The Los Angeles Kings were busy at the 2020 NHL Draft making nine selections. The headliner is No. 2 pick Quinton Byfield, who gives the organization a potential future No. 1 center once Anze Kopitar rides off into the sunset.
General manager Rob Blake selected five forwards, three defenseman and a goaltender as he continues to rebuild the roster.
Here is a list of L.A.’s picks:
Round 1: C – Quinton Byfield
Round 2: D – Helge Grans
Round 2: D – Brock Faber
Round 3: RW – Kasper Simontaival
Round 3: RW – Alex Laferriere
Round 4: G – Juho Markkanen
Round 5: RW – Martin Chromiak
Round 5: D – Ben Meehan
Round 7: RW – Aatu Jamsen
Experts weighed in on the pieces Blake added, here is how they graded the Kings’ draft:
ESPN’s Chris Peters gives the Kings an A
The Kings made one of the very best and deepest prospect pools in the NHL a whole lot better and much deeper with their draft. Quinton Byfield was the obvious choice at No. 2 in my opinion, and now the Kings have a new top prospect in their system. I love his speed and vision on the ice.
Los Angeles continued building beyond Byfield, getting two of the really good second-tier defensemen with Helge Grans and Brock Faber. Grans has skating concerns but moves the puck well, whereas Faber is a solid two-way defender with excellent skating skill. The Kings also swept in with high-value adds in the extremely skilled Kasper Simontaival and Martin Chromiak, who was one of the biggest sliders based on my evaluations. Chromiak makes quick decisions with the puck but has some muscle to tack on still. Ben Meehan, taken 140th overall, is another player who I think has a lot of upside and could help the Kings down the line.
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman gives the Kings an A
The Kings got a potential star center at No. 2 in Quinton Byfield, getting one of the toughest pieces to find when building a team. They followed it up with a lot of picks on Day 2. I think their next three picks — Helge Grans, Brock Faber and Kasper Simontaival — all have solid chances to play NHL games and I didn’t mind some of their later picks either. Adding depth and impact is the ideal draft weekend.
Bleacher Report’s Timothy Rapp gives the Kings A
NHL Insiders have lauded L.A.’s performance at the draft. Getting Byfield gives Blake the type of No. 1 center every GM craves in their organization. With Arthur Kaliyev, Gabe Vilardi and others already in the pipeline, Blake continues to do a great job of stockpiling high-end talent as the Kings look to become an upper echelon NHL team again in the near future.
How do you grade L.A.’s performance at the 2020 NHL Draft?