Getting To Know: Adrian Kempe

Growing up in a hockey family, Adrian Kempe was a standout on the ice from a young age. His father Mikael was a Swedish coach and General Manager in the professional ranks and his older brother of eight years, Mario, was working his way up to an eventual stint in the NHL.

Kempe, grew up five hours north of Stockholm, Sweden in a town of less than 6,000 people. But that didn't stop Kempe from excelling in hockey. At the youth level, Kempe represented Sweden in the international tournaments starting at the U16 level. Before being selected to two World Junior Championship rosters in 2015 and 2016, Kempe had already racked up 61 international appearances for Sweden and recorded 74 points (32-42=74).
Then, in those two WJC appearances, Kempe recorded 16 points (7-9=16) in 13 games, while finishing fourth in each tournament.
The Kings drafted Kempe on June 27th, 2014 with the 29th pick in the first round. Which was a steal for the Kings considering that Kempe was ranked the sixth-best European prospect going into the draft.

Kempe played two seasons with Modo of the Swedish Hockey League before signing a three-year contract with the Kings on April 15, 2015. He was then assigned to Manchester of the American Hockey League, where he helped the Monarchs win the Calder Cup with nine points (eight goals, one assist) in 17 playoff games.
Just under a season and a half later with the Manchester Monarchs and Ontario Reign, Adrian Kempe made his NHL debut on February 16, 2017 when the Kings faced off against the Arizona Coyotes. Kempe recorded two shots and logged 15:18 of ice time. Then, on March 11, 2017, in a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals, Kempe recorded the game-winning goal and his first NHL goal.

Now, an established NHL player, Kempe has played in 283 games for the Kings and recorded 122 points (52-70=122). This year, Kempe is on pace to set career highs in goals, assists and points. If the pandemic season were to be 82 games, Kempe would be on pace for a 57 point (33-24=57) season.