El Segundo, Calif. — The Los Angeles Kings hosted the 2024 NHL Rookie Faceoff at the Toyota Sports Performance Center for the seven teams in divisional proximity. The Kings participated in three games against three different divisional teams, allowing their numerous players to showcase their abilities and talents to the organization in preparation for the 2024-25 season. A good handful of players on the roster are minor league players from the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League (AHL) and Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the ECHL.
Game One Against the Vegas Golden Knights
The Kings went up against their arch-rivals, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, for game one of the series. As an unfortunate blow to game one, the Kings did not capitalize a win or even score in this game, as the Golden Knights took it with a score of 2-0.
The Kings started Erik Portillo for the first period, where he made five saves from six shots. The Golden Knights scored at 11:32 from Jakub Brabenec. Additionally, Kaleb Lawrence engaged in a fight with Samuel Mayer at 19:48, as he received an extra two minutes for instigating — which consequently sent his team to the PK into the second period. After the first twenty minutes, the Golden Knights held a one goal lead over the Kings. Vegas had six shots on goal, while LA had seven.
There were no changes in the score after the second period, however, despite the Kings outshooting their opponent 8-5.
For the third period, Carter George made his first Kings appearance. The Golden Knights inevitably took game one against the Kings, with the third period shots on goal being tied by ten each. The final shots on goal were 21 Vegas and 25 LA. George ended up making 13 saves in over 36 minutes of ice time and looked very disciplined and calm between the pipes.
Game Two Against the Utah Hockey Club
The Kings fell short in game two against the Utah Hockey Club, losing 3-4 in overtime. However, the Kings had a strong overall game.
During the first period, they opened the scoring with a goal by Aatu Jamsen, with the assists coming from Patrick Moynihan and Kaleb Lawrence. However, the Utah team tied it up a few minutes later. The tying goal ended up motivating the team to extend their lead to two goals in the second period. At 4:21, Utah broke the tie, and that would be the only scoring during the second frame. Kolby Hay was in net for the Kings for 30 minutes before getting pulled for Jackson Parsons to finish out the remainder of the game. Hay made 22 saves of 24 shots.
For the third period, Utah would once again extend their lead, as they scored their insurance goal at 3:37. The two-goal deficit forced the Kings to respond, but it took until the 17:56 mark. At that point, Liam Greentree scored from the assists by Moynihan and Lawrence. But the scoring wasn’t over, as Swamp Rabbits’ contracted player, Arvid Caderoth, would tie the game at 18:49 from assists by Jamsen and Parker Berge. The Kings threw 13 shots on net during that period, compared to just 11 from the Hockey Club.
In overtime, the Kings outshot Utah by a mere 2-1. However, that did not change the outcome of the game as the Utah team took game two in overtime, 4-3. The total shots on goal were 40 for Utah and 32 for LA. Parsons made 14 saves from 16 shots after 32 minutes of icetime.
Game Three Against the Anaheim Ducks
George made his first start of the series after making his first appearance during game one against the Golden Knights. He made 12 saves and kept the game tied by zero after the first period.
During the second period, a team would get on the board, as Francesco Pinelli of the Kings opened up scoring from a saucer by Cole Krygier. Erik Portillo would be in between the pipes toward the halfway point of the period. The shots on goal were 12 for the Kings and six for the Ducks.
Into the third period, Portillo served the remainder of the game for the Kings, officially concluding George’s tenure. At 4:39, Portillo got a look at a penalty shot, and denied the attempt by Anaheim’s Tyson Hinds. Minutes later, Koehn Ziemmer would draw a penalty shot at 12:28 for the Kings, but get denied by goaltender Micheal McIvor. The Ducks sent the final game of the series to another Kings’ overtime after tying it at 14:33. For the shots on goal in this period, the Kings had 12, and the Ducks had ten.
In overtime, former Swamp Rabbits’ Quinn Olson ended up winning it after scoring from Liam Greentree’s rebound — at 4:27. The shots on goal for overtime were two for the Kings and one for the Ducks, and the total shots on goal for this game were 31 for the Kings and 29 for the Ducks.
Concluding the 2024 Rookie Faceoff series in Los Angeles, the Kings won only one game, and scored five goals. In total, the four respective goaltenders made 83 saves with eight goals given up.
Players Who Stood Out
Overall, the Kings had a compelling series for their rookies to make names for themselves ahead of the 2024-25 season. Here are the ones who stood out the most.
Erik Portillo
Portillo got his first look at the rookie camp after he signed a two-year contract with the Kings earlier in August. He made 19 saves in total from 52:44 minutes of ice time. The Swedish goaltender, who played for the Reign last season, will have a lot of eyes on him during training camp. Due to the current goalie core for the Kings being overshadowed with doubt on its reliability, Portillo may have a shot to gain a roster spot on the Kings’ core during next season.
Carter George
Another goalie that really stood and was highly credited by the Kings was 18-year-old Carter George. George saw more ice time than Portillo with 68 minutes, as he made 28 saves from it. The recently drafted goaltender, who signed a three-year, entry-level deal, made his dream of playing for the Kings a reality. He will play in the OHL next season.
AHL and ECHL Players
The handful of Swamp Rabbits’ players also stood out. Quinn Olson, obviously, scored the game-winning overtime goal for game three. He was sharp during this series, but only earned a goal from the three games played. Arvid Caderoth also showed off his skills after he scored a goal during game two against Utah. Patrick Moynihan also collected two assists in total from just game two against Utah.
Brandt Clarke had some good looks during this series, as he demonstrated mature leadership, solid defensive positioning and execution, and offensive support for his team. He will likely see a lot more NHL ice time for the Kings heading into next season.
Angus Booth was credited as a reliable and consistent d-man by the Kings, as he took no penalty minutes during this series, and notched an assist with seven shots. The 20-year-old who played for the Reign last season, worked in tandem with Clarke as two reliable defenders for the Kings. He will likely play for the Reign next season.
Aatu Jamsen scored a goal and one assist from two shots during game two. He also had eight shots on goal in total for all three games in the series. The 22-year-old from Finland, who’s a Kings’ 2020 NHL draft pick, recently signed a two-year, entry-level deal, and will likely play for the Reign next season.
John Parker-Jones was the most penalized player on the team, but a fraction of his penalty minutes came from the fights he participated in. He took ten penalty minutes for two fights in two games, while taking 20 total penalty minutes throughout all three games. He was an aggressive forechecking and big body presence for his team, but with his undisciplined plays in taking too many infractions, he might deter himself away from getting serious looks in the future. The 6-foot-7, 24-year-old winger will play for the Reign next season.
Liam Greentree
For the Kings’ recent first-round draft pick, Liam Greentree, the rookie forward, will have an exciting future to look forward to for the Kings. He collected a goal and an assist during this series, with two penalty minutes. The 18-year-old will continue his development in the OHL during next season.
The Los Angeles Kings will commence training camp in the next few weeks ahead of the 2024-25 season. Expect a lot of the names mentioned to be present at camp in Los Angeles. Who will make the full-time cut is a mystery, but it’s still a great opportunity for young players to make a name for themself. However, some, such as Greentree and George, will report to their respective OHL teams next season under their OHL deals. The Kings begin the regular season on Oct. 10 against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo.
