Overview
- The Kings opened play at the 2026 Rookie Faceoff with an 8-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and responded with a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to move to 1-1 in the tournament.
- Ontario Reign coach Andrew Lord ran the Kings’ on-ice coaching with NHL coach Peter Laviolette observing, a setup designed to let AHL staff evaluate prospects in game settings.
- Lord said the loss exposed poor puck management and repeated odd-man rushes that left defenders exposed, and the staff applied video-driven fixes that limited rushes and improved middle-of-ice coverage in Game 2.
- Several prospects stood out: Koehn Ziemmer scored twice and Liam Lefebvre had a two-goal night in the win, Vojtech Cihar scored in the opener, and goalie Carter George made highlight saves despite the first-game loss while Hampton Slukynsky delivered key stops in Game 2.
- All Kings games are streaming free on SLVR and the team app, giving scouts and fans broad access to evaluate players as the club continues assessments and monitors Jakub Dvorak’s upper-body issue ahead of Tuesday’s final game vs. the Utah Mammoth.