For several years the Los Angeles Kings’ one glaring hole in their prospect pool was in net.
It’s been talked about a lot and even touched on by Mark Yannetti, it was tough to draft talent and give them a clear path to the NHL during Jonathan Quick’s time in the organization.
Then, all chips were pushed into Cal Petersen, a crucial mistake.
The Kings’ goalie pipeline was in a rough state for a while but they’ve bounced back in a big way.
In the last two years they’ve traded for Erik Portillo and drafted both Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George.
There are real reasons for optimism with this core and that’s been reflected in a recent article on The Athletic.
The article focuses’ on team’s goaltending outlook both current and future.
Unfortunately for the Kings, their current situation was ranked 31st in the league.
Fortunately for LA, their future was ranked seventh in the league by Scott Wheeler.
Wheeler said the Kings are the only system in hockey with three legitimate goalie prospects, and while none of them are star-level prospects, they’re all “B- plus” prospects.
This is a great way to describe LA’s goalie pipeline and puts them in a great spot moving forward.
In Portillo, Slukynsky and George, they’ll get at least one good NHL starter.
Will any of them be Vezina candidates? Probably not, but they don’t need them to be and it isn’t impossible.
Portillo, in particular, has a chance to really hit given his size, athletic tools and pedigree.
Either way, LA finds themselves in a good spot with goaltenders.
It’s also very possible that two of the three become solid NHL goalies and in a league that’s moving more and more towards goalie tandems, that’s great.
Even if none of them are stars, if the Kings have a future quality 1A-1B tandem of the future brewing, it’s a massive win.
Fans will have to be patient, as Portillo is a year away from threatening for a spot on the Kings and both George and Slukynsky are 3-5 away, but the future looks bright in net.
