The LA Kings have signed forward Elton Hermansson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Hermansson was the Kings’ first-round selection at the 2026 NHL Draft and he now becomes the first player from that draft class to sign an entry-level contract. Hermansson is expected to play next season with MoDo Hockey in Sweden next season, in the HockeyAllsvenskan, for the 2026-27 season.
Instant Analysis
Always a good piece of news to get your first-round draft pick signed and under contract. Hermansson is likely not signing to play for the Kings this season, with the expectation that he returns to Sweden, where he has established himself as a regular player in a larger role than we usually see for 17-year-old players. Hermansson had 11 goals and 21 points last season and excelled when playing against men. Sounds like everyone is on board that Hermansson’s best path for next season is to run it back next season in Sweden.
Hermansson is an exciting prospect for the Kings. The Kings lacked high-end offensive skill in their prospect pool and they’ve added that in Hermansson. By most graders, he was one of the top-rated players in the draft as it pertains to offensive ability. His play on the puck, his offensive skill, his ability to create offensively all rate highly. When playing against his peers last season, Hermansson was well over a point-per-game at the U-18 IIHF World Championships, selected as the tournament’s Best Forward. Very simply put, the Kings needed to add a player with that type of high-end talent in the first round and they got that with Hermansson.
Long term, the Kings see top-six potential for Hermansson as he hopefully develops into an NHL player. In talking with Mark Yannetti, there is lower-end first line potential in there and certainly second-line potential as a scoring winger. Hermansson is in a good position right now, with a good setup in Sweden and a pathway to participate at the World Juniors over the next couple of seasons, while playing each and every day against professional players, on a team pushing for promotion. In hearing from the management team with the Kings, Hermansson is not expected to attend training camp this fall with the Kings, nor is he expected to participate in the Rookie Faceoff in San Jose. MoDo is likely to be underway with their season and it doesn’t always make sense to pull younger players out of that flow, potentially compromising their integration into a professional team, which could impact their role going forward. So, even if we don’t see Hermansson in the fall, he’s set up well on his process and getting his entry-level contract done now makes a ton of sense.
For reference, the Kings can slide Hermansson’s contract back for two seasons if they so choose. His deal is currently set to begin this season, but if he plays in Sweden, his deal would be eligible to slide back to the 2027-28 season. Same goes the following year as well, if he doesn’t play 10-or-more games in the NHL with the Kings.
Kings General Manager Ken Holland on Hermansson
I’m excited that we got Elton Hermansson, another good young player, a good young forward. He’s a guy that can score, led the U-18 tournament in scoring. Certainly we’ve talked here in the past about the importance of trying to add some offense to our organization, both in the short term and the long term, so that’s certainly a priority as we go forward. Today is one of those decisions that hopefully really highly impacts this team down the road.
From the team’s official release –
Selected by the Kings 19th overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, Hermansson spent the majority of the 2025-26 season with MoDo Hockey of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier league, where he recorded 11 goals and 21 points (11-10=21) in 38 games with a +9 rating and 22 penalty minutes (PIM). The 6-1, 180-pound forward also appeared in 13 games for MoDo Hockey U20 in U20 Nationell, Sweden’s top junior hockey league, posting nine points (3-6=9) in 13 games. Prior to joining MoDo, Hermansson notched 17 goals and 36 points (17-19=36) in 41 games with Orebro HK Jr. (U20 Nationell) in 2024-25.
Internationally, the Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, native represented his home country at the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s Under-18 World Championships where he recorded a tournament-best 12 points (4-8=12) in seven games to earn a gold medal. As part of his efforts, Hermansson was selected as the tournament’s All-Star Team and named Best Forward.
Hermansson will not attend Kings training camp and is expected to compete with Modo Hockey in HockeyAllsvenskan for the 2026-27 season.
