C Quinton Byfield (2020, 2nd, LAK) part IV

[ATdaisuki]

Despite how the season has started, I still believe that the pre-draft talk that top three teams could only lose if they picked off the board. Laf, Byfield, and Jimmy Stü are going to be three amazing players. Byfield was always going to take time. With his size, speed and skill, he will eventually be skating through defensemen, getting tons of shots on goal, and driving play as a #1 center at the NHL level. This draft is going to inject so much talent into the league, and the top three guys are going to lead the way. I'm glad Byfield ended up out west, Lafreniere ended up outside my division, and Stützle ended up on my team. I would still be thrilled if the same statement was made with the players shifted around. Literally no reason to bring down one fantastic prospect because another is doing better months after being drafted.

 

[Sting]

Any chance Byfield sees a few games in the NHL near the end of the season?

 

[bsu]

Just to be clear--I wasn't saying this to mock any other prospects. My example here is that Kopitar has been the most 'boring' player in the league for years, he's the Tim Duncan of the NHL. Byfield seems to fit more of that category even though he has dynamic moments.

Byfield is always going to look like a battleship with hands, so if he has to be 'visually impressive' for people to like him, I'm okay with the 'meh's because we've heard that all about a hart-caliber player for his whole career.

Tim Duncan has one of the highest IQs of all time. I don't see that with Byfield and may others saw it as one of his weakness. He's a physical freak that is huge and fast. I don't see the comparison at all and I actually think he is flashy because of his speed and things he can do at that size with that speed. I see players like Thornton, Backstrom, etc. As players you mentioned not Byfield. Byfield compared to an NBA player would be like Giannis Antetokounmpo if he fully develops. Flaws in his game but a physical freak that is hard to stop but some flaws in his game

Kopitar is known for his hockey IQ its one of his biggest strengths I don't see that with Byfield. His hockey sense isn't as high. If Byfield develops correctly I see him as an Eric Staal type player (look at his stats he was a beast)

 

[kilowatt]

Any chance Byfield sees a few games in the NHL near the end of the season?

Pretty much a 100% chance. Once the OHL season starts, he'll be called up to LA and get in at least 6 games. He's not going back to Sudbury.

 

[The Lukeman]

Byfield has scored 3 in as many games in the AHL. 11 points in 18 games. He is really setting in now. Game looks way better than it did a month ago

 

[voxel]

He should have had TWO goals in the first period alone (but only scored one on the PP). He stole a puck against the Condors and nearly scored point blank. I like his two-way game.

EDIT: He did blow coverage on the Marody goal in the second.

OTOH.. I absolutely hate Turcotte's game. Turcotte made 7 horrific passes in the first period alone that lead to giveaways or broken plays. If I were a coach I'd bench him or try to fix that part of his game.

 

[SFKingshomer]

He should have had TWO goals in the first period alone (but only scored one on the PP). He stole a puck against the Condors and nearly scored point blank. I like his two-way game.

EDIT: He did blow coverage on the Marody goal in the second.

OTOH.. I absolutely hate Turcotte's game. Turcotte made 7 horrific passes in the first period alone that lead to giveaways or broken plays. If I were a coach I'd bench him or try to fix that part of his game.

Turcotte has been a beast since he returned from injury and there’s no shock they went on a bit of a streak with him in the lineup.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Pretty much a 100% chance. Once the OHL season starts, he'll be called up to LA and get in no more than 6 games. He's not going back to Sudbury.

FIFY.

 

[voxel]

Turcotte has been a beast since he returned from injury and there’s no shock they went on a bit of a streak with him in the lineup.

I haven't watched the other games during the win streak (there's another Condors-Reign game tomorrow though). This afternoon Turcotte was a giveaway machine in the first and then only had a few touches in the last two periods but in those periods he made sweet passes.

The Reign try outscore their opponents instead of trying to defend. This didn't work this afternoon. Reign had 3 total shots (2 goals - both on the PP) in the first period by the 18th minute and in the third they had 3 shots (0 goals) before they pulled the goalie around 17-18th minute mark. Condors scored more goals (4) than the Reign had shots (3) at that point in the third. Durzi + Clague are just awful defensively and could be the major source of their woes.

