The LA Kings 2007 born group has been a powerhouse the last couple of years winning the 15O championship in 2023 and were the runner ups this year with the 16U group. At the center of it all, Hayden Russell was among the key contributors offensively, boasting nearly identical counting totals in the past 2 seasons, albeit in 17 less games this year. The Saints are getting a skillful and crafty scorer who sees the ice well, makes plays on the rush and can control pucks with his protective mannerisms and ability to evade checks. He has good size and physical punch to his game and can gain the upper hand in battles and gains advantageous positions where he can win possession in scrums or get his stick on pucks around the net. He doesn’t need a lot of space to create and is more prone to work off of reading proactively to get into areas where he will get pucks and takes little time to get pucks off his stick. His feet aren’t the quickest although effective. I don’t see him as a guy who is going to be a puck carrier on the rush, more so acting as the maestro who keeps pucks flowing through him and is all around the play.

An agitating-skilled forward with a strong wrist shot. Explosive linear-acceleration he can pull away from skaters in 2-3 steps. Strong in puck battles he shows good strength when shielding the puck with his body and when using the body to force turnovers along the wall in both offensive and defensive zone corners.

Heading to the BCHL next season, Hayden Russell has shown some great growth in his game since I last saw him during his major-junior draft-eligible season. Filling out his frame some more, his once long-and-lanky stature is now much stronger, capable of bearing more load when shielding the puck and battling for pucks, making him get a few decent looks firing shots from close proximity under physical duress. He was ultimately best at stringing together give-and-go plays, playing the role of both the recipient and set-up man on any given situation; his long stride let him mercilessly attack open ice beat opponents to a spot, and be the first on the puck to direct a shot on goal. On odd-man rushes, whether it was a 2-on-1, or 3-on-2, he connected on some well-placed cross-ice passes, through defenders, and to teammates on the other side of coverage. He has an element of being an effective shooting threat to his game, and didn’t make it obvious as to what play he was going to make, adding a little bit of deception and forcing opponents to respect both the shot and the pass coming from his blade.

Hayden Russell was credited for two goals in this game, an unsurprising feat for a shooter like this. I’m not entirely sure if the first goal was actually scored by him, unless it was a net-front deflection that was a bit tricky to see, but the second was unquestionable Russell as he ripped a catch-and-release shot in the dying minutes of the game to dagger the Stars.

The Kings’ highest scoring player had some really nice moments in isolation during this one. Russell brought a very mature and intelligent style of play with some moments of skill and creativity offensively. He was reading defenders and staying in position to be a challenger of possession, he was going to the net and keeping Gulls defenders off him with a free stick, and seemed to be a step ahead of the opponent on quite a few occasions. Some refinements to his pass selection and the routes he takes to cut off passes and errant outlet plays could be done but he led with his brain and smooth pace up and down the ice and stood out when looking at him closely.

Russell was a big part of the Kings' offense in this one. He was able to use his creativity and playmaking to impact the game throughout. He factored in on 2 of the 4 goals scored by the Kings ending the game with 2 assists. The first was a backhand pass to a teammate who found soft ice back door. His second assist came off of a shot that he put off the goaltender’s pad. A teammate was able to grab the puck and slide the rebound home. Russell in this one found his most success in the offensive zone. I would’ve liked to see more from him in transition as he only factored in a couple of times during this game. His skating was smooth and allowed him to create space for himself. He could use an extra gear of speed to expand his game. A good start to the tournament for Russell.

The details led to good things for Hayden today. He scored from a shot along the side of the net, showed patience to wait for quality passing lanes in the slot/net front, and drove the middle of the ice trying to settle down a lead pass. His assist came from that possession from driving the net, finding himself in the cycle down low, and spotting the player in a prime scoring position.

First up is Hayden Russell of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, seeing Russell play a few months ago at the 15O USA Hockey Nationals, wherein his team won the title, it was nice to see him continue his strong play into this event. His strong and lengthy stride helped him get around the ice in control of the puck as he powered his way in a linear motion towards the offensive blueline, combing a decent reach and range of motion through his hands as well, making it easier for him to evade stick checks and other defensive efforts. Once he reached top speeds, he was able to push defenders on their heels and utilize his deceptive release to curl-and-drag the puck inwards before snapping it on net. Many times, during the game he flaunted his quick release and powerful shots, one of which resulted in a well-deserved goal as he caught a drop pass and picked the corner. His ability to consistently overpower defenders with both his size and speed and open up ice for himself to get pucks on net from quality scoring areas really helped leave an impact for himself and his team in this one.

Early in this game Hayden Russel caught my eye as a player who could make particularly quick work of breaking up his opponents transitions and efficiently forming one for his own team. He made a number of key defensive plays by injecting himself into opposing passing lanes to deflect passes or outright putting his body in front of shots, especially when the game got serious in the 3rd period.

Capping off our highlight players from this game, Hayden Russell was another offensive weapon for the Jr. Kings, who really came alive in the second half of the game. Some nice inside edgework let him pull of mohawk turns in tight to slip away from pressure and push the puck out of arms reach of the defender, occasionally snapping a puck on net as he extended the stick boasting a quick and interesting release due to the fact he can get solid power off on his shot despite the release point coming far away from his body. He made some nice maneuvers combing speed, size, and skill to the middle of the ice, most of them resulting in decent scoring chances, but his best play of the game was a rush chance down the wing, intercepting a pass, boxing out the defender, and cutting towards the net before pulling the puck to his backhand and beating the goaltender to put the nail in the coffin, giving his team 2 goal lead late.

Hayden Russell was another one of the top standouts for the Kings, with excellent 200-foot play, he was all over the ice on both sides of the puck in this one. During the game he made several excellent passes, creating brief odd-man rushes as he moved the puck up ice, along with connected on passes to teammates in the slot, he had the Rangers defenders scrambling at times due to his quick and accurate puck movements to areas of concern. His strength helped contribute to his ability to endure checks, as he worked along the boards, he was able to slip off checks and continue the offensive zone cycle for his team. He intercepted numerous passes, most notably on the forecheck when he intercepted a pass and snapped a quick shot on goal that picked the corner and tied the game 2-2 for the Kings. The release on his shot was of significance, getting the puck off his stick fast enough to the point where the goaltender couldn’t fully adjust in time. On the backcheck he led by example, using speed and delicate stick checks, he was able to skillfully strip opposition of the puck and support his defenders at they looked to defend the rush.

Another one of the California Golden Bears’ top forwards, Hayden Russel came to play and was one of the top contributors offensively next to Liam Collins. He went without a point in the game, but it was not due to a lack of effort, he connected on numerous passes in transition, leading with speed and agility he was shifty and hard to contain off the rush. He had a few shot attempts where he demonstrated sound shooting fundamentals, with a quick snap of the top hand and push through on the shaft of the stick he generated torque and power in one quick motion, contributing to a fast release and heavy shot. It’s clear as to why Russell is one of the top players on his team and puts up crazy point totals in his AAA league, him and the Golden Bears just ran into an extremely tough opponent in the Mission in this one.