LA Kings Prospect Kim Nousiainen Out for 12 Weeks

Kim Nousiainen, the LA Kings’ fourth-round draft choice from 2019, will be sidelined for 12 weeks with an undisclosed injury.

While last week’s development camp gave the LA Kings and their fans plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about the future, it isn’t all good news for the club’s prospect pool.

As per Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects, it has been announced that LA Kings prospect Kim Nousiainen will be sidelined for 12 weeks with an undisclosed injury.

Kim Nousiainen (LAK) will be out for 12 weeks with an undisclosed injury. Big blow for the player and the team. Nousiainen was poised to be KalPa's top defenceman this season after a successful 2020-2021 campaign. #LAKings

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) August 30, 2021

After two solid seasons with KalPa of the Finnish Elite League, Nousiainen was slated to be the club’s top defenseman this coming season. This coming after collecting 27 points (9G, 18A) in 54 games for KalPa last season while drastically improving his plus-minus total from minus-7 in 2019-20 to plus-15 last season. The 20-year-old also helped his native Finland win bronze at the 2021 World Juniors. So, to say that this news is a significant setback to KalPa and Nousiainen himself would be an understatement.

There is no news yet on the specifics of the blueliner’s injury, but regardless, here’s wishing Kim Nousiainen a speedy recovery.

Once we learn about the injury specifics, this post will be updated.

[UPDATE]

Per a follow-up with Lassi Alanen, Nousiainen left Wednesday’s preseason game early. That’s all that we know at this point.

It’s also worth noting that Kasper Simontaival is dealing with an injury, per this report. However, the injury is considered to be minor.

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