Playing for Kings would be ‘dream come true’ for No. 3 draft prospect

DETROIT – Memo to Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi:

Defenseman Drew Doughty, the third-rated prospect in next month’s entry draft, hopes you will use your pick – the second overall – to claim him.

“I’m really hoping that I play” for L.A., Doughty said today during a visit to Joe Louis Arena to watch the Red Wings’ and Penguins’ game-day skates.

“They were actually my favorite team growing up and I looked up to Wayne Gretzky as a little kid. Playing there would be a dream come true.”

Doughty, a 6-foot, 213-pound defenseman, had 13 goals, 50 points and 68 penalty minutes with Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League this season. A speedy skater capable of end-to-end rushes, he was voted the top defenseman on Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the last world junior tournament.

He said he has met Lombardi and other members of the Kings’ scouting staff several times, “and it’s looking really good.”

Doughty, a native of London, Canada, was No. 2 in the midseason prospect rankings but was passed in the final rankings by Zach Bogosian, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman who played for Peterborough of the OHL last season. Bogosian, a native of Massena, N.Y., had 11 goals, 61 points and 72 penalty minutes.

Both players shoot right-handed, a valuable commodity among defensemen. Both are also considered potential leaders on defense, with Bogosian said to have a bit more of an edge than Doughty.

The top-ranked player in what appears to be a fairly deep draft is center Steve Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting, who scored 58 goals and 105 points in 61 games last season and is projected to be a franchise player. Tampa Bay has the first pick and is expected to keep it.

The prospects ranked fourth, fifth and sixth among North American skaters are also defensemen: Tyler Myers, a 6-foot-7 Texan who plays for Kelowna, bruiser Luke Schenn, also of Kelowna, and 6-foot-4, 210-pound Alex Pietrangelo of Niagara Falls.

“Safe to say we will be taking a defenseman,” Lombardi said from Toronto, where he was meeting with several of the top-ranked players.

The Ducks, with a pick they acquired from Edmonton, will select 12th. The draft will take place June 20-21 in Ottawa.

Before playing junior hockey, Bogosian attended prep school at Cushing Academy and got special tutoring from a classmate’s father. That’s noteworthy because the classmate was Ryan Bourque, and the tutor was hockey hall of famer Ray Bourque.

“He really helped me out a lot,” Bogosian told the Peterborough Examiner newspaper.

Bogosian was among the players Lombardi visited at their family’s home, and Bogosian welcomed the encounter.

“Just to kind of put a face to a name away from the rink. It was a pretty relaxed thing,” he said.

He added that he didn’t know much about the Kings and hadn’t seen them on TV because of his busy schedule.

“I’m really looking forward to draft day,” he said. “Anything can happen. Nothing’s set in stone. It would be a great honor to play out there and a lot of fun.”

His father, Ike, said he enjoyed Lombardi’s visit. “It was in our own environment, which I think they wanted to see,” he said. “Everything went well.”

He said he wasn’t bothered by the idea of his son possibly playing in Los Angeles, so far from home.

“Sure, it would be nice to be on your backyard sometimes, but in these cases you don’t have much choice,” Ike Bogosian said.

“Wherever he lands I know he’s going to be happy. L.A. has a very nice young club which should be pretty good in a few years.”

——

The Penguins got a rude awakening at their Detroit-area hotel when a fire alarm went off about 1:30 a.m. Monday.

“It was kind of annoying,” forward Tyler Kennedy said. “I just stayed in bed. Worse comes to worse, I’d just jump out the window.”

Kennedy said hotel employees confirmed that it was a false alarm.

“They came out and said it was just someone fooling around,” he said. “Probably was a Red Wings fan.”

Teammate Ryan Malone laughed it off. “I hear Pittsburgh is having trouble with that too, in the hotels there,” he said, “so I hope Detroit doesn’t get the same thing.”

——

Malone suffered a broken nose in Game 1, courtesy of a hit dished out by Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall, the third broken nose of his career.

“I broke it and they just pushed it back over,” he said. “I don’t mind. I need 11 more to catch my dad.”

His father, Greg, played for the Penguins and later scouted for them. Greg Malone now works for the Phoenix Coyotes.

 helene.elliott@latimes.com