The Pro Hockey News Mock NHL Entry Draft had selected Cody Glass as a way for the Los Angeles Kings to commit to their philosophy of being big and tough up front and down low in the slot.
On Friday, the Kings went with Gabriel Vilardi who has size and skill for the Kings’ center position playing in an always difficult Pacific Division.
“We were looking to upgrade our skill, and we did,” Kings Assistant General Mike Futa, said of Vilardi. “He’s a big kid with an incredible skill package and he’s a winner.”
Vilardi is 17-years of age and stands 6’3″ and 203 pounds, big for his age.
Vilardi iced for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL; the team won the Memorial Cup this season.
Overall, the Kings added seven players to their draft selection count.
Among the other selections were Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Matt Villalta, Michael Anderson, Markus Phillips, Cole Hults, and Drake Rymsha.
Villalta is a goalie out of the OHL’s Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds.
Villalta stands at 6’2″ and weighs in at 165 pounds at 18-years of age.
“Matt had a great second half of the season, and as an undrafted player, he kind of came out of nowhere,” Greyhounds GM Kyle Raftis said on the Sault Star. “That didn’t help him early in the year. But obviously, his numbers speak for themselves. His play down the stretch put him on the map for a lot of NHL teams.”
With a center-heavy draft, the Kings took advantage with four centermen and two defensemen to go along with their goalie pick.
Now the trick is determining where they all play next season and for most that will be back to their Junior clubs to get experience and build some bulk.
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