excerpted LA Kings prospect updates from In The Pipeline - by John Hoven (link / archive link) published 24th December, 2024.
Some really interesting stuff in here, some narratives of interest (including a guy that played shutdown minutes against M.Celebrini and W.Smith's respective lines during last year's Frozen Four) scuttling up and hoarding it on here for safekeeping. Article covers a bunch more prospects but i just grabbed what jumped out at me - any emphasis mine.
First and foremost: BOYWONDER!!! am not kidding when I say im fighting for my fucking life to find updates on this kid <3
Aatu Jamsen – There may not be a more exciting player to talk about in this entire article. That’s not to say he’s the biggest or the most skilled but he’ll make you move to the edge of your seat when he hops over the boards. Another in a long line of seventh-round draft picks, the lanky forward came over from Finland this summer after two successful seasons in Liiga.
Known primarily as a winger, Sturm has been using him more and more as a center this season, something the Reign coach says he likes because it gives Jamsen more puck touches. He was instantly noticeable when he first came over for Development Camp a few years ago and scored both years he played at the Rookie Faceoff.
More on Jamsen – As if on cue to our point above, the wiry 6-foot-2 forward capped off his weekend with a Gordie Howe hat trick on Sunday night in Ontario.
like hes sooo darlingcreature to me. exactly the type of all-flash, all-personality player i ADORE!! hope ontreign make playoffs and he drops a mixtape <3
muddling my way through the rest under the cut
Kirill Kirsanov – Even the most ardent Kings fan likely knows very little about Kirsanov, yet that should begin to change soon. At the 2021 NHL Draft, the Kings selected only four players, with Mark Yannetti (Director of Amateur Scouting) saying the team went for ‘quality over quantity’ that year. Along with Kirsanov, LA took Brandt Clarke, Francesco Pinelli and Samuel Helenius in 2021 – just to give you a small flavor of the company he was in.
Now 22 years old, the 6-foot-2 left shot was in LA for Development Camp this past summer but was limited to off-ice activity only following knee surgery the month prior. One key thing to know is that legendary Russian hockey icon Igor Larionov has become Kirsanov’s mentor (and was even in LA with him over the summer). He’s helping guide the young blueliner on and off the ice as he grows professionally.
secret prospect... little guy who has imprinted on someone very famous who i dont really know about <3 good for him... i love learning there was some guy in the system i didnt know existed. by the by, would KILL to pick their brains about the drafting strategy mentioned here. Frankie P is tearing it up in ontreign and of course SamHel getting time in the NHL + not looking out of place at all sayin a LOT here about what they think Kirsanov can be
Jared Woolley – Yannetti and his staff typically have a field day in the latter two rounds, and Woolley looks to be the latest in a long line of those gems. After being a bit of a hidden secret in the OHL last season, only getting into about half the games for a deep London Knights club that went all the way to the Memorial Cup, the word is now out on the 6-foot-5 left shot; he’s really good.
Among the top echelon of players at Development Camp in July – something that isn’t often said about 18-year-olds at their first NHL camp — Woolley has put his physical, heavy game on full display this season (including three fights thus far). He also has a strong defensive approach, which is one of the many reasons coaches love him.
This season, reports say he’s trying to do more and more with the puck, yielding good but somewhat uneven results. Kings management are believed to have encouraged this type of growth this season, wanting to see him push the boundaries of what he may have thought he was capable of at this point. All in all, he looks like a pro player and is rocketing up the LA prospect rankings.
EYE!! LOVE !! when players change and grow their game. i love it so bad. to know exactly who you are and decide you are capable of more, to reach for the STARS.....!!!!!!!!!!!! augh... <3 I hope Woolley gets everything he's after and more. Also christ alive the London Knights have a lot of NHL prospects .
Jared Wright – Saying Wright can do no wrong may be overplayed, but it’s true. He’s such a smooth skater, look for that to be his calling card over the next few years. Similar to Connors, his production will come at important times, not all the time. This season, Wright is one of only two DU players to play every game who has yet to commit a penalty (the other, coincidentally, is Reeder).
During last year’s NCAA playoffs, Wright was tasked with holding off guys like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, which he did and then still found time to score himself. He gets good reads off the puck, creates havoc and generates opportunities for others on the ice, even on nights when he doesn’t show up on the score sheet. Most players need to be on the power play to get points in college hockey. Wright was on it last year, and even started there this year, but hasn't been getting time with the man advantage most of the season. Thus, his minutes are hard — he's getting shutdown matchups vs. top lines and is playing on DU's first penalty kill unit.
I will be honest i do NOT watch DU games for this guy. but maybe I should?? I love good defence, i love shutdown defence. I love demoralising the opponent by giving up literally nothing and denying them everything <3 The LA Kings' suffocating defense runs through their forwards and he absolutely has a place here if this is his game!! The lack of penalties and defensive responsibility... hes like a bitty Kopitar <3
edit: ALSO I NEED HIM TO MAKE IT TO THE NHL SO WSH AND MACKLINI CAN LOOK HIM IN THE EYE AND WITHER BECAUSE HE STOLE THEIR FROZEN FOUR DREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Koehn Ziemmer – He had an outside shot at playing in the AHL this season before it was ultimately decided one more year in the WHL would be most beneficial – especially after missing nearly all of last season following ankle surgery. Selected by LA in the third round (2023), Ziemmer can flat-out score goals. He really excels with the puck on his stick. If he’s not filling the back of the net, the 6-foot-1 right shot has solid secondary playmaking abilities.
Perhaps that’s why he’s been utilized at center quite often this season, after being primarily a winger for most of his time in Prince George the past four years. Similar to guys like Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson at similar stages in their careers, once Ziemmer adjusts to the physical training component of being a pro, he’ll be an NHL player because he brings multiple attributes to the table. He’s hit a lot of centennial markers for his WHL career so far this season: 200 GP, 100 G, 100 A, and 200 points.
More on Ziemmer – He’s earned the nickname "Pizza Delivery Boy," because when Prince George scores five goals at home, fans get a free pizza. Of the 16 home games played by the Cougars, they’ve hit that mark six times – with Ziemmer scoring the "Pizza Goal" four times.
PIZZA BOY!!!! PIZZA BOY GET IN MY POCKET <3 HI. I did watch a Cougars match where he scored the game tying goal to take them to OT for my weekly Wednesday Night in the Dub liveblog. I was rather distracted on account of all the seething i was doing @ joshua ravensbergen (cougars goalie.. my nemesis.... unwillingly endeared to him now........) BUT i was rooting for him <3
