The 2026 Rookie Faceoff has come and gone.<\/p>\n
The Kings won two of their three games played, with victories over both Anaheim and Utah, coming after an opening defeat versus San Jose.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the results here are not important. The Rookie Faceoff is an important opportunity for prospects to showcase themselves to Kings management, with several key coaches and executives in attendance, while also getting a couple of games under their belts before hitting the ice for NHL Training camp. It\u2019s a chance to get up to speed quickly and a chance to impress. It wasn\u2019t all sunshine and roses but for the most part, the takeaways from the tournament were pretty positive, or at least better explained by the context of the situation. <\/p>\n
Here are five things I took from San Jose, heading into Thursday\u2019s NHL Training Camp. <\/p>\n
Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned
Game 1 against San Jose offered a lot of lessons for the Kings rookies. <\/p>\n
In an 8-1 defeat, the onslaught was on for 60 minutes. San Jose created what felt like an endless stream of odd-man rushes and Grade-A scoring chances. In between were periods of possession in the offensive zone and control of the slot, to the tune of five goals via a deflection. Coming out of that, regardless of tournaments like this not having stakes, you want to see a response to an 8-1 loss. The loss didn\u2019t cost the Kings any points in the standings, but competitors are competitive. The Kings weren\u2019t happy and wanted more. <\/p>\n
The response came via a strong showing in Game 2. The Kings looked substantially more structured against Anaheim. They controlled the bulk of the play with 49 shots on goal, burying four times in a 4-1 win. Los Angeles imposed the way it wanted to play and bounced back well from the disappointing opening game. <\/p>\n
It continued in Game 3, as the Kings controlled the majority of another 60 minutes, this time against Utah. Los Angeles scored three goals on special teams, with Kenny Connors burying shorthanded before power-play goals from Koehn Ziemmer and Jimmy Lombardi rounded out the scoring. They threatened far more than they felt threatened and dominated the special teams battle, alongside strong goaltending. <\/p>\n
The first game was off, certainly and several players spoke to that. Just wasn\u2019t where it needed to be But the next two were impressive as the Kings rookies left San Jose with two victories. <\/p>\n
Early Look Inside The Systems
I don\u2019t think we got the full glimpse, but we certainly got a sneak peek of some of the things that we could expect to see as the Kings open training camp in a couple of days.<\/p>\n
What I was really focused on was the defensemen, because I think it\u2019s going to be the most noticeable part of the changes overall. I saw a group of defensemen pinching lower in the offensive zone than maybe we\u2019ve seen in the past. I saw pinches along the wall that went down to the hashmarks and even below in an effort to keep plays alive. I saw players like Jared Woolley activating a ton in the zone and off the rush. He wasn\u2019t shy and, overall, neither were the defensemen as a whole. <\/p>\n
I think that both off the rush and in the offensive zone, we got a look at what the more aggressive approach looked like for the defensemen. I felt that Henry Brzustewicz looked at home within that system, as well as AHL-contracted blueliner Michael Mastrodomenico. Good start and now we see how the main group handles the new expectations. <\/p>\n
A Look Between The Pipes
Game 1 left an ugly statline for Carter George.<\/p>\n
Eight goals is eight goals, no matter how you shake it, but it\u2019s certainly not all that reflective of the game that he played. Of the eight he allowed, five were on deflections. Two were on 2-on-1 rushes and one was a backdoor tip-in. It\u2019d be hard to list George as a standout performer but that game wasn\u2019t reflective of his abilities, nor should he be judged on it. The Kings let their goaltender down. On to main camp for George who will not be fazed by 60 minutes. <\/p>\n
For Hampton Slukynsky and Yegor Rybkin, however, both excelled in their Rookie Faceoff debuts.<\/p>\n
For Slukynsky, it was long awaited. He was unavailable in each of the last three years, as he played first in the USHL and then two seasons with Western Michigan in the NCAA. Against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2, Slukynsky allowed just the one goal, which came on a one-timer from the right-hand circle. His afternoon was fairly routine overall but he made a couple of very athletic saves, including one with the right pad just a bit before the Ducks eventually got their only goal. All in all, a strong debut for Slukynsky, who will now attend his first NHL training camp starting this week.<\/p>\n
Then came Game 3 and Yegor Rybkin turned in perhaps one of the most impressive 60 minute showings in the tournament. He stopped each of the 27 Utah Mammoth shots he faced and looked composed beyond his years in doing it. A goaltender does not have to be 6-6 but you notice it when he is. His size and movement blended nicely and his composure in net was noticeable, as he allowed few rebounds, manned his posts well and was sharp from puck drop to final buzzer. Frankly, I had no idea what to expect from Rybkin. 18-year-olds often struggle in this tournament. Quite the opposite happened earlier today. Excited to see how he continues to develop as he heads to the QMJHL this season.<\/p>\n
Lefebv-orite Things
Speaking of 18-year-olds who didn\u2019t struggle, this marked the first time in an LA Kings jersey for forward Liam Lefebvre.<\/p>\n
Certainly a pretty memorable one.<\/p>\n
