Today, writers at HockeyBuzz are looking at the biggest need for each NHL team.
With every team so far, I’ve listed a specific addition that could be made to improve their lineup, whether it be a top-line forward, starting goaltender, etc. For the Kings, however, I’m going to cheat a bit and say this: what the Kings need right now isn’t a player, it’s patience.
Los Angeles has built one of the league’s most impressive prospect pools and has high-end prospects in just about every position. Up front, the team has already started filtering young players into their lineup, then with the likes of Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte and Gabriel Vilardi, the prospect pool is looking great. That doesn’t even begin to include some of the team’s other prospects, like Lias Andersson, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Akil Thomas and so many others.
On defense, Mikey Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot and Kale Clague could be part of the left side of the defense group for a long time to come and that’s not even including a roster player in Olli Maatta, who was recently acquired. In addition to Drew Doughty on the right side, Matt Roy and Sean Walker are coming off strong years, while Helge Grans and Jordan Spence are excellent prospects to have in the system. That list of players doesn’t include numerous other defense prospects either.
Perhaps the team’s goaltending is one of the questions for the Kings’ future, however, there’s reason to be optimistic for sure. Cal Petersen could turn into a starting goalie, while Jacob Ingham finished third in the OHL in save percentage last season and Lukas Parik had a strong year in the WHL as well.
So right now, one or two additions probably isn’t going to turn the Kings into a playoff team. However, one or two more years of development for their prospects could. So while we’re all excited to see the Kings climb back to the top of the Western Conference, patience for the prospects and the process is going to be a key part of that.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Where would you rank the Kings' prospect pool against all other NHL teams?
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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