Kings Recall Kenny Connors, Loan Angus Booth to Ontario Reign

The Los Angeles Kings recalled forward Kenny Connors from AHL Ontario and, in a corresponding transaction, loaned defenseman Angus Booth to the Ontario Reign, the club announced March 1 via the Reign’s social channels and team summaries. Connors arrived to an NHL roster thin down the middle - he had 29 points (9 goals, 20 assists) in 49 AHL games as of this transaction and is a 22-year-old center the Kings signed to a two-year entry-level contract on April 3, 2025.

Connors’ call-up came with a clear roster rationale. With Anže Kopitar on injured reserve and Alex Turcotte dealing with an upper-body issue and listed day-to-day, the Kings needed center depth; ProHockeyRumors wrote Connors “could finally get a look in the team’s bottom six sometime this week.” Connors’ AHL numbers track steady growth from his late-January totals - MayorsManor reported he had 9 goals and 15 assists in 41 games then, and by March 1 OurSportsCentral and PHR recorded the updated line of 9-20-29 in 49 games, tying him for 10th among AHL rookies.

Connors arrives to the NHL without an appearance yet; he was recalled January 26, met the team in Detroit and was scratched against the Flyers before being reassigned. MayorsManor posted, “BREAKING: Kenny Connors has been recalled from AHL Ontario… Connors, 22, has 9 goals and 15 assists with the Reign this season. He will join the Kings in Detroit. #GoKingsGo.” Scouting context in the dossier shows Connors is a 6’2” pivot from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, who left UMass-Amherst after three seasons where he totaled 26 goals and 77 points in 109 collegiate games and wore No. 34 during his earlier call-up while preferring No. 17.

Angus Booth’s return to Ontario was the corresponding half of the roster move. ProHockeyRumors noted Booth, “still just 21, the Montreal native,” had been recalled the day prior after Andrei Kuzmenko landed on injured reserve and “served as an extra body, not expected to play.” Booth had 10 points and 26 penalty minutes in 42 AHL games before being loaned back to the Reign; he has not yet made his NHL debut.

The transaction was reported the same day the organization endured a coaching change; PHR said the moves were “somewhat overshadowed after firing their coach this morning,” adding that “Jim Hiller gone and associate D.J. Smith stepping in as interim head coach.” LAKingsInsider had earlier recorded that Hiller confirmed a forward would be recalled to meet the team in Detroit, and that the Kings also signed Taylor Ward to a two-year contract extension with an AAV of $875,000 in the same set of roster notes.

Official team channels and multiple outlets logged the March 1 recall and loan; while ProHockeyRumors briefly noted there might be no need for a corresponding move given Kopitar’s IR, the transaction record shows Booth returned to Ontario that day. If Connors is slotted into an NHL game, it will be his debut; no source confirmed an immediate lineup insertion after the March 1 transaction.