LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings day two of the NHL Draft was certainly eventful, drafting eight players and trading one of their strong defensemen in Jordan Spence.
To start the day, the Kings traded Spence to the Ottawa Senators for a third-round pick this year and a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft.
The Kings only traded down at one point on day two, moving from the 67th pick down to 125 and gaining a sixth-round pick next year as well. Each pick that Los Angeles made this year is listed below.
After all the drama started to subside from the Spence trade, the Kings took Vojtech Cihar at No. 59 with their second-round pick that they acquired from Pittsburgh yesterday. Cihar is the fourth-best international skater in the draft class, according to NHL Central Scouting.
“His skating stands out,” Mark Yannetti, the director of scouting, said. “He’s an excellent skater, he’s got a speed based game. He uses it on both sides of the puck… without the puck chasing it down… pressuring with the puck… If he gets a step on you, especially in a short area, you’re in trouble. He’s got really good jump.”
Cihar is a sturdy winger standing at 6-foot-0 and 181 pounds. The 18-year-old left-hander played last year in Czechia with HC Energie Karlovy Vary. During the 43 games he played, he had nine points with four goals and five assists.
“He was a regular player in a men’s league at an age where that doesn’t happen,” Yannetti said. “I think if he played in junior hockey, he would have seen a much more offensive oriented style, but playing in the pros you have to play a complete game or you don’t get on the ice.”
He fits the typical mold of a King: a guy who likes to crash the net and is not scared to block shots and play physical defense as well. Similar to Henry Brzustewicz, L.A.’s first-round pick, Cihar has been known to have a great hockey IQ, a theme that has emerged so far in this year’s draft. He is another defensive-minded player who has time to develop his offensive game and fit into the Kings organization.
“I think long term… he’s a two-way guy,” Yannetti said. “He certainly has the ability to sneak his way onto a second powerplay at some point in his career, but I also think he’s going to be a primary penalty-killer guy.”
During his time at U18s, Cihar did not necessarily make a splash offensively, which further marks the lack of offensive contributions he has made so far. For as defensively minded a team as the Kings are, it is certainly a good pick in the sense that he can play as a defensive-style winger on a later line for L.A., which typically serves as a forecheck-focused group.
After taking Cihar, Los Angeles traded their early third-round pick at No. 67 to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for pick 125 this year and the Dallas Stars’ third-round pick next year.
For their third pick of the draft, the Kings selected the No. 47-ranked North American skater in forward Kristian Epperson, a 19-year-old from Mequon, Wisconsin. This is Epperson’s second year being draft-eligible.
Standing at 6 feet and weighing 185 pounds, the left-handed winger is a two-way player who thrives in the forecheck and defensive zone. Playing with the Saginaw Spirit last year, Epperson was a spark plug for offense, with 80 points in 58 games played (27 goals, 53 assists).
“He played on one of the top lines in the whole CHL,” Yannetti said. “He was able to get 80 points I believe, followed up with just under I think 87 penalty minutes. He’s that competitive, puck hunting, under your stick, hard area play competitor that has the skill to play up the lineup with really good players… he’s not a passenger on the line… If you look he did a lot of the heavy lifting… When you can have a guy who can do the heavy lifting but also be skilled enough to be a compliment not an anchor, as I said, that’s rare.”
In 2023-24, Epperson spent time with both the U17 and U18 USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Mainly with the U18 team, Epperson played 42 games and gathered 16 points during that time. During his time with the 2022 U17 team, he helped Team USA win gold at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with five points in six games.
Epperson is another player with a high hockey IQ, showcasing his skill set alongside linemate and second pick in the draft by the San Jose Sharks, Michael Misa. A great two-way player, the Kings add another piece to their lineup in Epperson, who could be a great asset down the line.
With their third pick of the day, the Kings took defenseman Caeden Herrington. Another big defenseman, the 19-year-old, played in the USHL with the Lincoln Stars this past year. He led all blueliners in goal at 16 and powerplay goals at seven. He had a plus-18 rating in 56 games and was also able to tag on 34 points.
