LA Kings Prospect Report, 11/4

While the LA Kings are off and running at the NHL level, so are their prospects, playing in a variety of leagues around the world. The Kings of tomorrow have had strong weeks, with everal first-time additions to the prospect report in this week's edition. From the OHL to the NCAA to the Liiga, the young Kings are making an impact early in the season.

Akil Thomas (Ontario Reign, AHL)

This season marks the first professional season that Akil Thomas has had with two fully healthy shoulders. Thomas, who had two shoulder surgeries in the 2021 offseason comes into the 2022-23 campaign completely healthy and pain free. So far, it has shown. Eight games into the season, Thomas has totaled six points (4-2=6) and is tied for first in goals on the Reign.
More on Thomas on LAKingsInsider
here
, with the 2018 draft pick talking about the night and day difference between his start to his season versus last.

Kenny Connors (UMASS-Amherst, NCAA)

One of the newest members in the Kings family is Kenny Connors, who the organization drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Out of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, Connors has begun his freshman year at UMass-Amherst with nine points (3-6=9) in seven games. Connors' nine points lead his team and has helped the Minutemen out to a 5-1-1 record. Connors has recorded multi-point games in three of his last four times out and was recently selected as the Rookie of the Month in Hockey East.

Alex Laferriere (Harvard University, NCAA)

Sticking with the collegiate Kings prospects, we go 90 miles East to Alex Laferriere at Harvard University. Laferriere enters the season coming off of a freshman year that saw him total 31 points (14-17=31), good for ECAC All-Freshman Team honors. This season, Laferriere has recorded two goals and two assists in the team's first two games of the season. After the four-point weekend, Laferriere was named the ECAC's Forward of the Week. Laferriere currently leads Harvard in points and has helped his team out to a 2-0-0 start. Harvard remains the only unbeaten team in the ECAC in the early stages of the season.

Kirill Kirsanov (SKA-1946 St. Petersburg, MHL)

The Kings 2021 third-round draft pick has been playing as advertised when the Kings drafted him. The left-handed defenseman from Tver, Russia has spent time between the VHL and MHL, but no matter the league Kirsanov has produced. On SKA-Neva St. Petersburg in the VHL (the younger league of the two), Kirsanov has 10 points (1-9=10) in 17 games, ranks third on the team in points and first among defensemen. In the MHL with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg, Kirsanov has tallied two goals and three assists in four games.

Otto Salin (HIFK Helsinki, SM-Liiga)

Another member of the 2022 Kings draft class has had a notable start to his season. Over in Finland, the Kings fifth -ound pick from June has put together five points (1-4=5) in 18 games in his first full year in the country's top professional league. Salin's five points ranks second among rookie defensemen in SM-Liiga.