 

[LAKings88]

I haven't watched the other games during the win streak (there's another Condors-Reign game tomorrow though). This afternoon Turcotte was a giveaway machine in the first and then only had a few touches in the last two periods but in those periods he made sweet passes.

The Reign try outscore their opponents instead of trying to defend. This didn't work this afternoon. Reign had 3 total shots (2 goals - both on the PP) in the first period by the 18th minute and in the third they had 3 shots (0 goals) before they pulled the goalie around 17-18th minute mark. Condors scored more goals (4) than the Reign had shots (3) at that point in the third. Durzi + Clague are just awful defensively and could be the major source of their woes.

The defense and goaltending are huge concerns.

Had some hopes for Durzi but I don’t think he sees any time in LA. Clague was ok in LA this year. He seems to have regressed a bit in Ontario.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

I haven't watched the other games during the win streak (there's another Condors-Reign game tomorrow though). This afternoon Turcotte was a giveaway machine in the first and then only had a few touches in the last two periods but in those periods he made sweet passes.

The Reign try outscore their opponents instead of trying to defend. This didn't work this afternoon. Reign had 3 total shots (2 goals - both on the PP) in the first period by the 18th minute and in the third they had 3 shots (0 goals) before they pulled the goalie around 17-18th minute mark. Condors scored more goals (4) than the Reign had shots (3) at that point in the third. Durzi + Clague are just awful defensively and could be the major source of their woes.

I'm not sure it's so much that they're trying to play all offense/no defense but more so that they have a disproportionate amount of first-year pro players who are learning to play a team defensive system at the pro level. Other than yesterday, the group had been looking much improved defensively the past several games.

There are certainly weak spots on the backend (Durzi is downright garbage and Clague has been disappointing since being sent back down), but it seems like more of a circumstance of young players--including forwards--having a tough time transitioning to the pro game in the defensive zone (Byfield being exhibit A of that).

 

[ru4reals]

I haven't watched the other games during the win streak (there's another Condors-Reign game tomorrow though). This afternoon Turcotte was a giveaway machine in the first and then only had a few touches in the last two periods but in those periods he made sweet passes.

The Reign try outscore their opponents instead of trying to defend. This didn't work this afternoon. Reign had 3 total shots (2 goals - both on the PP) in the first period by the 18th minute and in the third they had 3 shots (0 goals) before they pulled the goalie around 17-18th minute mark. Condors scored more goals (4) than the Reign had shots (3) at that point in the third. Durzi + Clague are just awful defensively and could be the major source of their woes.

I'm not sure what game you were watching to say Turcotte was a giveaway machine. And then had only a few chances in the last two periods? C'mon now. His forchecking is the best on the Reign and creates more turnovers then giveaways. He may have a few like every other player does, but to say he's a turnover machine is pretty funny. Played one of his best games this year and his line created numerous chances. He could have had 3 or 4 assists and set Byron for his second goal. Set up Kaliyev for a glorious chance around the 9 minute mark in the second not including the sick pass. Came back hard and broke up a few plays and played responsible defense. I don't believe his line was on the ice for any of the Goals in the third except the empty netter. Almost every player was a minus probably because of the meltdown towards the end of the game but he was a plus 1. Maybe you got the numbers confused because 39 was awesome yesterday. Although I agree with Durzi and Clague they definitely did not have a good game on Saturday.

 

[voxel]

I'm not sure what game you were watching to say Turcotte was a giveaway machine. And then had only a few chances in the last two periods? C'mon now. His forchecking is the best on the Reign and creates more turnovers then giveaways. He may have a few like every other player does, but to say he's a turnover machine is pretty funny. Played one of his best games this year and his line created numerous chances. He could have had 3 or 4 assists and set Byron for his second goal. Set up Kaliyev for a glorious chance around the 9 minute mark in the second not including the sick pass. Came back hard and broke up a few plays and played responsible defense. I don't believe his line was on the ice for any of the Goals in the third except the empty netter. Almost every player was a minus probably because of the meltdown towards the end of the game but he was a plus 1. Maybe you got the numbers confused because 39 was awesome yesterday. Although I agree with Durzi and Clague they definitely did not have a good game on Saturday.

