A sweltering August in Southern California ended just in time for the NHL ice to be laid down as the season got set to start in earnest with rookie camps and tournaments.
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For the Kings, things will kick off with an early afternoon practice Friday, which is open to the public in El Segundo. They’ll then compete in a six-team Rookie Faceoff up north, one hosted by the San Jose Sharks from Saturday to Sept. 15.
They’ll face the Sharks on Saturday, Ducks on Sunday and Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, with a pair of venues in use (Tech CU Arena and Sharks Ice) and online streams of the action.
While many European prospects, like this year’s first-rounder Elton Hermansson and flashy goalie Petteri Rimpinen, won’t participate as pro schedules ramp up overseas, there will be plenty of talent on display in black and silver.
From players with some NHL experience like forwards Kenny Connors and Jared Wright to 2026 draftees such as center Liam Levebvre, defenseman Adam Goljer and goalie Yegor Rybkin, Kings fans can get a glimpse of the near and more distant future alike.
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Headlining the group will be 2025 first-rounder Henry Brzustewicz, a rangy defenseman, and winger Vojtěch Čihař, a 2025 second-round selection who broke out last year at the World Junior Championships and never looked back. Top goalie prospects Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky (along with his brother Grant, a forward) will be among the returners from last year’s tournament.
The Kings’ cupboard was relatively bare but some recent savvy in the draft has helped restock the goaltending pipeline and beyond. They’ll need plenty from their prospects and development staff, as the league’s second-oldest roster last season only added more salt-and-pepper-playoff-bearded veterans in the wake of longtime captain Anže Kopitar’s retirement.
Winger Corey Perry returned after a sojourn with the Tampa Bay Lightning – he’s the second-oldest player in the NHL, two months the junior of Colorado Avalanche blue-liner Brent Burns – and he was joined by 39-year-old flanker Mats Zuccarello, 35-year-old pivot Erik Haula and 34-year-old rearguard Erik Gustafsson.
That summer came after they landed prolific winger Artemi Panarin, who turns 35 next month, in February at the cost of what was then their top prospect, forward Liam Greentree.
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