Tobias Bjornfot has played well enough that he could possibly be with the Los Angeles Kings when they open the regular season at the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 5.
The 18-year-old defenseman, who was selected by Los Angeles in the first round (No. 22) in the 2019 NHL Draft, was paired with Drew Doughty in a 3-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Staples Center and had three shots on goal, three hits and was plus-1 in 18:10 of ice time.
"I felt very good out there, and to play with Drew Doughty, they say he's a good person and a good hockey player, too, so I felt comfortable out there," Bjornfot told LAKingsInsider.com. "He makes it easy, he talks a lot, so it's easy to make the play, and he's a great hockey player, too."
Doughty knows what it's like for an 18-year-old defenseman to play in the NHL; he played 81 games with the Kings in the 2008-09 season after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft.
"You don't see many defenseman at his age with that type of poise," Doughty said. "You'll see one guy a year come in and have that poise. He's toe-dragging guys out there, he's making plays back and forth to me on the blue line. Defensively, he's in the right spot. It's only [preseason], so that level of play isn't close to what it is in the regular season, but there's no about it in my mind he's going to be a [heck] of a player."
Doughty, Alec Martinez and Derek Forbort are expected to be the core of the Kings defensemen group. Joakim Ryan and Ben Hutton were signed as free agents, but there are other spots available.
"They might want to send him (back to Sweden) because he's so young, but it's not because of how he plays," Doughty said. "He's played amazing. I think me and him work amazing together."