. 118. They also own picks in the sixth round (No. 182) and the seventh (No. 214).
To even the best-versed experts, this year’s first round feels unpredictable, let alone the later selections. Nevertheless, here are six prospects to watch as the Kings seek to deepen a once-robust stable that has been depleted by graduations and trades in recent years.
Niilopekka Muhonen, defenseman, KalPa (Finland)
The long and lanky Finn stands 6-foot-4 with a projectable frame and loads of mobility albeit with very limited offensive production. Projections vary widely for the left-handed shooting rearguard, but his makeup is not dissimilar to that of the Kings’ 2023 second-rounder, Jakub Dvorak. His size and competitiveness could make him a fourth-round steal.
Aatos Koivu, center, TPS (Finland)
Another Finn, he’s a third-generation pro and both his father Saku and uncle Mikko were NHL captains. While they were mostly into making plays, Aatos is more of a shooter, though he did inherit plenty of the family’s hockey sense. He’ll need to add strength, but his shot, vision and instincts could carry him to the top level.
Ilya Nabokov, goalie, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia)
Nabokov is one of the more mature prospects in the draft at 21 years old and all he did as a Kontinental Hockey League rookie was backstop his club to its first ever Gagarin Cup, the equivalent of the Stanley Cup in what’s widely regarded as the world’s second-best pro league. He’s active, meticulous and undersized: a profile that also described Jonathan Quick.
Eemil Vinni, goalie, HFK (Finland)
Another assertive netminder without prototypical length, Vinni finished as the top-rated European netminder by the NHL’s Central Scouting but could very well be available in the mid-to-late portions of the draft. The Kings added Erik Portillo and Hampton Slukynsky to their goalie group last year, but still could stand to add competition to their pipeline.
Anthony Romani, forward, North Bay Battalion (OHL)
Like another forward potentially on the Kings’ radar late, Ondrej Becher, and like Nabokov, Romani was passed over previously as a draft-eligible prospect. He seemed to take that personally, elevating his production from 43 points to 111 in just two additional games last season. He’s a versatile weapon in transition, capable of stretching the ice with creative passes or wreaking havoc with his skates.
Miroslav Šatan Jr., center, HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
Šatan is another second-generation NHL aspirant as his father Miro was a sniper for the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders. The younger Šatan has four inches on his father, standing 6-foot-7, but doesn’t yet have anything near the coordination and technique of a top-level pro. The Kings have gravitated toward oversized projects in recent years –– hello, Jack Sparkes, Caleb Lawrence and Andre Lee –– especially in late rounds.
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