Five years ago, the LA Kings once had a prospect pool with an abundance of talent. Depending on who you followed or read, the Kings’ prospect pool was ranked either first or second. Five years later, what do the Kings have to show for it?

Not much.

Rasmus Kupari, a former first-round pick, racked up 38 points (14 G, 24 A) in 217 NHL games with the Kings and Winnipeg Jets combined.

Akil Thomas, traded to the St. Louis Blues this morning, rebounded two years ago from previous shoulder injuries, but couldn’t find a permanent spot in the lineup.

Arthur Kaliyev, who many thought was a steal by the Kings, never found a home in the top six for the Kings and was mainly used as a power-play specialist, eventually falling out of favor in LA. He is currently playing in the AHL with the Belleville Senators (Ottawa’s AHL affiliate).

Alex Turcotte, a consensus top-five pick, has shown some flashes but hasn’t lived up to the promise with unfortunate injuries throughout his career, and is centering the fourth line for the Kings.

Then you have your trades, and others lost to waivers for nothing.

Tyler Madden, acquired in the Tyler Toffoli trade, never played an NHL game for the Kings and is now playing in Germany. Samuel Fagemo was a one-trick pony with his patent one-timer and has moved on to Winnipeg. Kasper Simontaival never signed his entry-level contract.

That’s slightly just over a handful.

Other notable prospects included Brock Faber (traded for Kevin Fiala), Helge Grans (traded in a salary dump along with Cal Petersen), and Sean Durzi (traded for a second-round pick eventually used for Pierre-Luc Dubois).

Again, only a handful mentioned that didn’t include Gabriel Vilardi.

There isn’t much to show from a prospect pool that had Kings fans beaming with confidence in a promising future now.

Turcotte, Quinton Byfield, and Alex Laferriere are the most notable picks from 2018-2020, being an everyday player in the lineup for Los Angeles (we aren’t counting Brandt Clarke because he is from the 2021 draft class).

What went wrong? Drafting? Evaluation? Players not panning out? Player development? Asset mismanagement (trades)? It’s a question we may never have the answer to, but one you can assume.

The Thomas trade this morning is just another reminder of what could have been but never was. The only thing left to ponder is what could have been.

We’ve acquired F Nikita Alexandrov from the St Louis Blues in exchange for F Akil Thomas.

Read More 📲 https://t.co/PACmlkWg7R@Enterprise | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/rJgGG2LD2H

— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 2, 2025

SOMEONE CALL @espn AKIL THOMAS WITH THE SPIN-O-RAMA TO WIN IT IN OT!!#REIGNTRAIN pic.twitter.com/QIwhxRjYyQ

— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) March 23, 2024

Featured image credit: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

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