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

[Lt Dan]

This is a Byfield thread, bringing up Stutzle or Laf should be automatically deleted.
Byfield is doing pretty damn well for going through a lot of adversity. He should end up being a very good top-6 winger for the Kings.

Thank you

Mods can you please make this happen ?

 

[kings11]

I swear to god we cannot discuss a single King on this site without it turning into an Ottawa Senators organization circle jerk.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Rangers did not handle Lafreniere poorly, he was just overhyped unimpressive prospect compared to Stutzle who looked like superstar.

Lafreniere is on a deep team so he hasn't gotten the chance to develop yet. He has a much higher upside than Byfield. Stutzle never looked like a superstar before draft day. He may turn out to be the higher scorer though.

 

[KapG]

Lafreniere is on a deep team so he hasn't gotten the chance to develop yet. He has a much higher upside than Byfield. Stutzle never looked like a superstar before draft day. He may turn out to be the higher scorer though.

What about Laf makes you say his upside is way higher than Byfield? Just curious because that’s not been the narrative at any time ever that I can remember.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

A lot of posters sure are down on QB. It's unfortunate to see.

I only saw the 3rd period, last night, but he was miles ahead of where he was last year.

Having said that, I don't think the Kings handled him well - he should have been in either the CHL or AHL before 2023.

Note : The Rangers also handled LAF poorly - but that is for another thread.

I’m a Byfield fan, even though I root for Anaheim.

I still think he’s young enough to put it all together. Still has to be patient. There are plenty of posters though who downplay his talents

 

[viper0220]

This is a Byfield thread, bringing up Stutzle or Laf should be automatically deleted.
Byfield is doing pretty damn well for going through a lot of adversity. He should end up being a very good top-6 winger for the Kings.

I thought he was a center?

 

[Bgav]

I’m a Byfield fan, even though I root for Anaheim.

I still think he’s young enough to put it all together. Still has to be patient. There are plenty of posters though who downplay his talents

Most people on this site don't watch a player enough to give an actual "scouting report"

Wouldn't read into it too much

 

[ORRFForever]

I’m a Byfield fan, even though I root for Anaheim.

I still think he’s young enough to put it all together. Still has to be patient. There are plenty of posters though who downplay his talents

There sure are.

Assuming Tage Thompson is the template, QB is ahead of schedule. Now, if he could just become "90% Tage" in 4 years, we'd all be thrilled.

 

[tomd]

Said it before but Viktor Kozlov seems like the best comparable as his upside.

 

[Kingfan1967]

Lafreniere is on a deep team so he hasn't gotten the chance to develop yet. He has a much higher upside than Byfield. Stutzle never looked like a superstar before draft day. He may turn out to be the higher scorer though.

I thought he was a center?

Byfield was drafted as a center, and as such was underused in LA because of Kopitar (1c) and Danault (2c), moving Byfield to wing allows him to get more ice time while learning the NHL game ( he's on the top line but is not used for PP or PK)

 

[Bounces R Way]

Someone should probably let this kid know he is 6'5 and 220lbs. If you're going to be a consistent producer in the NHL you need to be assertive in the offensive zone. Definitely that means different things for different players. For Byfield that should be using his skating and his size to get to pucks and hang on to them in the corners. Fight for space in front and make the opponent bend to your will. I hate when people say "well that's not his game", so what? Make it your game. Kopitar might not have a big mean streak but he definitely knows how to be assertive on the ice.

There's not a lot of guys who can kind of keep doing what they were doing in junior and have pro success. Not a lot but a few. Byfield isn't one of them. His game has to evolve beyond just being bigger and faster than everybody else, because that's no longer the case. From my viewings he doesn't have elite vision or IQ(not that they are bad either) but if he were able to get the most out of his tools I still think there is a beast player in there. If he ever realizes he's just a better athlete than most and how to beat teams with that I'd look out.

