The Los Angeles Kings have recalled forward Justin Auger from the Ontario Reign of the AHL, marking the first time he’s been with the NHL club in his short professional career. The Kings had an open roster spot after placing Kyle Clifford on injured reserve, which they’ve decided to fill with another young forward.
The Kings have gotten off to an incredible 4-0-1 start under new head coach John Stevens, thanks in part to a re-energized Dustin Brown. The 32-year old has seven points in five games and is logging over 19 minutes a night for the club. That huge responsibility being heaped on Brown, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter allows the rest of the Kings’ roster to be more fluid. Should Auger get into the lineup, it’s unlikely that he’ll be given much ice time, but it would still be a big step forward in his career.
Selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, Auger wasn’t much of a scoring threat in junior hockey. The Kings were willing to take a chance on him though, mostly because of his size. The 23-year old forward stands at 6’6″, 232-lbs and can dominate people with his physicality. He’s actually shown more skill than one might have expected in the minor leagues, scoring 43 goals across three seasons including 19 in 2015-16.