Kings Sign Jan Chovan To AHL Tryout
Kings draft pick Jan Chovan will get the chance to make his pro debut with AHL Ontario down the stretch after inking an amateur tryout with the club, per a team announcement Tuesday.
Los Angeles selected Chovan in the sixth round of last year’s draft. The 6’3″ native of Slovakia had spent all of his pre-draft development playing in Finland’s junior circuit but opted to come to North America after his selection, having previously gone 36th overall in the 2024 Canadian Hockey League import draft to the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.
Chovan’s fall was striking. A versatile playmaker with good size, he had 23 points in 39 junior games last season with Tappara’s under-20 club and added a goal and an assist for the Slovaks in five games at the 2025 World Junior Championship. Most had him tabbed as a third-round pick, even as high as a late second-rounder, with TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts placing him 79th overall at the end of the year. Instead, he fell all the way to 184th overall – more than twice as many picks it was expected to take for him to come off the board.
Early on, it looks like the Kings were wise not to let him fall any further. He wasn’t touted as much of a goal scorer, but had 28 of them in 60 games for Sudbury this season, adding on 27 assists to lead the team in scoring with 55 points. He was one of two Wolves players with multiple goals in the playoffs as Sudbury was swept out of the first round by the Brantford Bulldogs by a combined score of 18-10.
Since Chovan was drafted out of Finland, the Kings don’t have to sign him until June 2029 to avoid losing his signing rights. He also isn’t subject to the NHL’s transfer agreement with the CHL and the Kings could have him play in the AHL full-time next season if they choose, either by signing him to his entry-level contract this offseason and assigning him there during training camp or simply having him sign a minor-league deal while retaining his NHL rights.
Despite that impressive production in a non-conducive offensive environment in Sudbury, Chovan didn’t earn a mention as a top-14 prospect in L.A.’s pool by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic earlier this month. He’ll now be looking to prove he can play a sound two-way game in a brief pro stint.
Pacific Notes: Andersson, Granlund, Seabrook, Juulsen, Chovan
A few days ago, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Vegas Golden Knights had attempted to acquire Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson last week. No deal came to fruition, and TSN’s Darren Dreger doesn’t believe that the Golden Knights were the only intra-divisional opponent to try to poach Andersson from Alberta.
Speaking on The Nielson Show, Dreger indicated that the Los Angeles Kings put together a formidable offer for Andersson at the 2025 NHL Draft. Dreger believes that the offer was compelling enough for the Flames that they brought it up to Andersson, but the nine-year veteran had no interest in playing for Los Angeles.
After being previously connected to Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram and now Andersson, it appears the Kings are under the impression that Vladislav Gavrikov won’t be back with the organization next summer. At any rate, General Manager Ken Holland is being aggressive in pursuing a replacement top-four defenseman in any way that he can.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- Being one of several teams looking to add a second-line center from a thin pool tomorrow, the Vancouver Canucks have been connected to one of the top available options remaining in the free agent class. David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period reports that the Canucks are expected to aggressively pursue Mikael Granlund if he becomes available in free agency tomorrow. Pagnotta noted that Granlund is seeking a new contract with the Dallas Stars; however, it will be nearly impossible due to their limited salary cap space.
- Back in Calgary, the Flames have added a three-time Stanley Cup champion to their player development staff. Earlier today, the Flames announced that they’ve hired Brent Seabrook as a player development coach. Despite having no prior affiliation with the Flames organization, he has been serving as a development coach for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants since retiring from his playing career.
- Unsurprisingly, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reported that the Canucks aren’t expected to re-sign defenseman Noah Juulsen before he becomes an unrestricted free agent tomorrow afternoon. Coming off of arguably the worst season of his NHL career, Juulsen went completely scoreless in 35 games with Vancouver this past season, with a -12 rating before having his season cut short due to injury.
- According to Ben Leeson of the Sudbury Star, Kings’ draft pick Jan Chovan has signed with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves to continue his development. The Bratislava, Slovakia native was selected 184th overall in last week’s draft. The Wolves selected Chovan in the first round of the 2024 OHL Import Draft, and he’s coming off a year with the U20 SM-sarja’s Tappara, scoring 11 goals and 23 points in 39 games with a +7 rating.