Excitement Palpable for “Warrior” Cole Krygier

Fresh off the LA Kings signing him to a two-year ELC, D-man Cole Krygier has received plenty of praise from college coach, Jared DeMichiel.

They may be making a serious push for the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean that the LA Kings aren’t thinking about the future.

After acquiring his rights earlier this past week, the LA Kings went a step further with Cole Krygier. On Saturday, the silver-and-black inked the 22-year-old defenseman to a two-year entry-level deal. The contract, which begins next season, carries an AAV of $837,500.

A seventh-round draft pick by the Florida Panthers in 2018, the Cats dealt Krygier to the Kings earlier this week for future considerations. Shortly after his acquisition, the 6-foot-3 blueliner was signed to an AHL tryout. That means that we may see him in an Ontario Reign uniform soon. Nevertheless, it has been a very busy week-and-a-bit for Krygier. Still, there are those who may not know much about the second-generation talent.

Enter Jared DiMichiel: Krygier’s college coach at Michigan State University.

I recently had a chance to speak with MSU’s associate head coach about the big blueliner.

“Cole was a very consistent player for us this past season,” DeMichiel beamed. “He played with a presence most games which stemmed from skating, competing, being physical, and playing fast.”

In what was his fifth and final season at Michigan State, Krygier scored a career-high 10 goals and added six assists in 38 games in 2022-23. As DeMichiel alluded, the 22-year-old may possess a good amount of size, but he is also fast — a combination that is all the more appreciated by teams given its rarity. Yet, while the Spartans finished the campaign with a less-than-stellar 18-18-2 mark, it was no fault of Krygier’s. In fact, what the youngster has on his side could help his future teams very quickly.

“His size, skating, and length help him cover a lot of ice,” DiMichiel noted. “He had 10 goals with very limited PP minutes.”

For some, less time on the power play is a deterrent. But that wasn’t the case for Krygier.

“We feel [the limited PP time] helped Cole work on repeatable winning hockey habits,” explained DiMichiel. “He was in weekly doing individual clips and he pushed himself in practice every day. That propelled him to have strong performances in the games.”

Coach DiMichiel didn’t let our discussion finish, however, without one last, emphatic thought.

“The kid is a warrior and a great person too,” he stressed.

If the name “Krygier’ sounds familiar, you’re not alone. That is because the LA Kings’ newest prospect is the son of former NHLer Todd Krygier.

Mainly a left-winger, the elder Krygier suited up for three NHL teams over the course of his nine-year career.

Having been drafted in 1988 by the Hartford Whalers, Krygier mostly played for the Washington Capitals. There, he enjoyed two stints with the franchise. A one-and-a-half year stop with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim separated those stints. He then finished his playing career in Orlando — where Cole and twin brother, Christian, were born — with the IHL’s Solar Bears.

As for the younger Krygier, he has a plethora of upside.

Having been a late draft choice, there may not have been much urgency for Krygier to get to the pros. Fast-forward to five years later and the LA Kings now have a season college pro in their system. But a very healthy mix of size, skating, and speed is what is helping Cole Krygier garner some respectable attention these days.

It will certainly be fascinating to see what the next few weeks and months hold for Krygier. How he will fare in Ontario to how he will perform at Kings training camp next fall are both certainly fun to think about. Until then, though, it’s anyone’s guess — but that’s okay.

And as far Cole’s aforementioned twin brother, Christian, he played his college hockey with him all this time. Like Cole, Christian, a New York Islanders prospect, is ready to begin his own pro career.

Here’s to the future of the LA Kings, which became gradually better, thanks to the addition of Cole Krygier.