LA Kings Training Camp Preview: Tobias Bjornfot

With training camp just around the corner, we are previewing each player on the LA Kings roster. Up next: Tobias Bjornfot!

Tobias Bjornfot

Biography

Birthdate: April 6, 2001

Birthplace: Upplands Vasby, Sweden

Height: 6’0″

Weight: 200 lbs

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Drafted: 1st Round, 22nd overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft

2022-23 Season

Coming into the season, Bjornfot looked like he was going to be the next man up in the Kings defensive core. As a left-shot blue liner – something the Kings badly needed – he seemed to be in a position to break out. However, his 10 games with the Kings seemed very uncomfortable, as if he wasn’t playing the style of hockey that he wanted to play. The LA Kings as a team went 4-2-1 in the first seven-game stint that Bjornfot got into but he was largely in the background. Advanced stats show that he was a flat player, not contributing any true positives as far as plus minus goes ending his 10-game stint as a +1. 

Bjornfot, the 22nd pick in the 2019 draft, has always had the potential to crack the NHL roster. He is a stay-at-home defenseman who focuses on his role in the defensive zone without giving up much in the way of defensive rushes. The main problem, as the LA Kings have shifted toward a more offensively minded game, is that he doesn’t often have the ability (or maybe the want) to join the rush. As good as his shot can be, The Hockey Writers noted in 2021, “Because of his reliability, he doesn’t have a ton of offensive upside” and that could hurt his chances at a top-4 slot on the LA Kings roster.