LA Kings Select Rasmus Kupari with No. 20 Pick in 2018 NHL Draft
Finnish forward recorded 14 points with Karpat in the Finnish Professional League (Liiga) last season
by LA Kings @LAKings / LAKings.com
The LA Kings selected forward Rasmus Kupari with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
"Blakey [Rob Blake] has really stuck to our guns with regards to what we saw last year with [Gabe] Vilardi dropping and the year he has had," Kings Assistant General Manager Mike Futa said. "We just have to keep adding to our shelves and know we have some good young players coming up. This guy brings an element of speed, his skating is very comparable to the way [Adrian] Kempe skates."
Video: Inside the Draft - Selecting Rasmus Kupari
Kupari is a 5-11, 163-pound prospect from Kotka, Finland. The 18-year-old Fin (born March 15, 2000). Kupari appeared in 39 regular season games with Karpat in the Finnish Professional League (Liiga). He tallied 14 points (6-8=14), 12 penalty minutes and a plus-4 rating.
It was his first season with Karpat, having played for their U20 team for part of this season and last season, totaling 21 points (7-14=21), 18 penalty minutes and a plus-9 rating in 33 games over the last two years.
The annual draft continues tomorrow from Dallas' American Airlines Center with rounds 2-7.
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
Draft Notes:
- The Kings acquired the 165th selection (sixth-round) from the New York Islanders in exchange for 165th selection (sixth-round) in the 2017 NHL Draft
- The Kings acquired Boko Imama from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for the Kings' 206th selection (seventh-round) in the 2018 NHL Draft
Season Ticket Memberships for the 2018-19 season are on sale now with three membership levels: Full Season, Half Season, and Quarter Season.
Deposits are also being accepted for Groups of 15 or more and Private Event Suite rentals, and deposit holders will receive exclusive pre-sale windows before the general public.
Individual ticket sales information for the 2018-19 season will be released at a later date.