With more teams across the league engaging in prospect tournaments or rookie match-ups prior to the start of training camp and the pre-season, it was only a matter of time before the Kings and their Pacific brethren (plus the Avalanche) joined in the fun.
Today, the Kings announced that they will be taking part in a three-game rookie face-off, to be held September 8-11 at City National Arena in Las Vegas. Other participating teams are the Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, and San Jose Sharks.
The games aren’t in a tournament format, so there’s no championship or bragging rights at the end of it. The Kings’ squad will play one game each day:
- Saturday, September 8 vs. the Anaheim Ducks (5:00 pm)
- Sunday, September 9 vs. the Arizona Coyotes (3:00 pm)
- Tuesday, September 11 vs the Vegas Golden Knights (2:30 pm)/
Ticketing information, as well as further details on streaming and broadcasting, will be released in the future. If you’re interested in making the trek to Las Vegas, you can sign up to be put on the Knights’ mailing list.
There’s no word yet on an official roster, but his series could be Kings’ fans first opportunity to finally see Gabe Vilardi take the ice in a Kings’ uniform, as he was held out of last year’s training camps and other activities due to the injury he was rehabbing.
The series of games will rotate locations yearly. Anaheim has already been confirmed to host the 2019 edition of the games.