They need to get picky again
The team’s climb out of its rebuild could depend on its No. 2 pick in draft, just like in 2008 with Drew Doughty.
The similarities are striking — “spooky” even, in the words of Mark Yannetti, the Kings’ director of amateur scouting.
The team will make the second overall pick in the NHL draft on Tuesday, its highest selection since taking Drew Doughty at No. 2 in 2008.
Just like that year, this week’s selection comes at a crossroads in the club’s years- long rebuild. As they were back then, the Kings are searching for a centerpiece to cement their future.
“The Drew Doughty pick was the most important pick the franchise has seen,” Yannetti said. “You could argue that this is along the levels of that.”
There are some differences. Twelve years ago, the Kings hadn’t yet won a Stanley Cup. They weren’t yet burdened with such intense external expectations.
They didn’t have a pandemic to contend with either, one that has thrown this year’s pre- draft process off the rails and delayed the event from June to October.
“But in terms of making a team a contender,” Yannetti countered, “this pick is equally important.”
Weeks before the 2008 draft, Yannetti, then co- director of amateur scouting Mike Futa and former general manager Dean Lombardi spent an afternoon at Doughty’s family home.
They met his parents and saw the Kings jersey, pillowcases, and night lamp decorating his bedroom, astonished a player raised two hours outside Toronto had made L. A. his childhood team.
By that point, the trio was confident the Kings would become Doughty’s professional club too. They already placed the future Norris Trophy winner atop their draft board, ahead of consensus top pick Steven Stamkos.
But their due diligence wasn’t complete, not until they could see Doughty react to hard questions — about his training habits, his commitment, his ability to carry an NHL franchise — in person.
“We went into the house and had some pretty, almost uncomfortable times. … telling him he’s got to change his eating habits and stuff like that,” said Futa, who later became the Kings’ assistant general manager before his contract was not renewed this May.
“When you’re picking second overall, when you’re in that area, you don’t want to be there very long. You’ve got to know the person inside and out.”
Added Yannetti: “You’re trying to walk the line between negativity and respectability. But at the same time, you’re making a franchise- changing, franchise-altering decision. It was awesome, but that doesn’t mean it was smooth.”
The Kings had similarly straightforward conversations, albeit over video calls, ahead of this year’s draft, with forwards Quinton Byf ield and Tim Stuetzle believed to be the top contenders to go at No. 2.
After missing the playoffs three times in four seasons, the Kings believe they have quickly restocked their farm system under general manager Rob Blake.
On Sunday, the Kings made a move they hope can improve their immediate future, acquiring left- handed defenseman Olli Maatta from the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Brad Morrison, a 23- year- old prospect. Maatta, 26, had 17 points last season and comes to the Kings with two years remaining on his contract.
But they could use an elite- level talent rarely available beyond the top two picks.
The 2008 Kings were in a similar situation. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick already arrived, but only after Doughty joined did they begin to look competitive again.
Doughty did his part. Taking the work- ethic questions to heart, he slimmed down for that year’s combine and walked into a Toronto hotel banquet hall with a “big toothless grin,” Futa said, laughing. “Like, ‘ Check me out, I f it into my tights.’ ”
During that fall’s preseason, it took one day of rookie camp to know Doughty was ready for the NHL. Lombardi eventually would add veteran players that led to two Stanley Cups.
“All of a sudden, you’re like, ‘ Now we’ve got some pieces that are coming,’ ” Futa said. “You see your whole identity start to change.”
Before all that, however, there was a brief moment during draft day that Doughty thought he might not be a King after all.
While sitting in the stands at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Doughty closely watched the action on the f loor. When he saw Lombardi shake hands with then- Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter, he sensed a draft- day trade had just been made.
“I was losing it,” Doughty said that night. “I looked at my parents and kind of buried my face in my hands. They were a little worried because they knew how bad I wanted to come [ to the Kings].”
But then came a call from Futa. Doughty was indeed a King. “That was a fun call,” Futa said.
Doughty’s inclination wasn’t wrong either. The Kings and Flames had struck a deal. It was a threeway trade in which the Kings, who also had the draft’s 28th overall pick, moved up to No. 12 by sending Michael Cammalleri to the Flames and the No. 28 selection to the Ducks.
It was intentional. Committed to building depth on their blue line, the Kings wanted to add another right- handed defenseman.
Debate at the draft table began immediately between Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson and Colten Teubert. The first two had higher upsides on offense. The latter possessed an old- school physical presence.
Their pre- draft prospect list was reevaluated in the heat of the moment. Teubert’s toughness tilted the scales. The Kings swapped picks with Buffalo to get him at No. 13. Twelve years later, Teubert has become a bust.
“I’ve run that draft over 10,000 times, I’ve run that draft over this month, just the scenarios, all the time,” Yannetti said.
“The procedure on that pick was wrong. Getting [ defenseman Slava] Voynov at [ No.] 32 and Drew at two, there’s so much that was right. But the whole staff saw that 12th pick going wrong. … It should never have happened. There’s a lot of things that bother me about that draft.”
No doubt, the Kings’ recently robust run of draft picks will include a few failed selections. But getting a star second overall makes each mistake easier to overcome.
And a successful pick on Tuesday night could “speed along the process by two years,” Yannetti said. “Or it could add two or three years on the back end of how long you’re a contender.”