Saturday: The Kings have announced the signing, bringing Petersen aboard for a two-year entry-level deal.
Wednesday: Though his timer isn’t technically up for another few days, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings have come to terms with pending free agent goaltender Cal Petersen from Notre Dame. Petersen left school after his junior year, giving the Buffalo Sabres 30 days to sign him before he became an unrestricted free agent. They won’t be able to announce the deal until July 1st when that clock expires.
Petersen is an excellent goaltending prospect, and one that likely had several suitors on the open market. His three years at Notre Dame were outstanding, registering .919, .927 and .926 save percentages. Though those numbers alone shouldn’t make anyone expect immediate NHL success, Petersen’s play style might. Not as tall as the prototypical goaltenders these days—though at 6’1″ he’s not tiny—Petersen instead relies upon his excellent anticipation and flexibility. Always seeming a half-step ahead of the play, he can provide highlight-reel saves from in close and is rarely out of position.
He does need to still work on reading pucks through traffic, and limiting rebound opportunities (especially on high shots, where he can get a little awkward) but has a legitimate chance at the NHL at some point. Turning 23 in October, Petersen is well into his development years and may end up debuting a little late, but with Jack Campbell likely graduating to the NHL to back up Jonathan Quick, he will have a good chance at the net in Ontario for the time being.