Kings sign prospects Maxim Kitsyn and Brian O’Neill, a pair of forwards

The Kings signed left wing Maxim Kitsyn to a three-year entry level contract and right wing Brian O’Neill to a one-year deal on Wednesday. Kitsyn, 21, played eight games last season in the KHL, Russia’s top league, and also 29 games with a junior-level team in his native country. Kitsyn was the Kings’ sixth-round draft pick (158th overall) in 2010. O’Neill, 25, played 49 games with the Manchester (N.H.) Monarchs last season, recording 15 points (three goals, 12 assists). He signed originally with the Monarchs on March 15, 2012.

 

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Kitsyn, Mississauga fall short in Memorial Cup final.

Prospect Maxim Kitsyn and the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors fell 3-1 to the Saint John Sea Dogs in the Memorial Cup championship game Sunday night.

Kitsyn, a sixth-round draft pick in 2010, had only two points (one goal, one assist) in the Majors’ five-game Memorial Cup run on home ice. But he had a strong postseason overall, finishing with 10 goals and 19 points – both tied for second on the team – in 20 games.

That was quite a statistical improvement compared to the OHL regular season for Kitsyn, who remained in North America after leading Team Russia to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in January. Playing on the smaller, NHL-sized rink full-time, Kitsyn had nine goals and 26 points in 32 games with Mississauga during the regular season.

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