Development Camp 101 - Breaking Down The Roster

As we inch closer to the 2023 Kings Development Camp, let's look a little deeper into who will be attending the annual showcase.

The Kings will have 23 drafted prospects and 11 camp invitees that will make up the 34 attendees in total. Coming from 11 different leagues and seven different countries (Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, USA), Kings fans will get a look at the diversity of this game coming together for the five-day camp.

Development Camp will provide an opportunity for Kings prospects to showcase their talents and show Kings management and staff that they are progressing in the right direction. Players at camp are all looking to prove different things. Some camp goers will be looking to prove they're NHL-ready, some will be hoping to show the Kings staff they've improved on areas of need based on last year's camp, some are looking to be signed and some are looking to make a good first impression, along with much more.

Breaking down the roster we'll see on the ice over the next five days at Toyota Sports Performance Center -

Players by Country: USA (14), Canada (11), Finland (4) Germany (2), Czechia (1), Sweden (1), Slovakia (1)

Players will travel to Southern California from the continental United States. Players will also travel to Southern California from all across Europe, with attendees coming from a total of seven different countries. That's the beauty of this league, is that we can see players from all over the globe on the ice together, all under the Kings banner.

The United States is the most-represented country, with 14 attendees coming from the USA. Those players are broken down from nine states - Massachusetts (3), Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), California (1), Florida (1), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (1), Pennsylvania (1), Virginia (1), including California native Jacob Modry. Additionally, 11 Canadian prospects will be in attendance at the camp, including defenseman Brandt Clarke, who played in nine NHL games with the Kings this season.

Beyond the North American prospects are nine prospects attending from overseas. Included in that list is 2023 second-round draft pick Kabuk Dvorak from Czechia and several other drafted players. A week ago today, Dvorak was an undrafted player, in his native country, awaiting word on where and when he would be selected. Seven days later, he'll be suiting up in LA Kings branded gear, taking the ice more than 5,000 miles away from his home nation.

Players by Experience: NCAA (12), OHL (6), AHL (5), WHL (4), Liiga (3), DEL/DEL2 (2), USHL (2), NHL (1, Brandt Clarke), QMJHL (1), USHS-MN (1), Czech Extraliga (1)

Development camp is also unique in that you might see a forward line with a left wing who played a full professional season in Finland, a center who played major junior hockey in Canada and a right wing who played college hockey.

The varying experience levels at development camp is one of the most fascinating aspects of the week. The largest composition on the roster is collegiate players, with 12 of the attendees playing last season in the NCAA. Included in that group are forward Alex Laferriere, defenseman Cole Krygier and goaltender Erik Portillo, who all spent last season playing collegiately before signing their entry-level contracts with the Kings at the end of their respective seasons. With NCAA school years beginning in August/September, development camp is the only time of the year when we see collegiate players at a Kings camp, as they are unable to attend rookie camp or training camp in the fall. So, enjoy your Jack Hughes sightings now while he's in Southern California!

Players listed as OHL, WHL or QMJHL spent last season playing major-junior hockey in Canada. Major-junior hockey is typically close to an NHL schedule in terms of number of games and it also includes a full playoffs consisting of seven-game series. Typically, those players played against players in their age range (16 - 20), with the CHL leagues operating much more like a professional league than say the NCAA, featuring trades, contracts and longer schedules.

Players who spent last season in either Liiga or the DEL, however, played some form of professional hockey. Similar to how an 18-year-old player can play at the NHL level, younger players play professionally in say Czechia, Germany or Finland alongside veteran players. Forwards Kasper Simontaival and Aatu Jamsen played full seasons in Liiga in Finland, regarded as one of the best leagues in Europe, playing alongside professionals. You'll see them on the same ice, at a similar age, to players who played in college this season. While there are also minor leagues overseas, a contingent of players at this week's camp are professionals, which gives them some experience to lean on coming in.

Attendees by Draft Round:First Round: 1 (Brandt Clarke), Second Round: 4 (Jakub Dvorak, Samuel Helenius, Jack Hughes, Francesco Pinelli), Third Round: 4 (Alex Laferriere, Erik Portillo*, Kasper Simontaival, Koehn Ziemmer), Fourth Round: 3 (Angus Booth, Kenny Connors, Hampton Slukynsky), Fifth Round: 4 (Martin Chromiak, Matthew Mania, Ben Meehan, Otto Salin), Sixth Round: 3 (Ryan Conmy, Braden Doyle, Jared Wright), Seventh Round: 3 (Aatu Jamsen, Cole Krygier, Kaleb Lawrence).

*Portillo was selected by Buffalo, Krygier was selected by Florida

Outside of Kirill Kirsanov, who plays professionally in Russia, every player drafted by the Kings between 2021 and 2023 will be in attendance for this week's camp, including all five players selected during last week's draft in Nashville. The Kings will have one first-round draft pick on the ice in Clarke, as well as a quartet of second-round selections. In total, we'll see 22 drafted players, 20 of whom were drafted by the Kings, on the ice this week in El Segundo.

Beyond those players who are draft picks, several camp invitations will round out the group. Those players range from collegiate players such as Ben Steeves, who scored 22 goals with Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA to Max Heim, who played professionally with Eisbaren Berlin in Germany. Lots of interesting stories and players to look out for over the five days!

You can see the fullDevelopment Camp roster & schedule here, with camp getting underway on Thursday, July 6 at 9 AM!