LA Kings: Three excellent options with 35th overall pick

Continuing our draft coverage, we look at three solid choices for the LA Kings with their first pick in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

With 35 days until the NHL Draft commences, our goal is to make sure you, as the consumer, are aware of a player should his name be called by the LA Kings. Today, we are focusing on the organization’s first pick in the second round. If you recall, it was the pick the Kings acquired when they sent Alec Martinez to Las Vegas before the trade deadline.

And while Martinez’s Golden Knights continue their play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Kings’ attention is focused on their player development and their draft board. Last year, the team grabbed Samuel Fagemo and Arthur Kaliyev in the second round, with both of them being ranked number 1 and 2, respectively, in The Athletic‘s recent organizational rankings.

As the 33rd overall pick, Kaliyev was taken right around where the Kings hold their first pick in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Many believed that LA got an absolute steal in the Hamilton Bulldog, who scored 51 goals with 51 assists for 102 points in his draft year. He followed that with a 44 goal, 54 assist effort in a COVID-19 shortened 57 games this past season.

So when the LA Kings are on the clock with the 35th overall pick, they should have plenty of solid options to choose from. But will they go defense or grab another star-in-the-marking forward?