Kings get to take some chances with their picks

The Kings, finally past the rebuilding phase of claiming anyone with a pulse and skates in the middle and late rounds and hoping for the best, had the luxury of making some unconventional picks in the final six rounds of this year’s NHL draft.

They chose only four players Saturday and five overall, their smallest group in five drafts under General Manager Dean Lombardi. They had twice drafted nine players and twice took 10, but as a maturing team they’re able to use free agency and trades to acquire the pieces they need to jump from playoff qualifier to Stanley Cup contender.

“Dean’s always saying you guys had so many swings eventually you’re going to get a player anyways,” Michael Futa, the Kings’ co-director of amateur scouting, said of his staff.

“Now there’s a confidence you can move picks back and your reserve list is stronger and you can be more selective at what positions you need to hit.”

The Ducks, still thrilled to have grabbed defenseman Cam Fowler and winger Emerson Etem of Long Beach in Friday’s first round, made one strategic pick Saturday at No. 42 in choosing power forward Devante Smith-Pelly from Mississauga of the Ontario Hockey League. They like his competitiveness and scoring knack but probably will return him to the OHL next season.

Their other picks — three forwards and two defensemen — were less specifically directed.

“We definitely went for the longer-term projects, more in the home run category,” said Martin Madden, their director of amateur scouting. “We thought we had three players that we were really sure about with those first three picks, so we took some chances in later rounds.”

The Ducks later traded forward Mike Brown to Toronto for the 122nd pick, which they used to select right wing Chris Wagner of South Shore of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.

The Kings, who took long-term defense project Derek Forbort on Friday, on Saturday traded the 49th and 109th picks to Colorado for the 47th pick and took center Tyler Toffoli of Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League. He had been ranked 16th by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau after collecting 37 goals and 79 points but went unclaimed Friday.

Futa blamed the snub on the youngster’s poor conditioning, saying a trusted scout said Toffoli “is just scratching the surface when you start to look at the intangibles and as far as work ethic.” Start scratching away, kid.

Center Jordan Weal of Regina of the Western Hockey League, chosen 70th overall, is listed as 5-feet-9½ in an only-in-hockey exaggeration. But he wasn’t lacking confidence when asked to describe himself.

“Small and quick. Great offensive abilities, but I really take pride in my defensive zone as well,” said Weal, who had 35 goals and 102 points last season. “I’m really shifty and I see the ice really well.”

The Kings’ final pick, Russian left wing Maxim Kitsyn of Novokuznetsk, was ranked sixth among international skaters but dropped because NHL teams weren’t sure he would leave home. Futa said the Kings believe the 6-2, 194-pound Kitsyn will play major junior hockey in North America. “I don’t think there’s much of a risk,” Futa said.

Kids from California not only aren’t a risk anymore, they’re a hot commodity. Four native sons were claimed in the first NHL draft held in the Golden State: First-rounders Etem (Ducks) and Beau Bennett of Gardena (Pittsburgh) were joined Saturday by left wing Jason Zucker, who was born in Newport Beach and raised in Las Vegas but played two years for the L.A. Hockey Club, and defenseman Taylor Aronson of Placentia. Zucker went 59th to Minnesota and Aronson 78th, to Nashville.

Four Californians: That’s double the number of Slovakian or Swiss players drafted in two days here.

“The West Coast hockey market is getting on the map here,” Zucker said.

Anything is possible. Even for the Kings.

helene.elliott@latimes.com twitter.com/helenenothelen