Liam Lefebvre has spent the better part of this year moving fast, changing teams, and collecting attention along the way. The Kings’ second-round pick in June’s NHL Entry Draft is back in California for Rookie Faceoff, and he’s arriving with plenty of buzz after a summer that never really slowed down.
The 6-foot-3 winger has already been through a lot in a short stretch. In early January, he was traded from Rimouski to Chicoutimi.
After winning the QMJHL championship, he went on to the Memorial Cup, then got dealt again to Cape Breton, a team expected to be a serious title contender in 2026-27. A few weeks later came the draft, then Development Camp in Los Angeles in early July, and now another trip back west for the Kings’ rookie event.
“It’s been a quick summer, a lot of hockey,” Lefebvre said. “But I also kind of took some time to just relax, kind of recover from a long season.
I went down to Florida, played some golf down there. Just took a little bit of time for myself, and then it was back to the grind and working out.
[In late August], I went back early for camp in Cape Breton, so it was quick, but I enjoyed it. I’m glad to be back.”
For Lefebvre, the whole experience has started to feel real in a different way now that he’s back with the organization for a second time.
“For sure, I’m starting to realize it, coming back here for a second time and really having a chance to meet everybody again and kind of feel part of the organization. I think it’s coming slowly but surely, but definitely it’s been quite the whirlwind. But, you know, I’ve enjoyed every part of it.”
On the ice, he’s already given Kings fans a reason to keep watching. Back in Cape Breton, he found a way to solve fellow LA prospect Yegor Rybkin, who now plays for rival Moncton. Lefebvre scored the game-winner off a tap-in rebound, added an assist, and then finished things off with an empty-netter.
“Maybe there was a little bit of luck in there,” he said. “I was just shooting the puck, using my ability to shoot it, make moves, and you know, found a way to get a few in against him. I’ll be trying to keep that going this season for sure.”
He’ll have one familiar face beside him in LA, too. Cape Breton teammate Elias Schneider is the only UFA forward at Rookie Camp this season, and Lefebvre said that connection has helped make the transition easier.
“We were together in camp there the past few weeks, so I’ve found a good bond with him. But there’s also a bunch of the guys from this year’s draft class that I met back at Dev Camp, and seeing them again here - it’s been good to talk with them again, see how they’re doing, and I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with them.”
Lefebvre also did something that stood out before arriving at camp: he checked on his coach. With Andrew Lord taking over behind the bench this weekend, Lefebvre said he wanted to know what he was walking into.
“I’ve obviously heard a lot about him; heard he’s a great coach,” Lefebvre noted. “I had a few past teammates that played for him in Halifax and they had only good things to say about him.
So far, he’s been great - pushing the pace, pushing the guys to be at their fullest capacity. I’m just looking forward to seeing what he brings on the bench.
It’s been fun thus far.”
Asked whether he had done a little homework beforehand, Lefebvre didn’t hide it.
“For sure!” he exclaimed.
“I want to know a little bit more about the people I’m going to be interacting with. I think it’s a good thing to get a little bit of insider information.”
Lord didn’t mind the extra scouting, either.
“I like it,” said the always positive-minded bench boss. “I think that one’s an easy one, with him being [from the Q].
I appreciate that, that means a lot. I think that is sort of the modern way now.
We try to find out about players, and vice versa. And I think it’s helpful to just have an idea when you go to camp what a coach is like.”
This weekend will give Lefebvre another chance to show why he’s become one of the faster-rising names in the Kings’ prospect pool. He’ll do it in a showcase that features high-end prospects from six Western Conference teams, with Lord now the latest coach tasked with guiding him through the process.
Remember the name.
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