Kings Announce Roster For 2023 Melbourne Global Series Games

The LA Kings announced today the roster for the 2023 Global Series that will take place on Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The 28-player roster, which features 16 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders, can be found here. The pair of games against the Arizona Coyotes are part of the team’s preseason schedule.

Headlining the roster are a trio of two-time Stanley Cup Champions with the Kings, including captain Anze Kopitar, alternate captain Drew Doughty, and forward Trevor Lewis. After helping the Kings capture the first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2012, the trio led the Kings to a Western Conference Final appearance in 2013 before winning the Stanley Cup again in 2014.

In total, the roster features 23 players who played at least one game with the Kings during in 2022-23 NHL season, including 2023 NHL All-Star Game participant Kevin Fiala, 40-goal scorer (41G in 2022-23) and 2022 NHL All-Star Game participant, Adrian Kempe, and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who is set to play in his second consecutive NHL Global Series (Tampere, Finland) after doing so last year with the Columbus Blue Jackets. This summer (June 7), the 6’3”, 220-pound defenseman signed a two-year contract extension with the Kings after being acquired via trade on Feb. 28, 2023.

The roster also features forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, who is entering his first training camp with the Kings after being acquired via trade from the Winnipeg Jets and signing an eight-year extension on June 27, 2023. Additionally, defenseman Jordan Spence, the first Australian-born player to skate in the NHL, will also be featured on the roster. Spence was born in Manly, Australia and moved out of the country with his family at a young age before eventually making his NHL debut on March 10, 2022.

The Kings and Coyotes games are historic as they mark the first ever NHL games played in the Southern Hemisphere. This year’s Global Series also marks the first time the Kings have played abroad since the NHL China Games in 2017. Four Kings players who went with the team to China will be travelling to Australia, including Kopitar, Kempe, Lewis and defenseman Drew Doughty.

Game start times in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) and Pacific Standard Time (PST) are as follows: 

Game 1: Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. AEST (Friday, September 22 at 9:00 p.m. PST)
Game 2: Sunday, September 24 at 2:00 p.m. AEST (Saturday, September 23 at 9:00 p.m. PST)

Arizona will be designated the home team on Sept. 23 and the Kings will be designated home team for the Sept. 24 game. Kings broadcasters Jim Fox, Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans will call the games, which will be simulcast on NHL Network in North America as well as on other media platforms in Australia (the LA Kings iHeartRadio Audio Network will also carry the NHL Network audio for both games). In addition to the Global Series, the team will be participating in their annual Rookie Faceoff, sending a separate roster to Las Vegas starting Friday, September 15. A full training camp and on-ice schedule will be announced at a later date.