Who’s ready for some rookie action?! The Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights face off tonight at the Kings’ practice facility in El Segundo.
Game 1: September 12, 2017, 5:00 PM Pacific
(Game 2: September 13, 2017, 1:00 PM Pacific)
The games can be live streamed here, at the Kings’ official website.
Here are the personnel for today’s game; Kings info is from Jon Rosen, Golden Knights info is straight from the Twitter’s mouth.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Forwards:
Watson – Iafallo – Imama
Luff – Anderson-Dolan – Maillet
Weinger – Walsh – Rymsha
Schmalz – Marincew – Iverson
Defensemen (Pairings Unknown):
Clague, Falkovsky, Moverare (left-shooting)
Friend, Roy, Walker (right-shooting)
Goalie: Petersen
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Forwards:
Wong – Duke – Tuch
Barre-Boulet – Glass – Hyka
Bajkov – Suzuki – Kolesar
Halbgewachs – Jones – Elvenes
Defensemen:
Hague – Bischoff
Brouillard – Coghlan
Texeira – Osipov
Goalie: Thompson
Players to Watch:
Kale Clague, defenseman. Not a difficult call here; Clague was a second-round pick in 2016, but a slightly surprising berth on the 2017 Canada U-20 squad gave him a platform to stand out, and he took it. Clague is easily the most highly regarded defensive prospect in the Kings’ system, and he’ll face some good young players tonight.
Boko Imama, forward. We wrote about Imama last week; LA traded for him this summer. More specifically, they acquired him from Tampa before his NHL rights expired. Imama put up great goal numbers in the QMJHL last season, but he’s one of many players tonight who hasn’t gotten the chance to take the ice in a Kings jersey.
Cal Petersen, goaltender. Petersen is getting the start in Game 1, and according to Jon Rosen, he’ll be playing the full game. Petersen is poised to start the season with the Ontario Reign, and while this year’s backup is almost certainly going to play more than Jack Campbell’s backup did last season, Petersen could push for more than just a backup role. This will be his first game action for the Kings.
Cal Petersen: ready for both incoming shots AND insults from Buffalo Sabres fans. pic.twitter.com/kLtWcD8lvl
— Jewels from the 👑 (@JFTC_Kings) September 9, 2017
Matt Schmalz, forward. Schmalz was not offered an NHL contract by the Kings and his rights were technically relinquished by the team, but he signed an AHL contract with the Reign and will likely fight for playing time there this year. Can the big winger capitalize on a second chance the same way Kevin Gravel, who received an AHL contract and not an NHL contract in 2014, did?
Matt Schmalz and Spencer Watson are both forwards at #LAKings rookie camp. The similarities end there. pic.twitter.com/UaZlU29gij
— Jewels from the 👑 (@JFTC_Kings) September 9, 2017
Spencer Watson, forward. Watson was prepared to make the leap to the AHL last season until a wrist injury forced him to undergo surgery, delaying his arrival for another year. He’s been consistently impressive in the OHL and will be expected to shine against younger, less experienced competition. We like him.