Kings continue stockpiling former top-10 draft picks

LA has acquired Nate Danielson in the latest roster shake up

LOS ANGELES - It's official. The Los Angeles Kings have been eliminated from playoff contention, rendering their 2025-26 effectively over.

"It's tough," said Kings' second-year GM Kaylen Peterson. "We knew this season was going to be a write off at the beginning of the year, but we're all competitive people and missing the playoffs still stings. We feel the sacrifice will be worth it, but for now, it sucks. We're going to trust the process and continue our rebuild here, and hopefully it pays off. We really don't enjoy this part of trying to build something special."

The "process" GM Peterson spoke about is the team's focus on gathering as many high-quality prospects and young players as possible. Prior to the deadline, LA did just that by shipping off Colby Barlow, two 2nd round picks in 2026, and $10 million cash to the Seattle Kraken for right-handed C and former 9th-overall pick Nate Danielson.

Of the trade, which happened before this year's trade deadline, GM Peterson said "We keep saying big, mobile, defensively-responsible centres don't come aroung often, but a few of them have come our way this year, so we're grateful. You can never have too many centres, especially former top-10 draft picks like Nate."

Since embarking on their rebuild, and along with Danielson, LA has traded for Dalibor Dvorsky (the player taken right after Danielson in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft), Cayden Lindstrom, Anton Frondell, Roger McQueen and Oliver Kapanen. They selected Brady Martin and James Hagens at the 2025 DCHL Entry Draft. The position is clearly an important one to the franchise, and they have stocked it with top-10 picks.

"It's a great group, sure, but only two of those guys have played more than a handful of games in the big league," said GM Peterson. "We're excited to see these guys continue to develop, and see what we really have in each one. And if we have to shift someone to the wing, we always have that option."

Along with Kapanen, Danielson gives the Kings options for right-shot two-way centres with size. Danielson is the better skater, but Kapanen's 22 NHL goals and counting prove he's got the offence to back his responsible defensive game. If necessary, both players can shift to the wing to bolster LA's deep RW headed by Beckett Sennecke, who looks like a superstar-in-the-making.