The Los Angeles Kings have been eliminated from the playoffs but they have a really bright future with a great young core of talented players both on the offensive and defensive ends and even in goal...
Drew Doughty is only twenty years old but he's already a Norris Trohy finalist which is an award given to the leagues top defenseman. This season Doughty scored 16 goals and also had 43 assists. Doughty is really starting to score a good scoring touch and he'll one day be one of the best if not the best defenseman in the NHL.
Alongside doughty the Kings have another young, stellar defender in Jack Johnson and he's only 23. This year Johnson scored 8 goals and also had 28 assists but the true value of Johnson and Doughty is their skill with the puck and their ability to move the puck up the ice.
And a pretty young (26) defender who doesn't get a lot of credit for the Kings is Matt Greene. Matt Greene does all the gritty stuff that nobody notices because he's a stay-at-home defenseman but he's a big contributor to the Kings defensively.
Offensively the Kings have a bright young star at forward in Anze Kopitar. Kopitar is only 22 and he scored 34 goals with 47 assists this past season and they also have a tougher and grittier forward that can score in their young Captain Dustin Brown who is only 25 and scored 24 goals and 32 assists this past season. Wayne Simmonds is another young player on the Kings and he reminds me a lot of Dustin Brown... not quite as polished offensively but he likes to hit and play some tough-nosed defense. Simmonds is only 21 yet this season he scored 16 goals and had 24 assists.
In goal the Kings have young, 24 year old Jonathan Quick who played brilliantly all season only to falter late in the season. Most have chalked it up to fatigue and the Kings unwillingness to give him time off late in the season... Whatever the case, the Kings also have the top prospect in their farm system in young goalie Jonathan Bernier who just won the top goaltender of the year award down in the AHL and he's only 21...
As you can see the Kings have a plethora of young players to build upon the success they had this season. As of right now I think they need a legitimate scoring threat to improve their 5 on 5 scoring chances. Vancouver killed them in the playoffs in that category and that is one area where the Kings really need improvement. You get the Kings a big time scorer and you give Jonathan Quick some adequate rest and you may have a Stanley Cup contender next season.
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