Game preview: Kings open preseason in Utah

The Los Angeles Kings ice hockey club officially returns to action on Monday when it faces the Utah Hockey Club in Utah.

It will be a young roster made up mostly of AHL players and up-and-coming talent, with a few NHL players in between.

LAKingsInsider Zach Dooley put together the projected group below.

There are some names to keep an eye on in this group.

Alex Turcotte and Akil Thomas are the most likely NHL players among them and are expected to take on the leadership role of this team.

I expect them to get playing time in the front row and for Jim Hiller to support them strongly.

Another player to keep an eye on in attack is Liam Greentree as we want to see how he fares against stronger opponents.

Samuel Fagemo still appears to be on the sidelines and needs a huge training camp to fight for a spot on the roster, and a strong game on Monday would go a long way to starting that process.

The last notable name on offense is Trevor Lewis, who gets a chance in front of the home crowd.

In the background, it will be interesting to take a first look at the planned Joel Edmundson-Brandt Clarke.

It will be interesting to see what Edmundson looks like and how he complements Clarke's skill set.

As always, it will be interesting to see how Clarke handles defense and physicality against NHL and AHL competition.

I expect Clarke to play a lot of minutes and get a chance to shine.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this team is the goal.

I expect Erik Portillo to start, who is preparing for a big season in the AHL.

Utah has not announced its roster yet, but it would be great to see Portillo compete against plenty of NHL talent.

If Carter George gets playing time, it will be interesting to see how his skills improve as well.

With many NHL hopefuls in attendance, this game could be quite physical, even for a preseason game, and provide fans with a lot of fun to watch.

Of course the result is not important, but it will be important to see some individual performances.