In Game 1, while there were not many positives for the Kings. However, Lefebvre\u2019s mentality was one of them. After seeing defenseman Jakub Dvorak go down along the boards, Lefebvre stepped in to stand up for his teammate. Against 7-foot-1 defenseman Alexander Karmanov. Lefebvre held his own, about as well as anyone could have, despite a 10-inch disadvantage in the listed height department. <\/p>\n
He called it, simply, a part of the game he needed to uphold. He earned a lot of admirers as a result. <\/p>\n
In Game 2, the focus was on him for different reasons. <\/p>\n
Lefebvre scored twice in the third period, coming on a rebound and a deflection from in tight. Both goals came from right around the net, a place on the ice where Lefebvre tries his <\/p>\n
\u201cI think whenever you can get to that area, I think it\u2019s the most dangerous place on the ice,\u201d Lefebvre said. \u201cSo, the more I can get there, the better. Then just utilize my frame to take away the goalie\u2019s eyes and find those pucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about Lefebvre, Head Coach Andrew Lord spoke about how you can just look at Lefebvre now and project the player he is going to be down the line as he develops. <\/p>\n
Does a lot of things well around the ice and in that Sunday game, I think it was easy to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you can project that one a few years from now, I think you\u2019ve got a heck of a player,\u201d Lord said. \u201cThe size, some of the craft around the net, some of the small board plays and then obviously the compete. He\u2019s into it. Not just the fight \u2013 the fight was awesome \u2013 but aside from that, just a lot of chippyness, a lot of second efforts, a lot of puck protection, a lot of net front battles. Lots of good signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good signs for Lefebvre. He\u2019ll attend his first NHL camp in a couple of days and I\u2019d expect him to maybe get into an NHL preseason game to see what he can do at a much higher level. Good on him for the impression he\u2019s made thus far. <\/p>\n
Veterans Gonna Veteran
For guys like Kenny Connors and Jared Wright, it was clear that when they were on their games, they were on another level.<\/p>\n
Connors was dominant in Game 3 against Utah, best player on the ice in my opinion. He had two points to show for it, both coming on special teams. Thought he turned in a really strong showing overall. He was good against Anaheim as well. After a disappointing first game, by his own admission, I thought he got better as the tournament went along and set himself up nicely for NHL camp. He\u2019s probably a bit of a longer shot to make the Kings but the bookies would take the bet. He\u2019s on that board and can only come into camp and make it a difficult conversation by playing as well as he can. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t happy with the first game, but I think if you ask anyone in the locker room, they feel the same way,\u201d Connors said. \u201cI felt a little better the second game and felt better today too. Hopefully, it\u2019s a little bit of progressing and building into my game. i feel good going into camp. I feel confident and I feel ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Wright, his speed was something that teams at this level couldn\u2019t handle, especially in Games 2 and 3. It was a similar story in some ways for Wright, as he generated chance after chance, mostly through his skating and hard work, but came away empty handed. Felt like if he could\u2019ve gotten one he might\u2019ve gotten three. He was just shy of 20 goals in the AHL last season and while he doesn\u2019t project as a goalscorer, he probably earned one or two more than he got. Certainly a showing that sets him up well to claim a spot in main camp, where his goal is to make the NHL team. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I want to do and I\u2019m going to put my best foot forward,\u201d Wright said. \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t happen, I\u2019m going to keep working to try to become the best player that I can be, but definitely my goal, 100 percent, is to make the team out of camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, I am not drawing major conclusions on Connors or Wright. They are at a different place in their development than most players at this tournament. Different ambitions. Different goals. They should stand out and in their own ways, they did. Both are in the mix in training camp and should compete for roster spots or at least jockey for positioning in the callup line when the opportunity presents itself. <\/p>\n
I also want to highlight Koehn Ziemmer here, who led the Kings with three goals at the tournament. He scored in both games last season and then found the back of the net in Games 2 and 3 this time around as well. Ziemmer shared that he put a lot of work in with a skating coach this summer, which is important as he looks to gain a step to better impose his game at the AHL level. His physiclaity was on display in San Jose and he did look a step quicker. The battle for roster spots and icetime in Ontario won\u2019t be an easy one, but I think Ziemmer seems to be better equipped in his second professional season to earn minutes with the Reign. Good on him for putting in that work and excited to see how he continues to develop. There\u2019s a player in there. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to play my game and I think going into this tournament, just trying to impress the staff, the coaches and everything like that,\u201d Ziemmer said. \u201cIt\u2019s just playing my game, going out there and playing hockey and trying to make a good impression.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 Rookie Faceoff has come and gone. The Kings won two of their three games played, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-893840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}