Kings draft Des Moines forward Blake Zielinski in third round

Los Angeles took Des Moines forward Blake Zielinski 80th overall in the third round of the 2026 NHL Draft, rewarding a USHL season that turned him from a name to watch into one of the league’s newest NHL draftees. Zielinski finished with 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points in 53 games, production that put him well above a point per game and made him one of the Buccaneers’ most dangerous forwards.

Des Moines did more than give Zielinski a scoring platform. His rise through the season showed up in the numbers that followed the eye test, as he climbed from a preseason B rating to 56th in the midterm NHL Central Scouting rankings. That jump reflected a player who kept adding weight to his résumé as the year went on, with the Chipotle All-American Game and two gold medals for Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the World Junior A Challenge giving scouts more than one stage to evaluate him.

Inside the Buccaneers’ room, Derek Damon pointed to the habits behind the breakout. The Des Moines head coach and hockey operations president credited Zielinski’s daily approach, character and commitment to development as traits that stood out all season and helped make him attractive to NHL teams. That profile fit the kind of third-round bet Los Angeles often makes on players whose value is not just in the stat line, but in how reliably they can keep improving once they get into a pro system.

Zielinski also gave the Kings a player with a clear next step. He is headed to Providence for his NCAA career, which gives Los Angeles a longer development runway after a USHL year that already checked several boxes: top-line scoring, international success, and a season-long progression that accelerated his draft stock. The USHL’s 2026 Gaudreau Award winner arrives in college with proof that Des Moines helped unlock the kind of jump that can move a forward from intriguing prospect to NHL pick in a single season.