LA Kings Sign Tobias Bjornfot to Entry-Level Deal

The Los Angeles Kings have gotten one of their draft picks under contract.

Today, the team announced that they have signed defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to a three-year entry-level deal. He was one of two first-round picks for the Kings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. That pick came to the Kings by way of Jake Muzzin being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He was the 22nd pick in the draft, and the second player picked by the Kings behind Alex Turcotte, who was picked fifth. The Swedish player spent the year in the SuperElit league with Djurgardens J20 and played 39 games there, scoring 11 goals and racking up 22 points. He also played in the SHL, making seven appearances there but being held without a point in each appearance. At the U18 World Junior championships, he helped Sweden win a bronze medal.

What do the LA Kings find in him? He is considered an excellent skater who has a great two-way game. He has also shown himself to run a great power play game to go along with a heavy slapshot that can fight through traffic. Unfortunately, he isn't tall, which is a knock on him, but he's bulky at 205 pounds, which means he can take hits.

Bjornfot may have get a taste of NHL action right away, but if he does well at the AHL level with the Ontario Reign next season, he'll have a good opportunity to showcase himself with the Kings the season after the next one. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do at the AHL level.