The LA Kings have signed four players to NHL contracts, including:
- Defenseman Samuel Bolduc, one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $775,000.
- Forward Logan Brown, one-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $775,000.
- Forward Cole Guttman, two-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $775,000.
- Forward Taylor Ward, one-year, two-way contract worth an (AAV) of $775,000.
Bolduc, 24, spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign with the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL), skating in 69 games with nine goals and 35 points (9-26=35) to pace team defensemen and rank fourth among all Bridgeport skaters. The 6-4, 220-pound blueliner also suited up in one game for the New York Islanders.
Selected in the second round (57th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Bolduc has eight points (4-4=8) in 52 career NHL contests with the Islanders and has appeared in two Stanley Cup Playoff games. In 211 career AHL games, Bolduc has registered 28 goals and 92 points (28-64=92) with 65 penalty minutes (PIM) across parts of five seasons with Bridgeport. In the 2022-23 campaign, Bolduc put up a career-best 10 goals and 35 points (10-25=35) in 56 games to earn an AHL All-Star nod.
Prior to turning pro, the Laval, Quebec native recorded 94 points (22-72=94) in 189 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in four seasons split between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (2016-20) and Sherbrooke Phoenix (2019-20).
Brown, 27, recorded 11 goals and 29 points (11-18=29) in 33 games for the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) last season, while adding one assist (0-1=1) in three Calder Cup Playoff outings.
Originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators 11th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, Brown has seven goals and 26 points (7-19=26) with 22 PIM in 99 NHL contests between the Senators (2017-21) and St. Louis Blues (2021-23). In 148 career AHL games, Brown has registered 40 goals and 127 points (40-87=127) with the Crunch (2024-25), Springfield Thunderbirds (2021-23) and Belleville Senators (2018-21), including a career-best 42-point campaign (14-28=42) with Belleville in 2018-19.
Prior to his professional career, Brown collected 205 points (74-131=205) in 182 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games over four seasons between the Windsor Spitfires (2014-18) and Kitchener Rangers (2017-18). In the 2016-17 campaign, Brown helped guide the Spitfires to their third Memorial Cup Championship in team history. Internationally, the Raleigh, N.C. native has represented the United States at the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s World Junior Championship and 2016 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Junior Championship, winning a bronze medal in both tournaments.
Guttman, 26, skated in 70 games with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) in 2024-25, establishing professional career-highs in goals (23), assists (34), points (57), power-play goals (8) and shots (177), all of which led all Rockford skaters. The 5-10, 180-pound forward made his Calder Cup Playoffs debut, adding five assists (0-5=5) in seven postseason contests.
Picked in the sixth round (180th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 NHL Draft, Guttman has eight goals and 14 points (8-6=14) in 41 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 148 career AHL games, all with Rockford, he has registered 55 goals and 127 points (55-72=127). Before his first professional campaign in 2022-23, Guttman played four seasons (2018-22) of Division I collegiate hockey at the University of Denver (NCHC), where he accumulated 121 points (55-66=121) in 140 career NCAA games. In his senior year in 2021-22, Guttman posted 45 points (19-26=41), tied for second-most on the team, to help captain the Pioneers to an NCHC Regular Season Championship and their then-ninth National Championship in program history.
A native of Northridge, Calif., Guttman suited up in 75 United States Hockey League (USHL) games between the Dubuque Fighting Saints and USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, tallying 66 points (33-33=66).
Ward, 27, played his third full season with the Ontario Reign (AHL) last season, collecting a professional career-best 12 goals with 15 assists for 27 points (12-15=27). He also appeared in two Calder Cup Playoff contests. Ward skated in one game for the Kings, scoring in his NHL debut in April 17 vs. Calgary, to mark the first occasion a father-son duo (Dixon Ward) has scored a goal for the Kings in team history.
The 6-2, 195-pound forward made his professional hockey debut with the Reign on March 20, 2022, against the Abbotsford Canucks following his senior season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC) and has accumulated 95 points (35-60=95) in 224 career AHL outings with the Reign. Ward has added eight points (2-6=8) in 16 career Calder Cup Playoff games. His 224 career games played with Ontario rank fourth-most in franchise.
Prior to turning pro, Ward spent four years with the University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC), appearing in 131 NCAA games and amassing 115 points (57-58=115), including a team-leading 19 goals and 39 points (19-20=39) in 38 games as a senior in 2021-22. Ward ranks sixth in program history in goals, 10th in points and tied for eighth in points-per-game (0.88, min. 50 games).
A native of Kelowna, B.C., he skated in parts of four seasons with the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), earning 77 points (36-41=77) in 162 games while helping the Vees capture the 2016-17 Fred Page Cup as BCHL Champions.
