Corey Pronman details what to expect from the Los Angeles Kings\u2019 new prospects and how they fit into the farm system.<\/p>\n
2025 Draft Grade: B-<\/p>\n
The Kings did some draft maneuvering to get more capital. In doing so, they added more depth to their system than I expected. Henry Brzustewicz has a good chance to be a regular NHL defenseman. I have time for quite a few of their Day 2 picks. I don\u2019t think any one of them for sure project to play in the league, but I could see one of them finding a way to make it.<\/p>\n
Draft Class<\/p>\n
31. Henry Brzustewicz, RHD, London Knights (OHL)<\/strong><\/p>\n February 9, 2007 | 6′ 1″ | 194 pounds<\/p>\n Tier: Middle of the lineup player<\/p>\n Skating: NHL average Player comparable:<\/strong> Zach Whitecloud<\/p>\n Analysis:<\/strong> Brzustewicz played a notable role on a strong London team this season, appearing at times on both special teams. He\u2019s a tall right-shot who skates well and doesn\u2019t shy from using his feet to jump up into the attack. He\u2019s a skilled and creative player with the puck. Brzustewicz can make plays through opponents, hit seams in the offensive zone and can create offense on the move. Defensively he\u2019s reliable, using his length and feet to close on pucks and getting back to retrieve efficiently while also having an edge in his game. He\u2019s been a sharp riser this season, a story we\u2019ve heard often with London players developing well. I could see more offense coming from him with more opportunity.<\/p>\n Pick grade:<\/strong> B+<\/p>\n Thoughts on the pick:<\/strong> Brzustewicz kept improving as the season went along. He\u2019s a tall, mobile right-shot who can make a steady first pass and plays with an edge. He\u2019s not the sexiest pick, but he checks a lot of boxes for the NHL, and at No. 31, you will take that. Being able to trade back and get more assets is solid work by the Kings, too.<\/p>\n 59. Vojt\u011bch \u010ciha\u0159, LW, HC Energie Karlovy Vary (Czechia)<\/strong><\/p>\n March 29, 2007 | 6′ 0″ | 181 pounds<\/p>\n Tier: Has a chance to play games<\/p>\n Skating: NHL average Analysis:<\/strong> Cihar has played real minutes versus men in the top Czech level this season. He\u2019s a well-rounded winger with a pro style. Cihar is a strong skater. He\u2019s not a blow-you-away skill type, but he can beat defenders one-on-one, with occasional high-end flashes, and is a strong transition player. Cihar competes hard. He engages in physical play and gets to the net to create offense in a way that should translate to higher levels. I don\u2019t think Cihar is a great playmaker or a natural scorer, so despite his likable style of play, given his average size, I\u2019m not sold on what his ultimate NHL role would be.<\/p>\n 88. Kristian Epperson, LW, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)<\/strong><\/p>\n May 16, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 185 pounds<\/p>\n Tier: Has a chance to play games<\/p>\n Skating: NHL average Analysis:<\/strong> After struggling with the U.S. NTDP the past two years, Epperson broke out in the OHL this year, becoming a top scorer in the league. Epperson is a very good skater who has a lot of pace and energy in his game. He\u2019s skilled with the puck and showed he could create a lot of scoring chances. He\u2019s an average-sized winger who lacks a clear identity for the NHL, though. He\u2019s not super physical or dynamic with the puck, although he competed a lot harder this year than his first draft season. The talent is intriguing enough for him to have a shot at making it.<\/p>\n 120. Caeden Herrington, RHD, Lincoln Stars (USHL)<\/strong><\/p>\n January 26, 2006 | 6′ 2″ | 205 pounds<\/p>\n Tier: Has a chance to play games<\/p>\n Skating: NHL average Analysis:<\/strong> Herrington had a big season in the USHL in his second draft-eligible year. His offense took off on a high-flying Lincoln team. Herrington is an attack-first defenseman. He\u2019s a strong skater with good hands who loves to rush pucks up ice. He is a threat to score with his one-timer, although he\u2019s not a great passer from the point. Herrington is 6-2 and plays reasonably physical, so there are tools to be a two-way defender; at the moment, he isn\u2019t, though. He tries too much to score and isn\u2019t trustworthy in his own end. If he cleans that up, he could play in the NHL.<\/p>\n 125. Jimmy Lombardi, C, Flint Firebirds (OHL)<\/strong><\/p>\n February 16, 2007 | 6′ 0″ | 179 pounds<\/p>\n Analysis:<\/strong> Lombardi is a decent-sized center with good speed and skill, who, in his best moments this season, displayed some rather high-end one-on-one abilities and could break open a shift. Those moments were quite inconsistent, in part because I don\u2019t think his pure hockey sense is that good. He competes well enough, though.<\/p>\n 152. Petteri Rimpinen, G, Kiekko-Espoo (Liiga)<\/strong><\/p>\n April 25, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 176 pounds<\/p>\n Tier: Has a chance to play games<\/p>\n Skating: Above NHL average Analysis:<\/strong> Rimpinen had a huge year in Finland as one of the better starting goalies in Liiga as an 18-year-old. He was the best goalie at the World Juniors, being the key reason why Finland came within inches of a gold medal. He has the quickness, hockey sense, work ethic and technique of a high-level pro goalie. Rimpinen makes a ton of difficult lateral saves and never seems out of position despite his average-sized frame. He competes to get to second chances and anticipates opponents\u2019 passes very well. He\u2019s been passed over in a previous draft due to his 6-foot-0 frame, and despite his success, that will still be a significant issue for his NHL projection. He has a chance due to his talent, but it\u2019s questionable whether he\u2019s that special a talent to make it at his size.<\/p>\n 184. Jan Chovan, C, Tappara U20 (U20 SM-sarja)<\/strong><\/p>\n January 9, 2007 | 6′ 2″ | 190 pounds<\/p>\n Tier: Has a chance to play games<\/p>\n Skating: NHL average Analysis:<\/strong> Chovan hasn\u2019t been an overly productive player in Finland\u2019s junior league, but he\u2019s been better internationally with Slovakia. He has a lot of tools to work with. He\u2019s 6-foot-2, he skates well and he has scoring ability. Chovan has the ability to finish from the perimeter. He has good offensive creativity and can be great off the rush. I\u2019ve watched games of Chovan\u2019s where I thought he looked like a first-round pick. However, that player has shown up quite inconsistently, and there are quite a few games when he fades into the background. If you told me he became a legit middle-six forward in five years, I wouldn\u2019t be shocked, but it\u2019s hard to bet on a guy who can\u2019t score consistently in a middling league.<\/p>\n 196. Brendan McMorrow, LW, Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)<\/strong><\/p>\n March 27, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 190 pounds<\/p>\n 216. Will Sharpe, LHD, Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)<\/strong><\/p>\n March 7, 2007 | 6′ 1″ | 194 pounds<\/p>\n Analysis:<\/strong> Sharpe was a highly productive player in the WHL for a 17-year-old defenseman. He was traded midseason as part of the Caden Price deal, which is funny because I think Sharpe resembles Price in a lot of ways. He\u2019s a strong skater, with good hands and offensive IQ, even if neither truly stands out. Sharpe isn\u2019t a standout defender, in part due to his average frame, but he competes well enough. He may be a tweener at the next level, but his tools are good enough to have a chance.<\/p>\n \u00a0(Photo of Henry Brzustewicz: Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Corey Pronman details what to expect from the Los Angeles Kings\u2019 new prospects and how they fit into…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,224,2081,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-24198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-los-angeles-kings","13":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114766058926651133","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Hockey sense: NHL average<\/p>\n
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average<\/p>\n