The first defenseman Los Angeles took, Herrington ranks as No. 80 among North American Skaters according to NHL Central Scouting and is considered an offensive defenseman. One thing that certainly stands out is his skating ability.
“We saw him play last year, the difference in his play from last year to this year was significant,” Yannetti said. “And he made that jump in an almost non-comparable league, comparing the USHL to high school. His skating was always there, but it even found another step.”
The Lincoln Stars’ Head Coach has previously discussed how Caeden was a rookie for them this year but made an immediate impact, earning minutes as a top-pair blueliner and serving as a leader for the team.
Just like Epperson, this was Herrington’s second year being draft-eligible.
For their fourth pick of the day and fifth of the 2025 Draft, the Kings selected 18-year-old forward Jimmy Lombardi.
The left-hander from Toronto was ranked as the 84th-best North American Skater according to NHL Central Scouting, with a strong campaign this past year with the Flint Firebirds in the OHL. In 63 games, Lombardi had 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points.
Another smart player, Lombardi can play on both sides of the puck and contributes to both the power play and the penalty kill. He is scrappy in the corners, and it looks like he plays naturally without having to think too hard. Lombardi is also a great player in the neutral zone who can quickly facilitate offense without being selfish.
With their sixth pick in the draft, the Kings took goaltender Petteri Rimpinen from Kirkkonummi, Finland.
“We actually skipped over him twice on our list because of the depth of the goalie,” Yannetti said. “The display he put up at the World Juniors, He’s undersized, but he’s got those attributes. The elite quickness and skating… and then he reads the game very well.”
The No. 8 European goalie, Rimpinen, was too good for Los Angeles to pass up despite having numerous great goalies in the program — especially last year’s 57th draft pick, Carter George. In the World Junior Championships, George was the only goaltender with a better save percentage (.936) than Rimpinen (.933).
“He’s undersized, that’s the knock. And that’s the only knock,” Yannetti said.
Last year, for Kiekko-Espoo in Liiga, Rimpinen played in 40 games, posting a 2.34 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Though he does not have the size that most are looking for in a goaltender nowadays, he makes up for it in his aggressive style of play. Rimpinen is another player that the Kings drafted who is in their second year of draft eligibility.
The Kings took Slovakian forward Jan Chovan with their seventh selection in the draft.
The 16th-ranked International Skater, according to NHL Central Scouting, Chovan, played in 39 games for Tappara U20 in Finland. During that period, he garnered 23 points (11 goals and 12 assists) and finished with a plus-7. Although not necessarily eye-popping statistics in Finland’s junior league, he has generally performed better in Slovakia. He is a relatively large player, standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing 190 pounds, and is versatile enough to play as a center or winger.
Although Chovan can be explosive and scores exactly when his team seems to need it, he experiences periods of little offense and can be somewhat inconsistent. Overall, though, it is a good pickup for the Kings, as there is a massive upside to what Chovan could become for Los Angeles down the line.
With their second-to-last pick, the Kings took winger Brendan McMorrow from Lakeville, Minnesota.
Ranked as the No. 144 North American Skater by NHL Central Scouting, the left-hander is a strong player who truly defines what it means to work hard. At Waterloo in the USHL, McMorrow played in 58 games and had 42 points, 24 of which were goals. McMorrow is also a player from the University of Denver, which, along with the London Knights, has become somewhat of a commonality with the team.
With their final pick, the Kings took a defenseman in William Sharpe.
From Delta, British Columbia, Sharpe dropped down the draft ladder despite being the 76th-best North American skater, according to NHL Central Scouting. With nine goals and 44 points in 66 games played between Lethbridge and Kelowna, Sharpe is clearly a facilitator, but he also had a few statistical issues, including an extremely negative plus/minus in the mid-negative 40s.
His defensive play speaks for itself as a physical guy who seems to be all over the rink. As a facilitating defenseman, Sharpe possesses legitimate puck-moving skills from his team’s defensive zone and into the neutral zone. The left-hander, most importantly, is a smart defenseman who prioritizes protecting his own goal over scoring chances.