Our annual Top 25 Under 25 countdown has begun! The rankings were determined by a combination of reader voting and our staff’s own voting. We then combined the reader rankings (50%) and the staff rankings (50%) to determine the top 25. To be eligible for the countdown, a player must be 24 or younger on October 3, 2018, when the 2018-19 NHL season begins.
We’re taking a look at the best and the brightest in the Los Angeles Kings organization in our sixth annual Top 25 Under 25 countdown. Appearing on our list at #14 is Mikey Eyssimont.
Position: Forward
Age: 21 (September 9, 1996)
2017-18 Team: St. Cloud State University (NCAA), Ontario Reign (AHL)
2017-18 Statistics: NCAA: 39 GP, 17 G, 22 A, 39 P; AHL, 3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
Jewels Reader Ranking: 15
Jewels Staff Ranking: 17
Last Year’s Ranking: 24
Jumping up 10 spots from a year ago, Mikey Eyssimont is coming in hot at #14. After finishing his junior season from Noted Los Angeles Kings Prospect Pipeline(TM) St. Cloud State University, Eyssimont made his professional debut with the Ontario Reign last April. He was scoreless in his first two games before picking up an assist on Matt Moulson’s goal to earn his first pro point. Eyssimont, 21, signed his entry level contract in March before debuting with the Reign later that spring.
While at SCSU, the 6’0 forward appeared in 115 games, notching 102 (45-57) points. His last year was his best on paper, scoring 17 goals and picking up 22 assists for a point per game (to go along with his 30 PIM). Leading scorer for the Huskies, the Colorado native helped lead his team to the best regular-season record in the NCHC and top overall seed in the National Tournament. Unfortunately, the Huskies’ season came to an end when they lost in the West Regional Semi-Final to the Air Force last March.
Eyssimont described his game as “skill and speed,” telling the Ontario Reign Insider, “Skating and strength have been my biggest focuses this offseason and I feel like I can bring some playmaking ability.”
During development camp this summer, Eyssimont, now something of an “elder statesmen” in his third year attending, was frequently paired with other top prospects Gabriel Vilardi and Jared Anderson-Dolan, getting a chance to show off his creativity and vision alongside other highly skilled players.
If Eyssimont is able to make the NHL, he projects as a lower level guy. Even though he was consistent throughout his college career, he was never dominant and never made it into the top-20 scoring in the country. One of the keys for Eyssimont as he enters his first full professional season will, of course, be consistency. But now it’s time to see if he can put all the tools together and handle bigger, tougher competition and still maintain his scoring touch. An NHL debut seems highly unlikely any time in the near future, but with Vilardi’s back problems flaring up again, and the Kings thin on NHL-ready centers, an impressive rookie season could earn him a call-up. But that’s something for later. For now, Eyssimont seems focused on being a prepared professional and earning his spot in a starting lineup.