Kings confirm news on 2019 first-round pick

The Kings have activated defenseman Tobias Björnfot off injured reserve and returned him to the AHL’s Ontario Reign on a conditioning loan, per a team announcement Friday evening.

Björnfot, the team’s 2019 first-round pick, suffered a scary injury in a Nov. 21 game against the Kraken’s minor league affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, which required him to be stretchered off the ice. Thankfully, the injury was neither life-threatening nor long-term, and he’s now ready to return to action.

The 22-year-old was already on a conditioning assignment with the Reign when he suffered the injury. Given he was put on injured reserve (but not long-term injured reserve) in the middle of it, the clock on his conditioning loan has now restarted, and he can remain with Ontario for 14 days before the Kings must reinstate him or put him on waivers for the purpose of assignment.

NHL teams will take advantage of conditioning loans to get oft-healthy-scratched players some brief action in the minors without subjecting them to the waiver process. During this time, a player remains on the 23-man roster and counts against the salary cap but is eligible to play for a team’s minor league affiliate.

The Kings initially sent Björnfot to the Reign for conditioning on Nov. 16 after he had sat out of the lineup for over a month. After logging 10:12 in the team’s season opener against the Avalanche on Oct. 11, head coach Todd McLellan healthy-scratched Björnfot for a staggering 13 consecutive games before the team gave him some action in the minors.

Björnfot’s short stint in the minors was negligible — he was held off the scoresheet and posted a +1 rating in three games. He’ll now get some more minor league action under his belt after spending most of last season with Ontario as well.

The Swede’s trajectory is not terribly promising at this point, at least for a first-round pick. While he’s shown the skills to be a serviceable NHL defender, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll ever elevate above a third-pairing role. The 6-foot, 200-pound defender has 117 NHL games to his name with the Kings over the last five seasons, notching one goal, 14 assists and a -18 rating.