Kings' Goaltending Prospects Provide Optimism and Excitement

Just a few years back, the Los Angeles Kings’ goaltending pipeline seemed to be the biggest glaring hole in their prospect pool. Now, it’s one of their highlights.

From 2017 to 2020, LA selected at the NHL Entry Draft: Matthew Villalta (2017), David Hrenak (2018), Jacob Ingham (2018), Lukas Parik (2019), and Juho Markkanen (2020). Of that group, Ingham is the only netminder still associated with the organization – currently signed by the AHL's Ontario Reign.

The Kings’ scouting department drafted well but sometimes things just don’t materialize. Take David Hrenak for example.

At the time he was drafted, Hrenak had already played his first season of Division-I hockey with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) St. Cloud State University Huskies. Hrenak saw twenty-five games, that year, finishing with a 2.11 GAA, .919 SV%, including three shutouts.

Hrenak would return to St. Cloud State University for four more years, reaching the final game of the NCAA Frozen Four men’s ice-hockey tournament in 2021. In fact, Hrenak played in every Frozen Four tournament during his tenure with St. Cloud State University – excluding 2020 when the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

So, what went wrong? Why isn’t Hrenak still with the Kings’ organization? Everything seemed to be going well.

The answer, again: sometimes things just don’t materialize.

The Kings didn’t select a goaltender in either of the 2021 or 2022 NHL Entry Drafts, electing to go with a by committee approach with their NHLers, and hitting the reset button with their prospect pool.

In 2023, LA used their fourth-round draft pick to select Hampton Slukynsky. Unlike Hrenak who had collegiate experience on his resume, Slukynsky was a relatively unknown playing for Warroad High School in Minnesota.

The Kings had multiple third-round picks in 2023, electing to trade one to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Erik Portillo (originally selected by the Sabres four years prior). LA’s strategic use of moving a draft pick to circumvent the development process could be seen as a stroke of genius or a stroke of good luck depending on which fan you’re asking.

As an insurance policy, the Kings used their second-round pick in 2024 to grab Carter George who has the highest draft stock of any goaltender mentioned in this article. While that’s nothing more than a conversation starter at the office watercooler, it does indicate that the organization views George as someone who can be the man.

So, what went right?

The answer: sometimes things do materialize.

Portillo played his first NHL game this past Friday against the Anaheim Ducks, picking up a 2-1 victory.

Slukynsky and George may not have played in the NHL last Friday, but they did receive some good news on Tuesday, being named to the U.S. and Canadian preliminary teams (respectively) for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship – an annual under-twenty tournament beginning later this month on December 26, 2024.

Slukynsky will compete with Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) and Sam Hillebrandt (undrafted) for one-of-two spots. George has a bigger hill to climb with three-other goaltenders in the mix for Canada: Carson Bjarnason (Philadelphia Flyers), Scott Ratzlaff (Buffalo Sabres), and Jack Ivankovic (2025 draftee).

While the future is never certain, things certainly look good for the Kings’ future in net.