Prospects A Plenty In Los Angeles This Season

Club: Los Angeles Kings
Fantasy Impact Rating: Cool

Superstars: None
Big Producers: Alexander Frolov, Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar
Mid-Level Flyers: Jarret Stoll, Derek Armstrong, Kyle Calder
Rookies/Prospects: Teddy Purcell, Wayne Simmonds, Brian Boyle, Oscar Moller, Thomas Hickey, Matt Moulson, Jonathan Bernier, Jonathan Quick
Sleepers: Patrick O’Sullivan
Avoid The Hype: Michael Handzus

Analysis:
This is what we like to call in the sporting business a rebuilding season, Los Angeles. Yikes. A proverbial fantasy quicksand team if you’re not careful. I had a difficult time determining an accurate Fantasy Impact Rating when I looked at the possible roster for the upcoming season. There are still a great number of uncertainties as to line combinations simply for the fact that it is unclear what players will be playing up this season and where. It’s no secret that the Kings have some serious talent in their system, and they appear to be headed down the path of giving their prospects a chance to play up this season.

I’ll be honest. I bit hard on the Kings last year. A lot of people did. So avoid making the same mistake this season and follow along closely. Let’s start with the proven players: Alexander Frolov and Anze Kopitar. Frolov has continued to improve his point totals almost every season since he broke into the league in 2002-2003. Despite a lackluster performance from the majority of players around him, he managed to notch almost 80 points last season. Consider him a solid number one choice at left wing for your team and consider drafting him around the 3rd round of a 12 manager league. The same goes to the player who will be centering him this season. Anze Kopitar has been dominant his first two seasons in the NHL and doesn’t show any signs of letting up. 61 points in his first season and 77 in his second? I’m sold. Putting up almost 80 points with very little around him is a remarkable task. Again, due to depth of quality, you may be able to grab Kopitar a little later than expected and still rely on him as your number one fantasy center. And to clarify, it would probably take one more season of similar or improved production before we consider him a superstar.

Dustin Brown was a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners who had drafted him late last year, or even tapped into the free agent pool early on in the season to get him. We knew he had the potential to play well, but even a 30+ goal season even threw veteran fantasy managers a little. He’ll round out the top line in LA and again and he may go a little later than other top line right wingers, so keep a watchful eye.

After the first line, things may be up in the air in terms of fantasy production. Players like Jarret Stoll, Derek Armstrong and Kyle Calder could be up and down producers all season, and should probably be avoided unless to fill a position for an injured player. If you had to choose a dark horse producer out of the three of them, it would be Jarret Stoll. Two seasons ago in Edmonton, Stoll had a really solid season, but since his 68 point performance in ’05-’06, he’s been somewhat anemic. However, he may find his groove in LA, so keep him on the back burner for now and monitor his production.

LA’s third and fourth lines may be constantly shuffled around this season depending on the young guys they try and run with. One thing to be cognizant of is Michael Handzus. Like I said earlier: I bit hard on the Kings last year. Adding Calder, Nagy and Handzus seemed like it could give some depth to an up and coming team. Well, it didn’t. One player that I touted heavily last year that fell through was Michael Handzus. The season prior to last, I would argue that he could have easily put up 80 points along side of Martin Havlat. They both went down at about the same time, but not before Handzus could amass 8 points in 8 games, so naturally, I figured him as a deep sleeper playing in LA. In case anyone else out there has any leftover premonitions of Michael Handzus returning to 80 point potential form, throw them out the window. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.

With so many rookie/prospect possibilities to play for the Kings this year, it’s difficult to weed through and figure out who will make a splash and who will need another season to develop. Matt Moulson may be ready to break into the big time here. Moulson is a crafty goal scorer who is in a bit of a tough spot in LA because of the players ahead of him in the depth chart. He’ll probably spend most of his time on the third line baring an injury, but if you’re in a deeper league and you see Moulson’s name on a regular basis, he may be worth a shot. He very well may end up playing next to Teddy Purcell, who is a monster prospect in his own right, this season. It’s difficult to tell what players will make it through to the Kings’ roster this early on, and instead of making promises on players with so many potential outcomes, your best bet is to flag the players above, and monitor the situation in Los Angeles as closely as you can leading up to your draft to see if there are any stand out prospects making some noise.

Goaltending:
Situation: Shaky
Grade: C+
1. Erik Ersberg
2. Jason LaBarbera

Try to avoid putting too much stock in LA’s goaltending and defense. I would say until they work Jonathan Bernier into a regular starting role, only draft Jason LaBarbera or Erik Ersberg on an emergency basis. Also, with the exit of Lubomir Visnovsky, the Kings are left without a true offensive defenseman, especially on the power play. That’s not to say there isn’t a potential player in their system to bring them points from the back end, but avoid drafting any LA defenders based on an inclination or hunch, until moderate production is seen. A younger defense could cause serious disruption to their goaltending performance, so until they work all the bugs out, it would be best to stay away.

Fantasy Hockey Team Breakdowns List