Ranking the Los Angeles Kings' Top 10 Prospects
There isn't another team out there that has a legitimate contributor to a Stanley Cup championship in its prospect pool. In Tanner Pearson, L.A. has exactly that.
Pearson just barely makes the Calder-eligibility cutoff. He played exactly 25 regular-season games; one more and he would have been over the line. The 24 games he played in the Kings' run to the Cup don't count toward that total, which puts him in the rather odd position of being a chief contender for the 2014-15 rookie of the year award.
But where does he belong in a ranking of the Kings' best prospects? The following slideshow ranks the 10 best and provides capsule scouting reports. Prospects are primarily ranked based on their potential NHL ceiling, but the amount of risk involved in that projection is also a significant factor in this list. Read on to see where Pearson falls and who else the formidable Kings have en route.
10. Alex Lintuniemi
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Profile: Lintuniemi is a big Finnish rearguard who played junior in North America last season. The 6'3", 230-pound defenceman has some nice skill to go with that size, too; he's a capable puck-mover and was considered enough of a leader to captain his junior team back in Finland. The glaring weakness is his skating, which needs to improve dramatically.
Risk factor: There are lots of risks associated with freshly drafted prospects, and especially ones with one really obvious deficiencies (like skating).
NHL projection: No. 4 defenceman.
9. Michael Mersch
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Profile: Mersch brings a pretty well-rounded offensive toolkit to the table, though it's a little disappointing to see the extremely mild offensive progression over his final three seasons with the University of Wisconsin (in 2011-12 he posted 30 points in 37 games; in 2013-14 it was 35 points in the same span). What sets him apart is a power game; the Badgers list him at 6'1" and 225 pounds and Kings executive Nelson Emerson told The Hockey News magazine that "he's absolutely unreal around the blue paint."
Risk factor: Mersch did fairly well in an 11-game cameo with Manchester to end last season and because he went the college route he's a little older. That combined with his frame makes him a good bet to thrive at the professional level. The real question is how high his offensive ceiling is.
NHL projection: Bottom-six forward.
8. Jordan Weal
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Profile: Weal is listed at 5'10" and 179 pounds; he is not a big man by hockey player standards, even if the listed size matches reality. He gets away with it thanks to blazing speed and a diligent work ethic. He led the Kings' AHL club with 70 points in 76 regular-season games and added three more in four playoff contests to tie for the team lead there, too.
Risk factor: He's small. At the same time, he's an AHL team's leading scorer at age 22.
NHL projection: Second-line forward.
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7. Nick Shore
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Profile: Shore has a lot going for him, but he combines mediocre speed with mediocre size (6', 195 pounds), and that can be a difficult handicap to overcome. Otherwise, he's well known for his hockey sense, 200-foot game and he adapted reasonably well to the professional ranks in his first professional season, posting 38 points in 68 games.
Risk factor: Good AHL players are on the low end of the risk spectrum, but that size/speed combination is a red flag.
NHL projection: Middle-six forward.
6. Nikolai Prokhorkin
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Profile: For a long time, Prokhorkin's been (to use Red Line Report's terminology) "more about potential than production." He has it all; the centre combines a 6'2" frame with good skating, hockey sense and the ability to both shoot and pass. But the results have lagged, until 2013-14, when he suddenly emerged as CSKA Moscow's leading scorer. It was a good team, too, loaded with ex-NHL'ers, and he was able to carve out a primary role.
Risk factor: Prokhorkin is going to stay in Russia for at least another season. Beyond all the typical Russian stuff—the lure of KHL dollars and the difficulty in adjusting on and off the ice to North America—there's also the fact that he's only had one excellent campaign.
NHL projection: Middle-six forward.
5. Derek Forbort
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Profile: Forbort was a first-round pick in 2010 because he has the two things that NHL teams love to see. First, he's massive: 6'4" and 218 pounds. Second, he's highly mobile, with both good speed and agility. But he is not a natural puck-handler and he can get overwhelmed in his own end of the ice.
Risk factor: The physical skills should guarantee a career, but his ceiling is somewhat limited.
NHL projection: Second-pair defenceman.
4. Roland McKeown
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Profile: Red Line Report has McKeown down as the best skating defenceman available in the 2014 draft and loves his ability to stay poised under pressure. The big question mark for the smart, two-way blueliner is his ability to handle the physical game because it doesn't come naturally for him.
Risk factor: Freshly drafted players are always risky because we're looking at the early stages of their development and a lot can go wrong. This is even truer for defencemen than forwards, as blueliners have a tougher learning curve.
NHL projection: Second-pair defenceman.
3. Valentin Zykov
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Profile: Zykov is a typical King. He's big (6'2", 200-plus pounds) and he skates well. He plays a north/south game at both ends of the rink. And at times his goalscoring touch goes into hibernation for a few weeks. If Los Angeles was looking for more of the same—and given the club's success, why not—it could not have done much better with its 2013 second-round pick.
Risk factor: Zykov's still in junior year but he seems pretty safe. Even with a massive shooting percentage slump his points-per-game total increased year-over-year.
NHL projection: Middle-six forward.
2. Adrian Kempe
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Profile: Speaking of more of the same, L.A.'s 2014 first-round pick is a big forward with good skating ability. Kempe is so young that he just barely qualified for the 2014 draft (he was born on September 13; the cutoff is September 15). Despite this, he thrived in a physical, agitating role in Sweden's top league and chipped in some points, too.
Risk factor: Aside from the fact that he's young and in Europe, there's nothing. Good size, good speed, good tolerance for a physical game, already playing at the senior level; it's all good.
NHL projection: Second-line forward.
1. Tanner Pearson
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Profile: A late birthday who was first eligible for the 2010 draft, Pearson went overlooked until 2012, when the Kings spent a first-round pick to add him. He made the jump to the AHL and performed immediately and followed that with the move to the NHL late last season. A highly intelligent, highly motivated player with natural skill has improved his skating dramatically, too.
Risk factor: Non-existent.
NHL projection: Top-six forward.
Jonathan Willis covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for more of his work.
Statistics courtesy of EliteProspects.com, unless otherwise noted. The Hockey News, Red Line Report (subscription required) and HockeyProspectus.com were consulted in writing profiles.
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