I watched the delayed feed on the 1st so I paid attention without distractions(and skipped the commercials). It was a sloppy first period with 6 Condors shots and 4 Reign shots. 2 of those Reign shots were on the PP that were goals (rebound Byfield goal and the fluke ricochet first goal) and 1 other shot was a point blank chance by Byfield after he stole the puck in the slot area. Reign only had 3 total shots in 18 minutes. And it's pretty sad 2 of them were by an 18 year old Byfield!

Reign were coughing up the puck in the NZ all first period. I blame that on Turcotte and other Reign forwards. It was ugly hockey even though the Reign were leading 2-1. In the second period, the Reign capitalized on their chances and had 15-17? shots (which is impressive against the Condors) but the third period was similar to the first and the Reign were neutralized again and couldn't handle the forecheck. They gave up 4 goals(!!) and only had 5 shots in the final period... and 1 shot in the final 12 minutes. The Reign D are soft giveaway machines who often make bad breakout passes. Don't blame Reign goaltending for the goals because most of the chances were from great tips or self-inflicted giveaways or bad line changes. And Durzi got turnstiled on the McLeod goal... can't ever seeing Durzi handling NHL forwards.

Honestly from my vague recollection.. I think Turcotte played very sparingly in the last two periods. It's too bad the AHL doesn't have shift charts. I recall Sutter and Imama on a lot on the ice in the third. They were trying to shut the Condors forwards down.

 

[Fatass]

Been watching #55 play recently, and he is big, can skate, and has great skills. But oh my he plays a very immature game. He needs AHL time, and should stay there until he matures.

 

[ru4reals]

I watched the delayed feed on the 1st so I paid attention without distractions(and skipped the commercials). It was a sloppy first period with 6 Condors shots and 4 Reign shots. 2 of those Reign shots were on the PP that were goals (rebound Byfield goal and the fluke ricochet first goal) and 1 other shot was a point blank chance by Byfield after he stole the puck in the slot area. Reign only had 3 total shots in 18 minutes. And it's pretty sad 2 of them were by an 18 year old Byfield!

Reign were coughing up the puck in the NZ all first period. I blame that on Turcotte and other Reign forwards. It was ugly hockey even though the Reign were leading 2-1. In the second period, the Reign capitalized on their chances and had 15-17? shots (which is impressive against the Condors) but the third period was similar to the first and the Reign were neutralized again and couldn't handle the forecheck. They gave up 4 goals(!!) and only had 5 shots in the final period... and 1 shot in the final 12 minutes. The Reign D are soft giveaway machines who often make bad breakout passes. Don't blame Reign goaltending for the goals because most of the chances were from great tips or self-inflicted giveaways or bad line changes. And Durzi got turnstiled on the McLeod goal... can't ever seeing Durzi handling NHL forwards.

Honestly from my vague recollection.. I think Turcotte played very sparingly in the last two periods. It's too bad the AHL doesn't have shift charts. I recall Sutter and Imama on a lot on the ice in the third. They were trying to shut the Condors forwards down.

I watched the game twice because I missed the second half of the third and the second bolded comment proves you didn't watch the same game as I did especially saying Turcotte played very sparingly. Wrobo was deplying 4 lines regularly and he had his regular shifts. To single out Turcotte is pretty funny considering his line was the best line all night. Here I'll help you out with his shift count

Second Period Shifts
1st Shift - 19:15
2nd Shift - 15:37 PP
3rd Shift - 12:32 Assist to Bryon
4th Shift - 12:23 His line stayed on since he just stepped on the ice. Byfield almost scored after jumping on could of had an assist from his great stick work to get the puck from the defender.
5th Shift - 9:44 Great vision on the right side of the net to find Kaliyev for a glorious chance. Beat two defender by the way.
6th Shift - 8:46 Turcotte's line stayed out because of a TV timeout. They were in the opposition zone the whole time from 9:44 to 8:46. Oh and as soon as they stepped off the ice the Condor scores.
7th Shift - 6:17 As soon as they stepped on the ice Kupari got the puck carried it up ice passed it to Turcotte and well I don't need to explain the rest. Kaliyev scores. Sick sick pass.
8th Shift - 3:12 Spent most of the shift again in the offensive zone.

