Before the First Puck Drops: Why Kings Camp 2026 Feels Different
Training camp is normally the quiet bridge between summer and opening night. For the 2026 Los Angeles Kings, it marks something bigger: the first camp after Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty’s first as captain and the beginning of a season trying to decide what the next Kings era looks like.
The LA Kings opened NHL training camp on September 17 at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo with 63 players on the roster. Thirty-five forwards, 22 defensemen and six goaltenders stepped onto the ice with different levels of security, expectation and urgency.
Twenty-four of those players appeared in at least one NHL game for Los Angeles last season. So this is not a teardown. The Kings still have a recognizable core. What has changed is the structure around it.
Anze Kopitar’s retirement removed the player who had defined the middle of the Kings lineup for two decades. Drew Doughty entered camp not only as a two-time Stanley Cup champion and franchise icon, but as the 15th captain in team history. That makes “Kings Camp 2026” a date marker for the moment one leadership era formally became another.
Training camp is where a roster stops being an offseason idea and starts becoming an actual hockey team.
Post-Kopitar Does Not Mean Starting From Zero
Los Angeles still has Adrian Kempe, Brandt Clarke, Darcy Kuemper and several players who have already carried important NHL roles. Kempe returns after leading the Kings last season with 36 goals and 73 points. Clarke arrives after setting career highs across virtually every major offensive category for a defenseman.
Artemi Panarin is another reason the camp feels different. Acquired in February, he now gets his first full season in Los Angeles rather than entering a system halfway through the calendar. On the opening camp alignment, Panarin skated with Quinton Byfield and Kempe — the kind of combination that immediately gives fans something to imagine before exhibition games even begin.
The center question is more complicated. With Kopitar gone, Byfield is no longer protected by the presence of the greatest center in franchise history. The Kings need his long-discussed potential to become everyday responsibility.
Camp Is Also About the Players Who Do Not Have a Job Yet
Veterans arrive looking for rhythm. Players near the roster line arrive looking for proof.
Jared Wright, Kenny Connors and Angus Booth entered camp after making NHL debuts last season. Prospects from the 2026 draft class are getting their first taste of NHL camp. The Kings also came directly out of Rookie Faceoff, where the entire purpose was to turn development names into legitimate roster conversations.
That is why September practice groups matter more than they appear to from outside. Coaches are not simply rehearsing systems. They are deciding which young player earns another scrimmage, which veteran combination feels natural and which prospect gets sent down carrying momentum instead of disappointment.
Panarin–Byfield–Kempe immediately became the headline forward combination, while Anderson–Doughty and Edmundson–Clarke formed the first veteran defensive looks. Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg began camp as the top two goaltenders.
Injuries Make the First Week Less Theoretical
Training camp already arrived with real complications. Mats Zuccarello opened in a non-contact jersey after a minor shoulder injury, although the organization expects him to be available for opening night.
Kevin Fiala’s situation carries more uncertainty. After a follow-up procedure related to the leg injury he suffered at the Winter Olympics, the Kings are working through a staged return with the hope that he can rejoin the team during the opening weeks of the season.
Brian Dumoulin did not pass his physical and was undergoing additional testing as camp began. Those details turn roster depth from a September talking point into something the Kings may need immediately.
The Graphic Looks Like Something Pulled Off an Equipment-Room Wall
The artwork does not need a player face because camp itself is the subject. Large distressed “KINGS CAMP” lettering creates the feeling of an internal hockey poster, staff pass or locker-room decal. A black puck stamped 2026 makes the date impossible to miss.
The most interesting visual choice is the purple-and-gold accenting. Modern Kings identity is strongly black, silver and white, but purple and gold carries decades of Los Angeles hockey memory. Using those colors inside a 2026 camp graphic makes the transition feel less like abandoning the past and more like another layer being added to it.
A season-opening graphic centered on the moment before the standings exist — when camp groups, roster bubbles and new leadership are still shaping what Los Angeles will become.
View the camp piece →The First Day Already Produced a Fan Conversation
Camp line combinations are temporary by definition, but fans treat them as clues. Seeing Panarin next to Byfield and Kempe immediately created questions about chemistry, usage and whether that trio might survive into meaningful games.
That temporary quality is part of training camp culture. Fans know the lines may disappear tomorrow. They look anyway, because September is the last part of the hockey year when every possibility remains available.
And Then the Calendar Accelerates
The Kings do not get long to live in practice mode. The Empire Classic against Vegas arrives September 19 at Toyota Arena, followed by the rest of a four-game preseason schedule. Each exhibition pushes the roster closer to decisions and pushes camp graphics like this one further into their real purpose: preserving the instant when the season was still completely unwritten.
The wider Los Angeles Kings collection tracks those new-season moments, while Ellie Shirt’s NHL collection connects them to the rest of hockey’s September reset.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did LA Kings training camp begin in 2026?
Main training camp opened September 17 at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo.
How many players were invited to Kings camp?
The official camp roster contained 63 players: 35 forwards, 22 defensemen and six goaltenders.
Who is the Kings captain in 2026?
Drew Doughty was named the 15th captain in franchise history immediately before training camp.
Why is the 2026 camp historically different?
It is the first main training camp after Anze Kopitar’s retirement and the first with Doughty serving as captain.
Who skated on the opening Panarin line?
Artemi Panarin opened camp alongside Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe in Group A.
What does the purple and gold in the design reference?
The color treatment gives the graphic a heritage-style Los Angeles hockey look while the 2026 puck anchors it to the current camp.
The Kings Camp 2026 graphic freezes that window, while the Kings archive follows what survives once the roster becomes real.
Kings Camp 2026 Shirt captures the opening of LA’s first post-Anze Kopitar training camp, with Drew Doughty taking over as captain, 63 players competing and a new Kings era beginning in El Segundo.