 

[wetcoast]

Someone should probably let this kid know he is 6'5 and 220lbs. If you're going to be a consistent producer in the NHL you need to be assertive in the offensive zone. Definitely that means different things for different players. For Byfield that should be using his skating and his size to get to pucks and hang on to them in the corners. Fight for space in front and make the opponent bend to your will. I hate when people say "well that's not his game", so what? Make it your game. Kopitar might not have a big mean streak but he definitely knows how to be assertive on the ice.

There's not a lot of guys who can kind of keep doing what they were doing in junior and have pro success. Not a lot but a few. Byfield isn't one of them. His game has to evolve beyond just being bigger and faster than everybody else, because that's no longer the case. From my viewings he doesn't have elite vision or IQ(not that they are bad either) but if he were able to get the most out of his tools I still think there is a beast player in there. If he ever realizes he's just a better athlete than most and how to beat teams with that I'd look out.

Agree with this and wonder if it's a confidence thing or just his personality type?

Not that it matters but I also wonder if it's too late to change his game enough for that transition to beast mode?

 

[Bounces R Way]

Agree with this and wonder if it's a confidence thing or just his personality type?

Tough to say, likely more of a combination of things than just one specific aspect.

Could still have some physical maturing to do. Young kids(and 20year olds are still young kids) with that kind of frame more than anyone else need to put some meat on it to be effective in hockey. The core strength, the forearm strength, the kinetic maturity to not just flail your limbs but use precise movements takes time.

Not that it matters but I also wonder if it's too late to change his game enough for that transition to beast mode?

I don't think it is at all. Plenty of examples of players evolving well into their 20s. Nylander, Nichushkin, Backlund, Verhaege just off the top of my head. Still got a lot of runway that I think the Kings are, despite this thread's opinions, doing a good job giving him. Will be interesting to see what he looks like in the playoffs, and if the Kings let him off the leash so to speak. If he can bring his game to another level I think he could be an X factor in a playoff series.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Someone should probably let this kid know he is 6'5 and 220lbs. If you're going to be a consistent producer in the NHL you need to be assertive in the offensive zone. Definitely that means different things for different players. For Byfield that should be using his skating and his size to get to pucks and hang on to them in the corners. Fight for space in front and make the opponent bend to your will. I hate when people say "well that's not his game", so what? Make it your game. Kopitar might not have a big mean streak but he definitely knows how to be assertive on the ice.

There's not a lot of guys who can kind of keep doing what they were doing in junior and have pro success. Not a lot but a few. Byfield isn't one of them. His game has to evolve beyond just being bigger and faster than everybody else, because that's no longer the case. From my viewings he doesn't have elite vision or IQ(not that they are bad either) but if he were able to get the most out of his tools I still think there is a beast player in there. If he ever realizes he's just a better athlete than most and how to beat teams with that I'd look out.

Have you watched him lately?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Have you watched him lately?

Was gonna say, he's definitely taken steps in that direction. Like everything else in his game, it's thus far inconsistent. But he's been physical in a few ways

--thrown some monster hits on dudes, including slamming Hedman and pissing him off;
--absorbing contact in puck protection like Kopitar;
--Bullying people off the boards, sometimes manhandling 2 guys while walking off with the puck or making a play.

It doesn't happen enough yet but all of the above has happened LOTS more than previously. Sometimes people will only see a period or two and that's how you know how inconsistent he's been, it's like you're watching a different game if its' only 20 min.

But I agree if he can put his speed package together with the above and keep his hands, that's what we had all hoped prior to the draft. It's in flashes right now.

 

[LAKings88]

The move to left wing has been night and day. He isn't scoring the goals but he is involved in the play and making things happen for others. Flashes of the player he could be are happening more frequently.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Have you watched him lately?

Was gonna say, he's definitely taken steps in that direction. Like everything else in his game, it's thus far inconsistent. But he's been physical in a few ways

--thrown some monster hits on dudes, including slamming Hedman and pissing him off;
--absorbing contact in puck protection like Kopitar;
--Bullying people off the boards, sometimes manhandling 2 guys while walking off with the puck or making a play.

