February 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nHiller did not rule out anyone for tomorrow but it sounded like defenseman Jacob Moverare will play against the Kraken. So, I suppose we wait. In a situation where both Anderson and Dumoulin are out, the Kings would need a second defenseman to check in alongside Moverare. Enter Joe Hicketts, who joined the team for today\u2019s practice. <\/p>\n
\u201cHicks, I have a long history with him because I was in the Western Hockey League when he came as a 16-year-old into Kamloops and was really impressive, even at 16,\u201d Hiller said of Hicketts. \u201cI followed his career, he came to Detroit, played quite a few games in the NHL, so he\u2019s somebody with good experience. Had he been six-foot-one, you would have known his name, he\u2019d be a household name in the NHL, but he stayed with it. Great teammate and somebody that, in a pitch, is going to be able to help us out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hicketts was recalled from the AHL\u2019s Ontario Reign earlier this morning and was with the team shortly after for practice. Additionally, forward Kenny Connors was assigned to the AHL\u2019s Ontario Reign, with the Kings back at home and with 13 healthy players up front. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a long time coming for Hicketts and something that he certainly was not taking for granted. His last NHL game came during the 2019-20 season with the Detroit Red Wings. You never know when that next chance might come. For Hicketts, he was thrilled it came today. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting, I think anytime you get that opportunity, something that you dream of and the fact that it came this long since the last one, it was special for me,\u201d Hicketts said. \u201cWhen you still get those butterflies, you know you\u2019ve made the right decision. I\u2019m excited to come in and try to help this team get a couple wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hicketts, he makes sense for a couple of reasons to be the guy recalled here. <\/p>\n
First things first, he plays both sides of the ice, which can be important. In the AHL, the Kings have a ton of younger defensemen who are left shots, which means that the Reign have needed players to move over to the right side at times this year. Hicketts has done that at times this season and indicated he did so a little bit in Detroit as well, as he had in other AHL spots along the way. That\u2019s a valuable quality to have in a player who is coming in and might need to be moved around a bit, particularly in the event of any other injuries. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s also got experience. He is the captain of the Ontario Reign and has high character and leadership. He has played in the NHL before, with 22 games in Detroit, and has 552 games of AHL experience with Ontario, Iowa and Grand Rapids. He\u2019s not phased by being around an NHL team and he knows who he is as a player and what he can bring. He\u2019ll play to that, should he get in. When it comes to a short-term recall, that carries some weight. <\/p>\n
Should he factor into the lineup, what kind of player should the Kings be expecting? <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping to move pucks, getting the forwards the puck as quick as I can, eliminating plays in the d-zone,\u201d he said. \u201cOver the years, I\u2019ve been put in a lot of situations where maybe some other guys haven\u2019t. I\u2019m just coming up and try to play my game, move pucks, make plays quick and hopefully that leads to some o-zone time.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Hicketts does play, there is a lot of familiarity between the way that the Kings play and how the Reign play. He\u2019ll be comfortable if and when the time comes. <\/p>\n
Such is typically the case between NHL and AHL teams, but several players who have come up from the AHL have pointed to familiarity between the systems, practices and language as being things that have made that transition easier. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the systems are the same and being in the same building obviously helps,\u201d Hicketts said. \u201cI\u2019ve played with a lot of these guys in this room, being around them for training camp is nice as well, but Wardo, Malott, Helenius, Clarkie, Tuna, I\u2019ve played with a lot of guys here, which definitely makes it more comfortable.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Kings play tomorrow against Seattle and Thursday in Vegas. Then comes the break, with the first game back on February 25. That\u2019s nearly three full weeks and in this case, it means a lot of time for Anderson and Turcotte to rest up and get ready to go. At the least, with the weeks off, it buys the team time to see where those players are at. <\/p>\n
But there are also two games between now and then, including one with a short flight. You don\u2019t like making those trips with six defensemen, even assuming Dumoulin is good to go, so Hicketts makes a lot of sense for the here and now. <\/p>\n
As for today\u2019s skate, here\u2019s what we saw in terms of an alignment for the Kings \u2013<\/p>\n
Moore \u2013 Kopitar \u2013 Armia
Perry \u2013 Laferriere \u2013 Kempe
Fiala \u2013 Byfield \u2013 Kuzmenko
Malott \u2013 Helenius \u2013 Ward \u2013 Foegele<\/p>\n
Hicketts \u2013 Doughty
Edmundson \u2013 Clarke
Moverare \u2013 Ceci<\/p>\n
Kuemper \/ Forsberg<\/p>\n
The forward lines are what we saw against Philadelphia and Carolina, since Anze Kopitar came back into the lineup. The Kings have liked the Perry\/Laferriere\/Kempe and Malott\/Helenius\/Ward lines of late and it feels like those lines will stay together. For now, the above configuration is what the Kings have gone with regarding the other two lines, with Warren Foegele the odd-man out in both games. <\/p>\n
Remains to be seen if Foegele might come back in or not, but as of today, doesn\u2019t feel like any changes up front. We\u2019ll see what everything looks like in the morning.<\/p>\n
Two more games before the break. Kings vs. Kraken tomorrow in Los Angeles, Kings @ Golden Knights on Thursday in Las Vegas. Preview to follow tomorrow morning and away we go, before the extended break is upon us. <\/p>\n