In the Pipeline: Austin Wagner

Drafted by the LA Kings in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Austin Wagner spent the better part of the 2017-18 season rehabbing an injury before finding his place on the Ontario Reign.
Now he's ready to make the jump to the Kings, and he trained intensively this summer to make sure he's prepared for that opportunity.

"I feel like I made big strides this summer with my development," said Wagner. "I've got to work hard every night to be successful."
The speedy forward made his NHL debut on October 5, 2018 in the Kings' home opener against the San Jose Sharks. And so far, Head Coach John Stevens has been impressed with what he brings to the team.
"He uses his speed every time he gets on the ice to get in on the forecheck, get to loose pucks and disrupt," said Stevens to
LA Kings Insider.
"He brings some good energy to our team."

Growing up in Alberta allowed Wagner to have plenty of time to perfect his game. "It was good being a kid in Calgary," said Wagner. "The whole block that I lived on, all my friends lived there so we would always just go play."
"Best word would be energetic," said his mom, when asked how to describe him. She always tried to look at the postives and made sure her son was enjoying the game.
"It's important just to have fun. If you're not having fun, it's not something you want to do," she said.
He's been using all that energy on the ice to create several scoring chances for the Kings... and is clearly having fun doing it.