Comments / New

2018 Top 25 Under 25: Help Us Rank LA’s Top Young Players and Prospects

For years, the Kings’ prospect system has been lacking in a little something: prospects. The past two drafts have helped bolster the prospect pipeline, along with Rob Blake being cautious about trading away the team’s future for trade deadline rentals. Blake has also been aggressive about signing free agents, both from the college ranks and from juniors, with players like Daniel Brickley, Sheldon Rempal, Brad Morrison, and Austin Strand joining the system after going undrafted.

The influx of new prospects and young players who have already made their professional debuts is a great thing for the organization. After years of trading away high draft picks and sought-after prospects, the Kings suddenly have a whole lot of players in the pipeline.

And that means even more players for you to judge in this year’s Jewels from the Crown Top 25 Under 25 countdown!

Last year, only 29 players were eligible for voting. This year, thanks to the draft and free agency, we are up to 37 players who will be under the age of 25 at the start of the 2018-19 season. That means that some players are going to get left out, which makes your voting all the more meaningful. Want to make sure that rising young defensemen Cole Hults and Mikey Anderson get included? Think that Matt Villalta may be the future in net for the Kings? Then you’ve definitely got to vote.

Last year’s top three players were Adrian Kempe, Gabe Vilardi, and Jonny Brodzinski. Brodzinski’s finally turned 25 and is not eligible this year, there’s a prime spot up for the taking for another up-and-coming player.

The staff of Jewels from the Crown will be submitting ballots to determine this year’s Top 25 Under 25, but we want your help! Use the form below to rank your top ten players/prospects (1 being the highest-ranked, 2 being next, and so on down to 10) who will be under the age of 25 on October 5, 2018. (If the form doesn’t work for you, click this link to submit your rankings.)

And now for some questions …

Do I have to rank everybody?

No! Just your top 10. Once you pick 10, you can stop.

But I can only think of five players to rank.

I mean, okay, I guess? But really try to get all 10. You’re almost there.

Can there be ties?

No! You cannot pick three players as your #1 pick because you can’t decide. I know the Google form will let you do that. But please don’t.

This format stinks and I want to participate but don’t want to bother with this form.

I know, man. Leave a comment and we’ll figure something out.

Is the person behind this post currently having anxiety about data validation and gathering accurate statistics from an imperfect polling system?

Oh gosh yes.

Once the votes are tallied, we will count down from 25 all the way to 1. Stay tuned to see who comes out on top!

Talking Points