In the dog days of summer there is little to report, but as we inch closer to the season we do get a few little gems here and there. It also gives sites like Hockey's Future and friends of our blog, Jewels from the Crown, a chance to evaluate the pipeline.
Before we get into talking about the top 20 of the Kings pipeline, there is one significant update on the Kings collegiate prospect Kevin Gravel.
The big defensive specialist, who had quite a solid career on the blue line at St. Cloud State, was eligible to hit free agency this year if he couldn't reach an agreement with the Kings by August 15th of this summer. Sure enough, neither party could come to an agreement. While Gravel did
sign a one-year contract with the Manchester Monarchs earlier in the month, he was not tendered an ELC and is now free property and could be signed by any NHL team.
Why though? Gravel was highly regarded, and touted pretty heavily by Kings sites like Hockey's Future and most notably John Hoven at Mayor's Manor. Hoven even wrote
this solid feature for LAKings.com in January about Gravel and his potential NHL future.
While it is still possible the Kings and Gravel come to an agreement, the likelihood seems little considering the team was willing to let him go to the free agent market. Maybe the hope from the Kings is that Gravel will see that the free agent market isn't quite so grand as expected. Maybe the team no longer sees the long term utility of Gravel when compared to others in the system.
I'll toss my two cents in on this one. Mind you, these are just my opinions on the situation and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Overall the Kings system has picked up some extremely solid defensive prospects and players in the last two to three years. Last season was significant for the Kings system in terms of developing defenseman. Zachary Leslie, a defenseman that the Kings are quite high on, had a tremendous year with Guelph and continues a strong upward trend into his first year of AHL eligibility. Nick Ebert, after struggling in 2012-13, destroyed the competition in 2013-14. Once considered one of the most complete CHL defenders, Ebert was taken in the 7th round after he slipped in the draft. He was considered a low-risk high-reward guy in 2012, and after a solid year where he has silenced many doubters the Kings are looking brilliant for taking the risk. Then you have the addition of Brayden McNabb via trade, the draft of Roland McKeown, the emergence of Jake Muzzin, and the strong year from Alec Martinez. Oh yea, there is also former first-round defenseman Derek Forbort who has developed slowly but surely, and another new draftee in Alex Lintuniemi.
All of these players, overall, have a more well-rounded upside than Kevin Gravel. Gravel makes his name as a defensive defenseman first and foremost. His offensive contribution is extremely limited and his skating and movement is definitely something worth noting as a potential weakness. While he brings great size, defensive acumen, and a solid hockey sense, Gravel has little in the way of other tools. How he stacks up to a player like McNabb, McKeown, Forbort, or even Jake Muzzin is pretty damning.
To be honest, I feel that Gravel had his shot last season when he opted to return to St. Cloud State instead of turning pro. While I won't sit here and say that it was the wrong decision for him, because that is extremely unfair, the opportunity was there for the taking. Now, that window is incredibly small and there are a ton of players in the mix. Perhaps the Kings were supportive (I've heard both they were and weren't) of Gravel's choice to remain in college at the time, hindsight may prove he should have gone to the AHL.
The Monarchs had a back end in flux last season, but thanks to the additions of Jeff Schultz and former ECHL stalwart Vincent LoVerde it was stabilized. Then you factor in Derek Forbort and Colin Miller, each of whom looked better and on a good development path by the end of the season. Given the circumstances, Gravel almost certainly would have been in the mix for significant playing time with the Narchs. Now you look at the Monarch blueline for the upcoming season and it isn't so open. In fact, you are probably going to see a few names in Ontario. Nick Ebert, Alex Roach, Zach Leslie, and Kurtis MacDermid are all eligible for AHL contracts. While Ebert and Leslie are eligible for overage seasons, neither have anything left to prove in the CHL. Schultz will again be in the mix for the Monarchs as the big veteran shut-down presence, and both Miller and Forbort start sophomore campaigns. LoVerde was a diamond in the rough, and earned himself an ELC as he turned into one of the more solid defenseman on the team.
In short, Gravel looks to be squeezed out. He doesn't bring nearly the same skill set as several other players whom the Kings have invested more in, and he may have missed his opportunity by selecting return to college last season. If that is truly the case it sucks, but that's the nature of the game. It's also the risk you take with college players, who really have no reason to be loyal and don't owe much to the teams that draft them.
So that's that. August 15th came and went, and Gravel is now a free agent. We shall see where it goes from here.
With all that prospect talk in mind, take a look at the LA Kings top 20 list courtesy of myself and Hockey's Future.
HF 2014-15 Fall Top 20 Prospects list
There are a few noteworthy graduations from the system like Martin Jones and Tyler Toffoli, and others who are going to follow shortly like Tanner Pearson. In general, the amount of pure talent the Kings have on the blueline is immense. They also have a number of really useful, 200-foot players. There have been a lot of large strides taken by players like Nick Shore and Nick Ebert, and the new draftees look like solid additions.
Check out the entire list above and feel free to ask questions or comment on how you feel about the Kings pipeline.
Also worth noting since we are in the vein of prospect talk, the folks over at Jewels from the Crown have put together the 2nd annual Top 25 under 25. With a roundup of their staff, myself, and a number of other great people like the girls at Thx Bud, LA Kings Insider, Battle of California, and The Hockey Writers, this is as accurate as it can get (or so we'd like to believe). Even Brian Burke would be in awe of the hockey think tank we threw together for this, so do check it out as they put it out.
JFTC Top 25 under 25
For the last bit of news, it's looking more and more like the AHL out West is going to happen. Might I say, about time. Sheesh. Doesn't it seem a little silly that the Kings, Ducks, Sharks, Coyotes, and Canucks have to have their players cross every time zone and essentially lose an entire day of their lives to get up to the big club? In the meantime, teams like the Blackhawks, Rangers, Red Wings, Sabres, Maple Leafs, etc. etc. hardly have to leave the state, let alone cross the entire country. You could call up an AHL player from Rochester at 1PM, and have him playing in Buffalo by 730 if you wanted.
Back in June the AHL CEO, Dave Andrews,
told the gentlemen of Marek vs. Wyshynski that it was taking shape. It has only garnered more of a push as the summer has gone along, and soon enough we could be seeing our very own AHL prospects no more than 50 miles from Staples Center. Would definitely be a nice thing for the Western Conference teams to have. While it won't happen this year since hockey season is so close, as early as next year we could see a number of teams relocate. Keep your fingers crossed if you live near Citizen's Bank Arena in Ontario and want to see some AHL hockey.
We will continue on with the Kings player evaluations next time. For now, back to vacation mode for me and enjoying a ball game at the lovely Camden Yards for the evening.
(PS: Flying through a thunderstorm kind of sucks, and I recommend avoiding it if at all possible.)
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