Third Period Shifts
1st Shift - 19:42 Had a good defensive poke check to clear the zone.
2nd Shift - 15:54
3rd Shift - 13:27
4th Shift - 10:32
5th Shift - 7:57 Good job backchecking and chased the puckcarrier throughout the shift.
6th Shift - 4:22
7th Shift - 9:09 Reign Pulls the goalie Empty net goal against.

While were at it Here's the Imama, Sutter line shifts you alluded to in the Third.

1st shift - 17:54
2nd shift - 15:34
3rd shift - 11:47
4th shift - 9:00 Condor scores their 5th goal.
5th shift - 6:28 Condor scores their 7th goal.

8 shifts in the second and 7 shifts in the third. Sounds like a regular game to me. Imama and Sutter was on the ice for 5 shifts and conceded two goals against. No goal against for Turcotte's line except for the empty netter.

Like I said everyone makes mistakes but calling out Turcottes is pretty uninformed. And the first bolded part of your comment, what hockey game doesn't have this from both teams. I'm assuming the Condors were perfect because if they were, then for sure we were not watching the same game. It's pretty comical that you watched this game and came away with Turcotte was a turnover machine and Turcotte played sparingly in the last two periods. Seriously I'm baffled as to what game you were watching. I'll give you credit the defense was pretty bad towards the end of the game that's for sure.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

He’s heating up.

 

[Rob Brown]

Glad to see QB settling in!

 

[Dykstra]

1G 1A +4 tonight

Sounds all right.

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

Q-Bad gonna mess you up, son

 

[voxel]

I watched the game twice because I missed the second half of the third and the second bolded comment proves you didn't watch the same game as I did especially saying Turcotte played very sparingly. Wrobo was deplying 4 lines regularly and he had his regular shifts. To single out Turcotte is pretty funny considering his line was the best line all night. Here I'll help you out with his shift count

Second Period Shifts
1st Shift - 19:15
2nd Shift - 15:37 PP
3rd Shift - 12:32 Assist to Bryon
4th Shift - 12:23 His line stayed on since he just stepped on the ice. Byfield almost scored after jumping on could of had an assist from his great stick work to get the puck from the defender.
5th Shift - 9:44 Great vision on the right side of the net to find Kaliyev for a glorious chance. Beat two defender by the way.
6th Shift - 8:46 Turcotte's line stayed out because of a TV timeout. They were in the opposition zone the whole time from 9:44 to 8:46. Oh and as soon as they stepped off the ice the Condor scores.
7th Shift - 6:17 As soon as they stepped on the ice Kupari got the puck carried it up ice passed it to Turcotte and well I don't need to explain the rest. Kaliyev scores. Sick sick pass.
8th Shift - 3:12 Spent most of the shift again in the offensive zone.

Third Period Shifts
1st Shift - 19:42 Had a good defensive poke check to clear the zone.
2nd Shift - 15:54
3rd Shift - 13:27
4th Shift - 10:32
5th Shift - 7:57 Good job backchecking and chased the puckcarrier throughout the shift.
6th Shift - 4:22
7th Shift - 9:09 Reign Pulls the goalie Empty net goal against.

While were at it Here's the Imama, Sutter line shifts you alluded to in the Third.

1st shift - 17:54
2nd shift - 15:34
3rd shift - 11:47
4th shift - 9:00 Condor scores their 5th goal.
5th shift - 6:28 Condor scores their 7th goal.

8 shifts in the second and 7 shifts in the third. Sounds like a regular game to me. Imama and Sutter was on the ice for 5 shifts and conceded two goals against. No goal against for Turcotte's line except for the empty netter.

