The Kings are bringing a familiar mix of returning prospects and fresh draft picks to their 2026 Rookie Faceoff roster, with 14 players back from last year’s group and five selections from June’s NHL Draft in Buffalo.
Among the returnees are forwards Jared Wright and Kenny Connors, both of whom made their NHL debuts for the Kings in the 2025-26 campaign. Defensemen Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley are also back for another look, with Woolley set for his second Rookie Camp appearance and Brzustewicz his third.
Woolley’s 2025-26 season with the London Knights and Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League was a strong one, as he finished at plus-32 in 66 regular-season games, ranking eighth among OHL defensemen and 17th among all skaters. Brzustewicz put up 54 points (19-35=54) in 59 games during his sophomore OHL season, tying for the third-most goals and ranking seventh in points among league blueliners.
The rookie roster also includes five Kings draft picks from this year: goaltender Yegor Rybkin, taken 89th overall; forward Liam Lefebvre, selected 46th overall; and defensemen Adam Goljer, Giorgos Pantelas, and Lucas Ambrosio, chosen 49th, 153rd, and 223rd overall, respectively.
A big chunk of the camp group already has AHL experience, too. Eleven players on the roster saw action last season with the Ontario Reign, including Wright, Connors, Kenta Isogai, Jack Hughes, Kaleb Lawrence, Koehn Ziemmer, Brendan Gorman, Jakub Dvořák, Kirill Kirsanov, and Brzustewicz.
Goaltender Hampton Slukynsky is also part of the camp after going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage in his professional career so far. He’ll be joined by his brother, Grant Slukynsky, who is making his first Rookie Camp appearance with the Kings after the two were teammates at Western Michigan University.
The five-day Rookie Faceoff will feature prospects from the Kings, Sharks, Ducks, Avalanche, Utah Mammoth, and Golden Knights. All six teams will play on Sept. 12 and 13, while only Utah and Los Angeles will take the ice on Sept. 15.
Los Angeles opens against San Jose on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 5:00 p.m. PT, then faces Anaheim on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3:00 p.m., before wrapping the tournament against Utah on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 1:00 p.m.
The full Rookie Faceoff slate also includes Colorado vs. Anaheim at 1:00 p.m.
PT and Utah vs. Vegas at 3:00 p.m. on Sept. 12, plus Vegas vs.
Colorado at 1:00 p.m., Anaheim vs. Los Angeles at 3:00 p.m., and San Jose vs.
Utah at 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 13.
There are no games scheduled on Sept. 14.
Before the tournament begins, the Kings will hold one public practice as part of Rookie Camp on Friday, Sept. 11, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at TSPC.
In Other News...
Alex Turcotte Enters A Kings Season That Could Define His Future
Alex Turcotte heads into the new season with more on the line than most players in his spot. After his offensive production slipped during the 2025-26 NHL season, when injuries were part of the picture and he finished with 3 goals and 14 points in 62 games, the Kings were still willing to give him a bigger look after moving Phillip Danault midseason. It was the sort of opening a young center hopes for, a chance to turn opportunity into standing.
Instead, Turcotte did not fully seize it, and now the 2026-27 season arrives as the final year of his contract. Los Angeles still has reason to keep watching closely, because this is the kind of contract year that can clarify whether a player is part of the next phase or simply a useful stopgap. For Turcotte, the urgency is real, even if the role he is expected to enter suggests the climb back up the lineup will not be simple. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Prospects Just Got An Early Chance To Shake Up Fall Plans
The Kings are giving their prospects a clear early-stage audition next month, unveiling the schedule and roster for rookie camp and the annual Rookie Faceoff. The group will open with a practice in El Segundo before heading into a three-game slate against the Sharks, Ducks and Mammoth, a useful first look at a mix of recent draft picks and returning names who will be trying to make a mark before main camp gets underway.
The roster has some familiar prospect buzz attached to it, with Jared Wright, Kenny Connors and Henry Brzustewicz among the skaters to watch, and goalie prospects Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George also in the mix. For a team trying to keep building depth from within, this is the kind of September window where a strong showing can alter fall plans, even if one of the organizations most intriguing young pieces will be somewhere else getting his season started. [Read more 🡒]
Sammy Helenius Has A Real Kings Roster Fight On His Hands
Sammy Helenius already carved out a role for himself in Los Angeles last season, getting into 53 games and bringing the kind of straight-ahead physical presence that shows up in the hit column as much as on the score sheet. He chipped in five goals and four assists, and the Kings rewarded that work by keeping him around with a new deal, a sign the organization sees value in what he brings to a bottom-six group that always has to earn its ice time.
The next step is less about whether Helenius belongs in the picture and more about where he fits when training camp opens for 2026-27. The Kings have a genuine fight coming for the fourth-line center job, with Alex Turcotte among the names in the mix, and that competition should make for one of the more interesting roster battles on the back end of camp. [Read more 🡒]