It wasn’t just Quinton Byfield that the Los Angeles Kings added in the 2020 draft. The team also had two second-round picks, the first of which they used to select Helge Grans at 35th overall. Today, the team has signed Grans to a three-year entry-level contract. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports the deal carries an average annual value of $925K.
Grans, 19, spent the season with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL, recording 12 points in 43 games. Though simply playing a regular shift at his age is impressive enough, Grans’ 12 points actually put him third among defensemen on the team. Still, there were certainly rough patches for the young defenseman, as evidenced by his team-worst -21 rating, but those inconsistencies are certainly not going to derail the Kings’ belief in him as a future NHL option.
The 6’3″ defenseman has strong skating and can shut down rushes quickly when his gap is consistent, but still takes a few too many risks with the puck. At their draft in October, Corey Pronman of The Athletic wrote that he believes Grans has a solid chance to play NHL games down the line and subsequently ranked him the organization’s 12th-best prospect.
Because he is under contract with Malmo, is under 22, and is not a first-round pick, he will likely spend the 2021-22 season in Sweden. That is of course unless he makes the Kings out of camp, something that would be very surprising. If he does return to the SHL, he will not burn the first year of his entry-level deal.