Kings draft pick molded by two moms
Moments after Jaret Anderson-Dolan was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings, he hugged his mothers Fran and Nancy. They cried a few tears as Anderson-Dolan made his way to the floor of the United Center in Chicago for handshakes and congratulations from his new team.
It was a slight variation on a familiar picture at the NHL draft. And just another Saturday for the 17-year-old center, who was raised by two women.
“Obviously I don’t know any other way of growing up,” Anderson-Dolan said. “Even though people may say, obviously, it’s a little bit different, but for me it’s completely normal. For me, it kind of gives you a little bit of perspective just how much the world is changing, and I think it’s come a long way in the past couple of years. It’s really cool to kind of be in this situation and have a voice in the community that way.”
Anderson-Dolan went No. 41 overall to Los Angeles after a breakout performance last season with Spokane of the Western Hockey League. The Calgary, Alberta, native had 39 goals and 37 assists in 72 games with the Chiefs, becoming the fourth 17-year-old in franchise history to score 30 or more goals in a season.
Mark Yannetti, director of amateur scouting for the Kings, described Anderson-Dolan’s family situation as “a matter-of-fact thing.”
“It was nothing we ever discussed,” Yannetti said. “He has two loving, wonderful parents that raised him to be a certain way, and that’s why he’s the player he is today. His work ethic and what the coaches said about him, you can’t really say anything more.”
Islanders ship Hamonic
The New York Islanders traded Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames for first- and second-round picks in next year’s draft and either a 2019 or 2020 second-round pick. The Islanders also will send a fourth-round pick in either 2019 or 2020.
Hamonic, 26, won the NHL Foundation Player Award on Wednesday in Las Vegas for his charity work during his seven seasons with the Islanders. But after an injury-riddled and subpar 2016-17 season, when he played only 49 games, general manager Garth Snow put Hamonic and his affordable cap hit — three seasons at $3.857 million per season — on the market.