Eight players drafted by the Los Angeles Kings made the roster during the seven years that Ron Hextall was in charge of their development.
Hextall served as Kings general manager Dean Lombardi’s assistant, partially responsible for the organization’s draft along with Jack Ferriera and Mike O’Connell.
He joined the Kings in the summer of 2006 as vice president and assistant general manager, and spent considerable time overseeing the club’s AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, and preparing those players for the Kings.
“I think scouting is a little more intimate than it used to be,” Hextall said. “I think getting to know the players along the way is important. I think being diligent with what you’re looking for and giving them a direction is important.”
Hextall’s initial impact on the Kings’ talent pool came during the 2007 draft held in Columbus.
The Kings tabbed defenseman Alec Martinez (fourth round, 95th overall) in that draft, plus swing-forward Dwight King (fourth round, 109th overall). Martinez scored the clinching goal for the Kings’ second Stanley Cup earlier this month.
The next year, Hextall moved the Kings to select two more impact defensemen in Drew Doughty (first round, second overall) and Slava Voynov (second round, 32nd overall).
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L.A.'s big three defensemen have been critical every night players for the Kings, though Doughty was never part of the Monarchs and came to the Kings directly from the OHL.
Lombardi said that perhaps the reason the Kings have been so successful had to do with Hextall's buying into the draft philosophy that Lombardi had in San Jose -- focus on bigger, quicker, puck-moving defensemen.
“Our draft process was the same in San Jose, and Hexy tried to improve upon it,” Lombardi said.
Defense has been paramount for the Kings, who are light years ahead of the Flyers in terms of talent.
“We’ve got to be really careful getting too small,” Hextall said of the Flyers' situation. “You look at some of the series out West and Boston -- it’s not a real small man’s game. It is a quick game, it’s a fast game, it’s a puck-moving game. There’s no doubt about that.
“Some people talk about small puck movers and stuff, and that’s the way to build a team, but if you look at the best defensemen in the league, they’re not small puck movers. They’re bigger guys that you have some physical play, you have puck movers, you have smart guys.
“I think the defensive stick is something that people don’t talk about enough. It’s huge. It’s huge. It’s so hard to score goals. You can’t give up easy goals, whether it’s your goaltender or your defense. You’ve got to close on players.”
Hextall says he won’t rush things here in Philly to play catch-up.
“You can’t be emotionally involved,” he said. “You’ve got to use your head to make deals, not necessarily your emotions. I knew I was a manager, not a player, and just had to sit back and build this thing. We had a vision, and you’ve got to build with your vision. I’ve got a vision here already.
“Again, you see our young defensemen and I don’t think it’s going to be next year, but in two or three years you can kind of look at our defense and say, ‘OK, this guy will be here, this guy will be here and this guy will be here.’ You’ve always got to be in the present. You always have to have a vision toward the future.”
In 2009, the Kings selected forward Kyle Clifford (second round, 35th overall) and center Jordan Nolan (seventh round, 186th overall). In 2010, they tabbed center Tyler Toffoli (second round, 47th overall). In 2012, they took left wing Tanner Pearson (first round round, 30th overall).
Eight Hextall-inspired draft picks played valuable minutes for the Kings this season.
Who’s missing? Well, the ninth player was forward Oscar Moller, taken in the second round (52nd overall) in 2007.
Moller made the Kings' roster two years after being selected, bounced between the NHL and AHL, broke his collarbone, then signed to play in the Swedish Elite League when his entry-level contract expired in 2011.
Finally, if you’re looking for a comparison between how many Kings prospects made it to the NHL versus the Flyers over that same seven-year time span, the Flyers had nine prospects play at least a couple games for them.
Six remain in the Flyers' organization, yet only two are every-night NHL players under coach Craig Berube: Zac Rinaldo (sixth round, 2008) and Sean Couturier (first round, 2011).
Why not include Wayne Simmonds?
He was the Kings’ pick in 2007 -- not the Flyers' -- before being traded here.