Like I said everyone makes mistakes but calling out Turcottes is pretty uninformed. And the first bolded part of your comment, what hockey game doesn't have this from both teams. I'm assuming the Condors were perfect because if they were, then for sure we were not watching the same game. It's pretty comical that you watched this game and came away with Turcotte was a turnover machine and Turcotte played sparingly in the last two periods. Seriously I'm baffled as to what game you were watching. I'll give you credit the defense was pretty bad towards the end of the game that's for sure.

Since I'm Condors fan I don't pay attention to Reign players on a shift by shift basis. I only notice mistakes. And there were plenty of sloppy mistakes in the NZ in the first. Like I said "Honestly from my vague recollection.." about the shifts. Turcotte's line in the first probably generated zero shots due to sloppy play.

This wasn't the first Condors-Reign I've watched this season. Bad D is pretty normal for the Reign. The forwards corp is amazing. This entire AHL season has too many ECHLers. Condors are full of 4th liner NHLers at best (McLeod might be a 3C) and they don't have a single D-man that will play more than a half-season of NHL games except maybe Max Gildon and he's a Panther prospect on loan. Condors D last season had Bouchard, Lagesson, Jones, Samorukov (5th in KHL in plus/minus) who are all NHLers.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Goona be a beast. Perfect pick for the Kings to go along with the identity of their team.

Guys that are that big, fast, and skilled are pretty much unicorns.

 

[Eagle Fang]

This wasn't the first Condors-Reign I've watched this season. Bad D is pretty normal for the Reign.

That's putting it nicely! Tons of other words would be less appropriate but more accurate than 'bad'

The forwards corp is amazing. This entire AHL season has too many ECHLers. Condors are full of 4th liner NHLers at best (McLeod might be a 3C) and they don't have a single D-man that will play more than a half-season of NHL games except maybe Max Gildon and he's a Panther prospect on loan. Condors D last season had Bouchard, Lagesson, Jones, Samorukov (5th in KHL in plus/minus) who are all NHLers.

Not sure how McLeod projects at the NHL level, but vs the Reign he looks real good.. but seeing as it's the Reign that might not be saying much lol... Still, he's a fun player to watch with tons of speed.

 

[ru4reals]

Since I'm Condors fan I don't pay attention to Reign players on a shift by shift basis. I only notice mistakes. And there were plenty of sloppy mistakes in the NZ in the first. Like I said "Honestly from my vague recollection.." about the shifts. Turcotte's line in the first probably generated zero shots due to sloppy play.

This wasn't the first Condors-Reign I've watched this season. Bad D is pretty normal for the Reign. The forwards corp is amazing. This entire AHL season has too many ECHLers. Condors are full of 4th liner NHLers at best (McLeod might be a 3C) and they don't have a single D-man that will play more than a half-season of NHL games except maybe Max Gildon and he's a Panther prospect on loan. Condors D last season had Bouchard, Lagesson, Jones, Samorukov (5th in KHL in plus/minus) who are all NHLers.

I'm happy for you and your Condors but I'm not addressing your Condors all I'm saying is you claimed this "Turcotte was a giveaway machine in the first and then only had a few touches in the last two periods but in those periods" (which is absolutely false) and this "I recall Sutter and Imama on a lot on the ice in the third. They were trying to shut the Condors forwards down." Which is even more puzzling. And I gave you a shift by shift analysis of why you're statement is so out of touch with the game. Which of course I'm correct. Pretty much the first bolded statement above says it all about your claims. Anyways good luck with the rest of the season.

 

[voxel]

Watched tonight's game. Byfield should have had a second goal in the first period when he missed a wide open net. He had another Grade A chance (stole a puck in the slot area) last night in the first also. That's basically two high percentage chances that failed to cash in but he did score two goals (1 PP rebound goal last night and a breakaway goal tonight).

His acceleration and defensive coverage could use some work but nobody should be doubting his upside.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

I do hope Byfield finds his game eventually and that extra gear, and is able to become a consistent player. He seems like a great kid you hate to see struggling.