Jaret Anderson-Dolan of Kings working toward next step to NHL

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Kings forward prospect Jaret Anderson-Dolan understands there are no sure things in the NHL.
Anderson-Dolan knew that just because the Kings hired his Western Hockey League coach, Don Nachbaur, as an assistant, it didn't mean they'd select him in the 2017 NHL Draft. Although Nachbaur helped Anderson-Dolan develop, it is no sure thing his presence will help expedite the 17-year-old's route to the League.

"It's nice knowing a face coming in, but to make this team in the future it's going to be through me working hard," Anderson-Dolan, who the Kings selected in the second round (No. 41), said during Kings development camp last week. "It's not going to have anything to do with the people I know. Even though it's nice having Don here and having experience with him, I'm looking to make this team by working hard and playing my game."
The addition of Nachbaur to the staff under coach John Stevens didn't change the way the Kings thought about Anderson-Dolan, director of amateur scouting Mark Yannetti said. It turns out Nachbaur already had shared his wealth of information about Anderson-Dolan with anyone willing to listen.
"You can't get Nachbaur] to shut up about Anderson-Dolan," Yannetti said after the draft. "There was no additional information gleaned from him because he had already told us [everything]. There is a body language change and a voice inflection change whenever he is talking about Anderson-Dolan. He believes in the kid as well as the player on a level that becomes sickening, maybe, if you spend too much time talking to him."
Off the ice, Anderson-Dolan's character was built, to a large degree, by him
[being raised by two mothers
. His work ethic on the ice was crafted by his work with Nachbaur, who painstakingly helped Anderson-Dolan improve his defensive play for three seasons.

Nachbaur's attention to detail filtered down to Anderson-Dolan, helping him to take better angles, exercise better gap control, and work harder when battling along the boards.
"Just watching a lot of video," Anderson-Dolan said. "[Nachbaur] points stuff out that you don't see during the game and that really helped me kind of see where I'm at and see things I need to be better at."
Even with his increased focus on defense, Anderson-Dolan still had 76 points (39 goals, 37 assists) in 72 games for Spokane last season.
The Kings need a boost on offense; they were tied for 24th in the NHL in scoring last season and averaged 2.43 goals per game. The addition of Anderson-Dolan and center Gabriel Vilardi, the No. 11 pick in the 2017 draft, reflect that.
However, whether Anderson-Dolan remains at center or moves to the wing in the NHL is still to be decided. Anderson-Dolan's to-do list of improving on faceoffs and adding strength in his core and lower body reflects his desire to stay at center.
"I consider myself a hardworking two-way forward," Anderson-Dolan said. "I think it starts in the defensive zone. If you're good in your D-zone, you're going to have more chances offensively, so for me just lock it down on defense and be a reliable player on all ends."