We have done the best, now we will do the worst.
As you would expect, there seem to be a lot more picks you can categorize as disappointing when it comes to the last 15 years of Kings draft history. Maybe it is the weight of expectation versus reality? Maybe it is that the Kings were simply bad at drafting with high picks. Either way, there were plenty of players to choose from here in narrowing down a list of the worst of the worst.
We will do our best to get through some of the more cringeworthy selections. Maybe, just maybe, we can make a little sense and find a little silver lining. Or not.
2004 NHL Entry Draft
Lauri Tukonen - No. 11 overall
Hard to imagine that in nine picks later in a draft that featured both Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin, that Lauri Tukonen was taken. Seems like so long ago that Tukonen was taken with the Kings first selection of the 2004 draft, but so it goes.
To be fair to the Kings, Tukonen fooled plenty of people. He was ranked as the fifth best euro skater by CSS and was ranked fifth overall in the TSN 2004 mock draft . As much as you cynics out there would like to lay this one all on the Kings, Tukonen was highly regarded by many sources. Of course, taking a quick overview of the 2004 first round draft class reveals quite a number of enigmatic and albeit disappointing selections. Cam Barker, Al Montoya, Rostislav Olesz, Wojtek Wolski, Rob Schremp, and Boris Valabik are all names that dot the order of selection within that first round.
Also, when you consider Tukonen’s body of work and skill set it is hard to argue with him being a projected higher quality player. He was built like an NHL pro at 6’2… and 200 pounds. He was playing professional hockey in Liiga of Finland at age 17 (Although to mixed results), and he was an absolute monster at the 2003 U18 World Junior Championships. Even after Tukonen was drafted and moved over to North America with the Monarchs in 2005-06, he posted a respectable rookie season with 36 points in 62 games. However, the Finnish native never really progressed from that point. He remained an average AHL scorer, with average hands, and an average defensive game. The shine came off some of his junior accolades and scouting profile, and he ended up being just one of many busts from the 2004 Entry draft. The chances of the Kings hitting a home run with anyone else in that first round was probably 20-percent or so, but still, that one stung a bit. Consider that the two years following Tukonen’s 11th overall selection, Kopitar was taken at 11th overall in 2005 and Jonathan Berner was taken 11th overall in 2006. 2004, by all measures, was a pretty weak class.
2007 NHL Entry Draft
Thomas Hickey - No. 4 overall
This one was off the board. Even that is an understatement. The Kings were coming off one of their most disappointing season’s in the past decade, but the reward was a top five pick in what was considered a strong draft year. While flash goal scorers like Patrick Kane, Kyle Turris, Logan Couture, and Jakub Voracek, dotted the pre draft rankings, the Kings went out into left field and selected a diminutive puck mover out of the WHL.
Before we go any further, it should be noted that Thomas Hickey has turned into a decent NHL player, and his junior numbers were not all that bad. In fact, he was one of the Seattle Thunderbird’s finest young defensemen. He posted three consecutive years of 45-plus points, was twice a member of the Canadian U20-World Junior Championship team, and was twice a WHL all-star.
However, Hickey was hardly a top five pick. Maybe not even a top 10.
Central Scouting had Thomas Hickey ranked at 26th amongst North American skaters . If you want to factor in a few European players into that and some goaltenders, you are probably looking at an overall ranking that puts Hickey outside the first round by CSS. TSN was a bit more generous and had him going at No. 13 overall.
Nevertheless, the now 26-year old was immediately onset by fans who did not feel he was up to snuff with a top five pick. They also jumped on Dean Lombardi, who was acting in just his second REAL draft as Kings GM. It only got worse as time progressed and other defenseman selected behind Hickey, like Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Ryan McDonagh, slowly started coming into prominence.
At best, Hickey was an extreme reach. The Kings never saw him dress a single game. He toiled for four years in Manchester before being claimed off waivers by the Islanders in 2013. He remains one of the most puzzling picks of the Dean Lombardi draft era.
2001 NHL Entry Draft
Jens Karlsson - 18th overall
If Thomas Hickey was a pick that came out of left field, Jens Karlsson was two blocks away from the stadium buying a hot dog from a street vendor.
When Dave Taylor looks back at his draft history, the big Swede has to stand out as one of the most cringe worthy picks in Kings history. This isn’t to say that the 2001 draft was particularly strong. It was actually pretty awful. Nevertheless, Taylor went deep on a dead puck era prize package in Karlsson. The winger stood at 6’3… and close to 220 pounds. He was a mule. He had sleeper pick power forward written all over him. Problem was, Taylor opted to go with this sleeper pick with his first pick of the draft. Karlsson had been doing well with the Frölunda J20 and J18 squads, and he had also done well with Sweden’s 2000 U18 WJC team.
Despite these positives, Karlsson was still ranked all the way down in 26th amongst European skaters in the CSS Final rankings. If you want reference for how far down that was, he was sandwiched between Igor Griogrenko and Tuuka Mantyla. Grigorenko was taken in the late second round, 62nd overall by the Detroit Red Wings. Mantyla was take in the mid-fifth round, 153rd overall, by none other than the LA Kings. Euro rankings can be a bit screwy, but nonetheless, 18th overall seemed lofty.
Size can be a considerable factor at a young play age, and once Karlsson got matched up with grown men his scoring ability and impactful size evaporated. He never touched American soil, and never lived up to his first round price tag.
2003 NHL Entry Draft
ALL of the first round picks
Three. Count em, THREE picks. That was how many first round selections the Los Angeles Kings had in the legendary 2003 NHL Entry draft. To this date, the 2003 NHL Entry draft is widely considered one of, if not the, best class ever. You hear that with ever draft basically though right? No, but this one fit the billing.
This draft has produced 26 all-star players, a wealth of valuable second tier players, a number of cup winners, and was producing fine players like Patrice Bergeron, David Backets, and Shea Weber deep into the 2nd round.
That first round though, it was almost harder to make a bad first pick than a good one. Now factor in that the Kings sat on a tremendous bounty of three picks. They held the 13th overall, and received the 26th from Colorado as part of the Rob Blake trade and 27th overall from Detroit for Mathieu Schneider.
What should have brought the team a wealth of quality players netted a pretty meagre return. The Kings went with Dustin Brown with the 13th overall pick. While the Kings captain has been a valuable asset both on and off the ice for the franchise, they left Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and a number of other players on the table to do so.
They followed it up with the two picks that probably infuriate Kings fans more than anything when compounded with the pick taken immediately after:
If that one doesn’t make your stomach turn as a hockey fan then I do not know what would.
Again, to put it all into fairness, Corey Perry was in acted ranked lower than both Tambellini and Boyle in CSS’s rankings.. believe it or not, by the CSS numbers, the Kings made the right call. That is where the joy of scouting, good luck, and development can really do the difference. The Kings, and most other teams, had no idea they were letting a 40-goal scorer slide down to the late first round. Tambellini and Boyle we both also very good junior players and had the make up of solid NHL talent. It was just one of those things.
Still, with such a deep draft and three selections, it was disappointing the Kings could not muster more in hindsight. Could they have deal the two later picks to move up? Should they have? We will never know. No question though, the 2003 first round remains a big opportunity lost for a team that was about to embark on a turbulent rebuild.
Have any other selections that made you absolutely pull your hair out? Let it be known in the comment section!