2016 NHL Draft: Looking at the Kings’ Picks and Moves

The 2016 NHL Draft was interesting for Los Angeles.

Friday kicked off the 2016 NHL Entry Draft where American and hyped star-center Auston Matthews went first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Finnish forward Patrik Laine went second to the Winnipeg Jets, as expected.

For the Los Angeles Kings, this year’s draft was an excellent opportunity to address some of its most glaring areas of weakness in its system, particularly in defensive talent and goaltending depth.

Without a first-round pick, however, the real action for the Kings wouldn’t come until Day 2 on Saturday, when the team had 4 draft picks total in the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh rounds.

With the 51st overall pick, the Kings made their second-round selection in Kale Clague, a left-shooting defenseman from the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL). The 18-year-old Clague recorded 6 goals and 43 points in 71 regular season games with the Wheat Kings.

Upon being drafted by the Kings, Clague described the experience when talking to the Kings media: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. Sitting here anxiously, waiting to get picked, it’s nice to be finally chosen. I’m really excited to get out to L.A.”

Clague, whose favorite NHL player is Drew Doughty, is described by TSN.com as having “very good puck skills” and able to “make passes that alleviate pressure and creates offensive opportunities”.

It’s worth noting Clague was expected by many to be taken late in the first round, making the Kings’ grabbing him towards the end of the second round all the more impressive.

The Kings went on to select Swede Jacob Moverare (HV71), another left-shooting defenseman, in the fourth round with the 112th pick.

At 17 years and 10 months old, Moverare is one of the younger players in the draft but was tapped as one of the top two Swedish defensemen of the draft.

The last two picks in the fifth and seventh round went to center Michael Eyssimont of St. Cloud State University (NCAA) and defenseman Jacob Friend (OHL), respectively.

Meanwhile, Kings GM and President Dean Lombardi addressed the goaltending needs of the team by acquiring goalie Jack Campbell from the the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Nick Ebert.

The 24-year-old Campbell was previously a first-round pick by the Stars in 2010, but never quite lived up to lofty expectations.

The team’s draft picks wasn’t the only big news to come out of Saturday for the Kings.

The team reported that it had signed forward and pending UFA Trevor Lewis to a 4-year contract extension.

Under the new deal, Lewis, who has won two Stanley Cup titles with the team, will make an average of $2M per year — a slight raise from his previous contract.

A key and popular role player, Lewis recorded only 8 goals and 8 assists in 75 regular season games but scored 2 goals in the team’s five-game, first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks.