College Hockey Playoffs Set; With Kings versus Kings in GM1

All college hockey conference tournaments wrapped up this weekend and the 16-team NCAA playoff bracket is all set.

For those who don't know how it all works, there are essentially four regional groups – each consisting of four teams – and the winners of those regional groups advance to the Frozen Four.

2024 NCAA Regional Brackets

Providence, RI (March 29 and 31)
1. Boston College vs. 16. Michigan Tech
8. Wisconsin vs. 9. Quinnipiac

Maryland Heights, Mo. (29 and 31 March)
4. Michigan State v 13. Western Michigan
6. North Dakota vs. 10. Michigan

Springfield, Massachusetts (March 28 and 30)
3. Denver vs. 14. UMass
5. Maine vs. 12. Cornell

Sioux Falls, SD (March 28 and 30)
2. Boston University vs. 15. RIT
7. Minnesota at 11. Omaha

The good news in all of this is that three of the Kings' prospects — all forwards and all who would be in the Top 10 of an LA list — are headed to the 2024 NCAA playoffs.

However, the way the bracket plays out, only one Kings prospect this year has the ultimate chance of ending up in the National Championship Game, as they would essentially eliminate each other along the way.

When the winners of the Providence and Maryland regions advance to the 2024 Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, that game won't have any impact on the Kings' prospects because there is no one playing at the original eight. Schools compete for these two spots.

On the other side of the bracket, the Kings have Jack Hughes playing at No. 2 seed Boston Univ. Should his school leave the Sioux Falls area, that would give them at least one shot at the Frozen Four. Hughes spent the first part of the season centering BU's third line, but has placed it at LW2 for the past month or so.

Where things will start with a bang – again, from an LA Kings perspective – is in Game 1 of the Springfield regional on Thursday afternoon, when Denver takes on UMass. That game will be on ESPN2 and will feature some #KingsOnKingsCrime as Kings prospects Jared Wright (Denver) will face off against Kenny Connors (UMass).

Unfortunately, this also means one Kings prospect will be going home early as a result of that game. Regardless of which team advances, there could still be another matchup of Kings prospects, as the winners of the Springfield and Sioux Falls regions will not only advance to the Frozen Four, they will also compete for a spot in the National Championship Game.

So if everything works perfectly, two Kings prospects will advance to the Frozen Four: Hughes (Boston) and one from Wright/Connors (Denver/UMass). If that happens, they will play each other in one half of the Frozen Four, leaving one Kings prospect for this year's championship trophy.

Interestingly, all three players were selected in the 2022 NHL Draft. Wright was selected last (sixth round) and has grown into an important role for his club. He has also scored the most offensively this season, scoring fourteen goals. Hughes (second round) and Connors (fourth) are no slouch either. Hence their spots in their respective teams' lineups.

For what it's worth, Connors (pictured above at Kings Development Camp) is considered the most NHL-ready prospect right now. Not that he'd make the jump to LA if he signed; just that he would likely need the least amount of AHL development.

Important games for LA Kings Prospects

Thursday. 28th of March

3. Denver vs. 14 UMass – 11 a.m. Pacific on ESPN2

2. Boston University v. 15. RIT – 2:00 PM Pacific on ESPNU

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