Posted by The Los Angeles Kings season is over and many of the players will be watching the playoffs from their living rooms but Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi will be very busy leading up to the 2009 NHL Draft.
The Kings a slated to get the number five pick in the draft and it is likely the Dean Lombardi will be looking add depth at the center position. There are three names that Lombardi might be looking at to strengthen their center position, there names being Brayden Schenn, Matt Duchene, and Nazem Kadri.
Brayden Schenn looks to follow his brother into the NHL next season
Brayden Schenn is a center for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League and is the brother of NHL defensemen Luke Schenn. Schenn has enjoyed a good season with the Wheat Kings, in 75 games played he has recorded 36 goals, 61 assists and a plus-27.
Aside from his point production Schenn is also a good defender and has a good physical edge. Right now in preliminary mock drafts many have Schenn going to the Phoenix Coyotes at six but you would have to imagine Lombardi will determine if Scheen is a better fit for Kings than other prospects.
Nazem Kadri has the offensive talent but can he be as good defensively
Another name that the Kings will be looking to take with the fifth pick in the 2009 NHL draft is Nazem Kadri of the London Knights. In the 2008-2009 campaign for the Knights Kadri has been a consistent scorer for the Knights with 78 points in the 56 games that he has played in.
Kadri is not as defensively sound as Brayden Schenn but he has many of the offensive tools that you look for in a solid second line center in the NHL. Like Brayden Schenn, Kadri is currently projected to go later than the fifth pick and is a very likely possibility for the Kings if they do get the fifth pick.
The final prospect that the Kings management will be looking at will be Matt Duchene. Duchene is know in the Ontario Hockey League as having one of the best shots in the league and some of the best hands.
Matt Duchene is a pure sniper and has the NHL talent to be a very effective NHLer in the near future
After a slow start for Duchene the OHL he has found his grove with the Brampton Battalion and has recorded 79 points in 57 games. Duchene is a pure sniper and his talents translate well into the NHL.
The one knock on Duchene is his size, at 5′ 10″ and 190 pounds he is a little small but with him only being 18 years old he still might have a few inches left in him. With the recent success of the small Patrick Kane you will have to think his size will not be a huge deterrent.
We will not know what pick the King will actually have for a while but if the Kings can get anywhere between picks four and seven then they should be able to add the depth at center they desperately need.
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