A quick deviation from NHL coverage to highlight a quartet of LA Kings prospects, who completed the first phase of the NCAA Tournament earlier today. Three of those players – James Reeder, Kristian Epperson and Brendan McMorrow – advanced to the Frozen Four with the University of Denver, while goaltender Hampton Slukynsky fell a few games short in his bid to repeat as a national champion with the University of Western Michigan.

Competing in the Loveland, Colorado regional, the two teams squared off this afternoon with a trip to Vegas to compete for a national championship on the line. Denver reached the game by defeating Cornell by a 5-0 final in the opening round of the tournament, while Slukynsky and Western Michigan advanced with a 3-1 win over Minnesota State. In the second round, all three Kings prospects got on the scoresheet, with Denver defeating Western Michigan by a 6-2 final score, advancing to the tournament’s second weekend, coming up in mid-April.

A look below at all four Kings prospects and how they fared, along with what could be next along the way.

Hampton Slukynsky
Slukynsky, along with Carter George and Petteri Rimpinen, is a part of the strongest segment of the Kings prospect pool in net. The Kings have three high-quality goaltenders in the pipeline, with Slukynsky representing the NCAA contingent. Slukynsky was one of the winningest goaltenders in college hockey this season. His .724 winning percentage was tied for fifth among all qualifying netminders, as he helped lead the defending national champions to a strong season. Slukynsky was one of the most utilized goaltenders in the country this season and he posted strong splits, with a .917 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average.

In the tournament opener against Minnesota State, Slukynsky made 23 saves on 24 shots faced, leading his team to a 3-1 victory and a place in the Elite Eight, though he was unable to replicate that showing this afternoon in the defeat against Denver. Slukynsky was selected to the 2025 All-Tournament as he helped lead his team to a national championship a season ago as a freshman goaltender, but sees his second tournament appearance end a couple of games earlier, despite a solid sophomore season.

What’s next for Slukynsky? Decision time. Slukynsky is eligible to sign an entry-level contract with the Kings organization and if he does that, he could join either the Kings or the AHL’s Ontario Reign for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Should either team qualify and advance in the postseason, that would be welcomed experience for Slukynsky, who would then be in line for his first full professional season in the fall. Per PuckPedia, the Kings have Slukynsky’s right through August 2028, which is actually a season longer than I thought, so this spring/summer represents less urgency that expected with a 2023 draft pick. We’ve seen several examples of players wanting that additional year of college hockey before signing an NHL contract, but assuming PuckPedia is accurate, the Kings don’t have a massive rush here. One to keep an eye on here over the coming days, with the path taken recently by Alex Laferriere, Erik Portillo, Jared Wright and Kenny Connors available for Slukynsky as well.

James Reeder
Among the trio of Kings prospects playing at Denver University this season, Reeder has led the way offensively. Reeder was a seventh-round selection at the 2025 NHL Draft and has become one of the top-scoring forwards on one of college hockey’s top teams as a sophomore. Reeder led the Pioneers with 22 assists this season and he was was fourth on his team in overall scoring with 32 points (10-22-32) from 40 games played.

In his tournament opener, Reeder was the only Kings prospect to get on the scoresheet, as he collected an assist in a 5-0 win over Cornell University. He added another assist in today’s win over Western Michigan. Reeder has skated on the top forward line for the Pioneers in both tournament games, as he’s taken a big step forward this season. Reeder has NHL level skill and sense, but is an undersized player, which is really the reason he was available in Round 7. One to watch for certainly, as Denver hits the ice in the Frozen Four in April.

Brendan McMorrow
McMorrow should be a familiar name after he cracked the roster for the United States at the 2026 World Junior Championships a few months ago. McMorrow is a spark plug guy with high energy and terrific intangibles, someone who can be successful in multiple spots in the lineup. He was a bottom-six player for Team USA and was one of their standouts at the tournament, playing on an effective energy line, though the team fell short of replicating a gold-medal performance the season before. At Denver, McMorrow has played fewer games than his teammates this season because of the time he spent playing internationally. He had eight points (2-6-8) in 24 games played prior to the tournament, while he collected four points (1-3-4) in five games played with Team USA.

McMorrow picked up a goal and an assist against Western Michigan this afternoon, with a multi-point performance that helped power Denver into the Frozen Four. McMorrow lined up on the third line in both tournament games and would be in line to retain that spot heading into the Frozen Four in two weeks’ time.

Kristian Epperson
Epperson is, admittedly, one of the Kings prospects I feel I know the least about. Denver has a policy with incoming freshman that they do not attend NHL Development camps, so we didn’t see Epperson in El Segundo over the summer, when the bulk of the 2025 Draft Class was there. Same went for McMorrow, though he had a showcase opportunity at the World Juniors. The Kings liked Epperson’s combination of compete and skill as an overaged player and in a draft that was a bit weaker in some areas, he was a standout player with a third-round pick. Epperson had a nice freshman season, as he buried 11 goals with Denver, good for the fourth-most on the Pioneers.

Epperson picked up an assist in today’s game, his first career point at the NCAA Tournament, adding onto the 18 he tallied during the 2025-26 regular season. Epperson is on Denver’s second line as a freshman, which is no easy feat on a team that dressed nine drafted forwards. One I’m excited to get the chance to watch play in Vegas, heading into development camp this summer.

Denver will take on the Michigan Wolverines at the Frozen Four on April 9, though the start time is currently unknown. The NCAA Hockey Tournament takes a weekend off in between the first and second stages, as to not have the final games on the same weekend as the men’s basketball tournament. The Frozen Four this season will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a rare Western host city for the tournament. All three Denver players will be in action, with eyes on another national championship, for a program that Jared Wright helped to lead to a title in 2024.

NCAA Tournament Upcoming Schedule
Frozen Four – Denver vs. Michigan – Thursday, April 9 @ 2:00 PM or 5:30 PM Pacific
National Championship – Saturday, April 11 @ 2:30 PM Pacific