Martin Chromiak waited 276 AHL games, and the Kings handed him 17 minutes
The 2020 fifth-rounder spent six seasons in Ontario before his NHL debut, and Los Angeles put him straight on the power play.
The Kings didn't treat Martin Chromiak's NHL debut like a reward for good attendance. They treated it like a job, and that's the best news a 276-game AHL veteran could get.
Chromiak played 17:31 against Buffalo on Saturday, per NHL data. Better yet, 4:27 of it came on the power play, the fifth-most on the team and more than Drew Doughty got, by our count. He had one shot in a 3-2 loss.
Coaches usually hide a debut on the fourth line and hope nobody notices. Los Angeles put him on the power play and gave him nearly as much time there as Artemi Panarin, who led the team with 5:37.
The long way to Saturday
Chromiak is 24. The Kings took him in the fifth round, 128th overall, in 2020. Then he went to Ontario and stayed there.
Parts of six seasons with the Reign added up to 276 games, 82 goals and 163 points. That's a career, just not the one a kid pictures on draft day.
He started this season like a guy who was tired of the bus. Chromiak had six goals and eight points in nine games, a team-best two game-winners and 35 shots before the Kings recalled him Oct. 29.
Kessler's read: the AHL is full of good players who never get the call, and most of them stop being patient around year four. Chromiak didn't. When a team finally calls a sixth-year guy up, it usually wants a body. Four and a half minutes of power-play time says the Kings wanted his shot.
Prospect watch
- Player: Martin Chromiak, forward
- Rights: Los Angeles Kings (fifth round, 128th overall, 2020)
- AHL career: 276 games, 82 goals, 163 points, all with Ontario
- This season: 9 games, 6 goals, 8 points with Ontario before the recall
- NHL: 1 game, 17:31, 4:27 on the power play, one shot
- Timeline: now, if the minutes hold
What happens next
A recall like this lasts as long as the production does. Chromiak doesn't have to be a star to stick. He has to be useful on the power play and not cost the Kings anything at even strength.
The minutes say Los Angeles thinks he can do both. The shot count says he still has to prove it. One shot on 17 minutes won't keep him around. Three a night would.
Kessler's call: he scores his first NHL goal before Thanksgiving, and it comes on the power play. A guy who waited six seasons for a look shouldn't need much longer than that to make it count.
