Color of Hockey: Lee has 'bright future' as rookie with Kings

Sweden-born forward climbed up ladder playing in U.S. on way to NHL debut

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Los Angeles Kings rookie forward Andre Lee and his unique path to the NHL from Sweden.

Andre Lee was watching the 2019 NHL Draft at home in Karlstad, Sweden, with his maternal grandmother, who fell asleep as the second day of selections nearly 4,500 miles away, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, was winding down.

“It was like 12 a.m., 1 a.m. in Sweden when the seventh round started and my name popped up,” Lee said. “I woke her up kind of quietly and told her I got drafted. She woke up right away and started screaming.”

The Los Angeles Kings selected Lee in the seventh round (No. 188), part of his unique route to the NHL. The 24-year-old rookie left wing made his debut in the Kings’ 3-1 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 10 after impressing the coaching staff with his performance in training camp and preseason games.

Lee and Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller each hope he achieves the success and career longevity of notable seventh rounders like Doug Gilmour, Joe Pavelski, Ondrej Palat and fellow Swedes Henrik Zetterberg and Henrik Lundqvist.

“He was consistent in the preseason, which was great, and he got the chance to make the team,” Hiller said of Lee. “Now the regular season is much more difficult, but being consistent [every game] gives the coach a lot of comfort, because you know what you’re getting from him.

“He’s just getting started and he’s doing the things he needs to do. He’s a responsible defensive player, finishes checks, gets in on the forecheck, all of the good stuff. He’s an exciting player with a bright future.”

Lee has two assists in 13 games for the Kings and averages 9:06 of ice time per game playing as a bottom-six forward. His first NHL point came on a third-period goal by forward Alex Turcotte in a 6-2 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 16.

“’Turks’ picked up the puck and gave it to me,” Lee said. “I’ll probably give it to my mom, who now lives in Minnesota, to put on my wall in my room over there. Or wait until I, hopefully, get my first NHL goal and then maybe send that over to her.”

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Lee (6-foot-5, 206 pounds) grew up in Sweden with his mother, Maggie Vaccarezza, who got him involved in hockey when he was about eight years old. His father, Tommy Lee, grew up in Philadelphia and was a center/forward for Loyola University Maryland’s NCAA Division I men’s basketball team from 1983-87.

“My dad always tells me that if I grew up in in in USA, I probably would have played basketball because he played basketball too,” he said.

Lee said he grew up idolizing Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kings captain Anze Kopitar.

“It’s definitely a dream come true to be playing on the same team as him,” he said of Kopitar.

After playing youth and junior hockey in Sweden, Lee and his family decided playing in the United States was his best path to the NHL.

“I wanted to (come) over here to take a different route from Sweden,” he said. “I felt like USA hockey fit my style a little bit more as I was still developing.”

Lee joined Sioux Falls of the United States Hockey League, where he had 35 points (20 goals, 15 assists) in 61 regular-season games in 2018-19. He added a team-high 11 points (six goals, five assists), including three game-winning goals, in 12 postseason games to help Sioux Falls win the Clark Cup championship that season.

He then committed to UMass-Lowell, which scouted him at a college hockey showcase. Lee said he was somewhat familiar with the university because fellow Swede Mattias Goransson was a defenseman and alternate captain there in 2018-19.

“(U.S.) college hockey wasn’t a big thing in Sweden at that time,” Lee said. “Obviously, some guys heard of it, but it’s not like a familiar route to take … I decided to explore and see what’s out there.”

In three seasons for UMass-Lowell from 2019-22, Lee had 64 points (31 goals, 33 assists) and a plus-26 rating in 87 games. His best season was in 2021-22, when he had 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 34 games to help guide UMass-Lowell to its first NCAA tournament since 2017, and was named to the Hockey East Third All-Star Team.

“They’re a great program, I liked everything we did there,” Lee said. “I think I developed from a junior hockey player into a man.”

UMass-Lowell coach Norm Bazin said he isn’t surprised by Lee’s rise to the NHL.

“I thought he grew tremendously in his three years here, and he’s always had that upside for flair,” Bazin said. “His shot is deceptive, he’s got that flair for offense, but now he’s concentrating on the details so he can push his way through the lineup.”

After college, Los Angeles assigned Lee to Ontario, its American Hockey League affiliate. Organization coaches and management told him what they expect of him.

“Kind of be physical and be good at other things than just scoring goals and assists,” he said. “Be good on the wall, be strong on the puck, be good defensively. Just be a steady player in all kinds of areas and also be physical.”

He responded with 24 points (14 goals, 10 assists) in 105 AHL regular-season games from 2021-24 and four goals in 10 AHL Calder Cup Playoff games. The Kings signed him to a one-year, two-way $775,000 contract June 5.

“I think he’s got more offensive ability than people have seen yet, but I think we’ll see that as his career evolves here with us,” Hiller said.

“He just doesn’t have a lot of holes in his game, and that gets him trust from the coach. He’ll get a chance to play more as he gets going.”