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Time to Take Notice of Prospect Ryan Conmy

Originally posted on Hockey Royalty  |  By Kyle Garcia  |  Last updated Dec 23, 2024 2:13 PM ET

Once upon a time, the LA Kings had a prospect pool ranked first or second – depending on which source you read. With players jumping to the NHL, being traded away, or not panning out, the prospect pool isn’t as highly touted as it once was; it’s a respectable one now. 

Liam Greentree, Koehn Ziemmer, Jakub Dvorak, Erik Portillo, Carter George, and Hampton Slukynsky are a handful of names that highlight the pool of young players looking to make the Kings and be part of the new core. Of those six players, LA drafted four within the first three rounds, one in the fourth (Slukynsky), and acquired one via trade (Portillo; drafted by Buffalo in the third round in 2019).

Current Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson was drafted in the fourth round, and Jacob Moverare, also drafted in the fourth round, has been a serviceable 6th or 7th defenseman in the lineup. Angus Booth, drafted in the fourth round in 2022, has had a good start to his professional career in the AHL by earning Marco Sturm’s trust and playing a ton of minutes. Jordan Spence was also drafted in the same round.

What about the late rounds (5-7)?

The chances of players drafted in those slots of making the NHL get slimmer. Of course, a team will find a gem in there. See Matt Roy. Drafted by the Kings in the seventh round in 2015, to top four defensemen, to getting paid. While the Kings didn’t pay Roy this past summer, the 29-year-old earned his contract and LA got good production from him.

It’s possible the Kings could have another late-round gem in their pipeline. Insert Ryan Conmy.

Who is Ryan Conmy?

After a successful season in the USHL, where he recorded 62 points in 60 games for the Sioux City Musketeers, Conmy was drafted by the Kings in the sixth round in 2023. The 5’10, 20-year-old forward is in his sophomore season at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).

Sophomore season at UNH

Conmy is playing top-line minutes and leads UNH in goals (8) and points (16) while being tied for first on the team in assists (8) in 13 games. He is on an eight-game point streak (4 G, 6 A). This is coming off a solid freshman year campaign where he recorded 31 points in 34 games. He is tied for fifth in goals and ninth in points in the Hockey East Conference. That is not bad for a sixth-round draft choice. According to his head coach, Mike Souza, in an exclusive interview with LAKI, Conmy is also getting penalty kill time.

Why you should take more notice of Conmy

For starters, he is a solid player. Secondly, the Kings have been successful in finding players in the mid to late rounds lately. When watching Conmy he is a good skater, has a quick release, and always finds a way to get it off. When he doesn’t have the puck, he puts himself in a position to do so and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

Sixth and seventh-round picks don’t garner much notice because of their draft position but it’s time to start taking notice of Ryan Conmy. A near-point-per-game player last season and one through 13 games this year, it’s time to start keeping tabs on him if you haven’t.

With the Kings having success with their mid to late-rounders recently, it’s possible they could have a steal and future NHLer in their 2023 sixth-round pick. 

This article first appeared on Hockey Royalty and was syndicated with permission.

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