It doesn't happen enough yet but all of the above has happened LOTS more than previously. Sometimes people will only see a period or two and that's how you know how inconsistent he's been, it's like you're watching a different game if its' only 20 min.

But I agree if he can put his speed package together with the above and keep his hands, that's what we had all hoped prior to the draft. It's in flashes right now.

Actually happened to catch the last two Kings games yeah. Not so much recently before that. Remember thinking he was great against Winnipeg, didn't really notice him much against the Rangers.

Definitely think that using him on the wing is a good way to get him to just focus on the physical game. Less positional responsibility, less thinking about where the puck is going, more just playing on instinct.

 

[ponder]

It’s SUPER common that guys need to break into the league on the wing, then later move back to centre. For a young guy breaking into the league, it’s a lot to adjust to the speed of the game and faster/bigger/more skilled opponents while also taking on the heavy 2-way responsibilities of a centre. Especially since at lower levels, dominant players get to mostly cheat on D, even centres, while at the NHL level this is unacceptable.

He’s only 20, and IMO has a tonne of things that will make him a great centre down the line - size, skating, puck protection, hockey IQ, high 2-way potential, etc. He has those traits that make guys like Kopitar, Matthews, Barkov, Tage Thompson, etc. so disruptive and effect as pivots. But breaking in on the wing is a good call for him, as it is for most young forwards who were centres pre-NHL.

 

[ORRFForever]

One game and one point at a time.

 

[Osprey]

It’s SUPER common that guys need to break into the league on the wing, then later move back to centre. For a young guy breaking into the league, it’s a lot to adjust to the speed of the game and faster/bigger/more skilled opponents while also taking on the heavy 2-way responsibilities of a centre. Especially since at lower levels, dominant players get to mostly cheat on D, even centres, while at the NHL level this is unacceptable.

He’s only 20, and IMO has a tonne of things that will make him a great centre down the line - size, skating, puck protection, hockey IQ, high 2-way potential, etc. He has those traits that make guys like Kopitar, Matthews, Barkov, Tage Thompson, etc. so disruptive and effect as pivots. But breaking in on the wing is a good call for him, as it is for most young forwards who were centres pre-NHL.

How common is it for #1 centers, though? Of the elite centers that you listed, I believe that most have played center since entering the league. Only Thompson started as a winger, but that's because he was a winger at the time and the switch to center was an experiment to try to get him going. Byfield is a center being moved to wing to try to get him going. I, personally, can't think of many centers who struggled, switched to wing, switched back to center and then became elite. Maybe that'll happen for Byfield, but it doesn't seem to me like it's common.

 

[Garl]

There sure are.

Assuming Tage Thompson is the template, QB is ahead of schedule. Now, if he could just become "90% Tage" in 4 years, we'd all be thrilled.

Every big guy with skating ability is Tage Thompson

 

[ORRFForever]

Every big guy with skating ability is Tage Thompson

We can always hope.

 

[Baaaaaaaaaaaaah]

Still not a fan. He's such a physical specimen maybe he fights through the other inadequacies I think he has. Don't think we have a Tage Thompson on our hands though.

 

[ponder]

How common is it for #1 centers, though? Of the elite centers that you listed, I believe that most have played center since entering the league. Only Thompson started as a winger, but that's because he was a winger at the time and the switch to center was an experiment to try to get him going. Byfield is a center being moved to wing to try to get him going. I, personally, can't think of many centers who struggled, switched to wing, switched back to center and then became elite. Maybe that'll happen for Byfield, but it doesn't seem to me like it's common.

Pretty common. Some that come to mind off the top of my head:
- Giroux
- Tage Thompson
- Draisaitl
- Zetterberg
- Hertl
- Petey
- Aho
- Pavelski
- Kuznetsov
- Jamie Benn
- Zibanejad
- Larkin

All played plenty of wing in their earlier seasons. Most of them flipped back and forth between C and W in their early years, similar to Byfield, but spent lots of time on the wing.

 

[majormajor]

Every big guy with skating ability is Tage Thompson

In this case they both have very impressive handling ability across a very wide reach.