Prospect Info: LAK Draft (2nd, 2020) C Quinton Byfield - Sudbury Wolves, OHL

[Lt Dan]

I can't understand why you all keep going about this. Every opinion I read from any 'expert' had Byfield in the top three, if not #2. So, let's not act like the Kings went off the grid here...

It will take YEARS before we can accurately compare who was the better pick....YEARS. Just look at Vilardi, he was drafted 4 years ago. Just stop already...

People want instant gratification man.

They should have learned from that instant coffee bullshit that good things come to this who wait

 

[Telos]

Meh, there's a decent chance that people look back and wish they drafted differently, sure. In the end, the choice was made, and it was largely believed to be the right one. I honestly still don't think they chose wrong, that's still the pick and risk you can afford to take and I still think QB is going to turn into a very good hockey player. It's way too early to tell. He has the toolset and potential, our development staff has shown themselves to be pretty competent, and I don't expect him to have it figured out at 18 years old.

 

[Herby]

I can't understand why you all keep going about this. Every opinion I read from any 'expert' had Byfield in the top three, if not #2. So, let's not act like the Kings went off the grid here...

It will take YEARS before we can accurately compare who was the better pick....YEARS. Just look at Vilardi, he was drafted 4 years ago. Just stop already...

Can you cite one example of anyone saying the Kings went off the grid or shouldn't have taken QB the night of the draft? You are making up an argument that no one is having. Myself and the vast majority of this board wanted Byfield, and while its unfair to say someone is a bust at 18 (ok maybe Colten Teubert) its not unfair to say someone is a star at the same age, that is a concept lost on many here who as Ru4 said in his very good post, seem to think that certain players are finished products at 18 because they are stars in the league. Getting back to QB, no one does what QB did in the OHL or makes the Canadian WJC team as a 17 year old if they aren't an extremely high end prospect, and no one is saying he isn't a high end prospect, just as AL is still an elite high end prospect for the Rangers despite his struggles. People just get so defensive in thinking that praise for the amazing stuff one player has done is a knock on someone else, seems odd to me but it goes on all the time here, half this board despised Erik Karlsson forever because he was DD's rival in many years for the Norris, made no sense but it is what it is. Saying the Rangers and Kings would have taken TS if the draft were held tonight is praising TS, it's not trashing the other two players in any way. Being the 2nd and 3rd best players in the world in an entire age group is very impressive.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Why? It's obvious he is a very special player. It didn't take 3 years to realize that Kopitar and Kane were going to be superstars, you just watch them play in the NHL and you could see it, Stutzle is the same type of player as Kane, they both make those passes that we as fans can see from our couch or you can see sitting in the 300 sections but very few people in the world can see at the ice level.

And it's not a knock on the Kings or their scouting process, would say the same thing about the Rangers, and they took the consensus #1 player. I don't blame either team or say they made the wrong decision at the time, I think much like Kopitar a decade and a half before there were other circumstances that in hindsight made him fall and this situation is probably similar. But it didn't take Kopitar playing 2 seasons in the NHL to see it, it took closer to one game.

Yes he is a special player and so was he during the wjc 2019 and the DEL already....all before the draft.

LA still took Byfield.

That does not mean they cant be wrong but its kinda silly IMO that they would have chosen otherwise right now.

Than I would say, why the hell didn’t you draft Stützle. That would seriously piss me off, yes. He wasnt a water carrier. He was already compared with Kane.

 

[kings11]

Yes he is a special player and so was he during the wjc 2019 and the DEL already....all before the draft.

LA still took Byfield.

That does not mean they cant be wrong but its kinda silly IMO that they would have chosen otherwise right now.

Than I would say, why the hell didn’t you draft Stützle. That would seriously piss me off, yes. He wasnt a water carrier. He was already compared with Kane.

Correction, Stutzle was never compared to Kane.. most said his ceiling and likely comp was Panarin.. which is still damn good
Byfield is raw but but you can see he just oozes talent, skill, size... everything really that you would want in a franchise center. Look at it this way, instead of wasting a year in juniors this kid is playing in the AHL and looking like he belongs! That’s damn impressive

 

[Herby]

Yes he is a special player and so was he during the wjc 2019 and the DEL already....all before the draft.

LA still took Byfield.

That does not mean they cant be wrong but its kinda silly IMO that they would have chosen otherwise right now.

Than I would say, why the hell didn’t you draft Stützle. That would seriously piss me off, yes. He wasnt a water carrier. He was already compared with Kane.

Because it was the most important pick the Kings had made in over a decade and drafting a finesse player from the DEL over a physically imposing player who had dominated the NHL's premier pipeline league as a 17 year old made a lot of sense. Stutzle was compared to Kane but there was also significant risk that his play might not translate to the NHL, as it's hard to project how well game sense and vision (which is TS biggest srength) will carry over to the pace of the NHL game. Also, with Turcotte coming off a very underwhelming D+1 season the Kings also were also looking at a farm system that while very strong was possibly lacking a future #1 c in the pipeline, a pipeline that had a couple of guys who might be able to play the role that Stutzle projected to play, there were no guarantees Stutzle would be able to play pivot in the NHL. All of this was true at the time and that is what Blake and his staff were going off and they made the decision and most of us agreed with it.

Saying the Kings made the logically correct decision on draft night but would make a different one now are both true statements and in no way contradict each other. The Kings (and Rangers) didn't have the luxury of knowing Stutzle would be this good playing in NA. I think people who disagree with the 2nd part are just being homers though, but we have a few of those here.

 

[ibleedkings]

I was pretty disappointed when we picked QB, wanted Stutzle from the beginning. I thought he would be our modern day Palffy, and he's living up to it so far for the Sens. Hoping QB works out for us or maybe is packaged for Eichel .

Some people here jump your **** tho if you even second guess the pick.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Correction, Stutzle was never compared to Kane.. most said his ceiling and likely comp was Panarin.. which is still damn good
Byfield is raw but but you can see he just oozes talent, skill, size... everything really that you would want in a franchise center. Look at it this way, instead of wasting a year in juniors this kid is playing in the AHL and looking like he belongs! That’s damn impressive

I read Kane plenty of times and could understand it too.

I certainly doesnt need to be “corrected” because you missed it.

 

[Sol]

I find it fascinating how people on this board are so insecure about the fact that Stutzle looks much more ready than Byfield.

There was a real reason why people preferred Stutzle over Byfield. But most on this board were too set on him for whatever reason to see the legitimate argument for Stutzle.


But we are all gonna keep hoping that Byfield pans out because the past is the past, but again, as someone who plays stocks, the last thing I do when I am investing in stocks is HOPE that the company does good. If I see a similar company that looks more proven, I will go with it because it's less of a gamble. And at 2nd overall I wouldn't go with a gamble.

 

[likid]

I just hope, this wont be situation like NBA draft few years ago, when Kings (Sacramento) took guy who can jump high instead supposed question mark from Europe named Luka Doncic...

 

[Herby]

Correction, Stutzle was never compared to Kane.. most said his ceiling and likely comp was Panarin.. which is still damn good
Byfield is raw but but you can see he just oozes talent, skill, size... everything really that you would want in a franchise center. Look at it this way, instead of wasting a year in juniors this kid is playing in the AHL and looking like he belongs! That’s damn impressive

I don't know about comparisons, some comparisons are really off for comparing 17 year olds to pros. But I saw Patrick Kane play alot in person as an 18/19 year old in the NHL and Stutzle has many similarities, they are both dynamic with the puck on their sticks. Defenseman don't play these guys like they play 99% of the league.

I think Kane was more naturally gifted with God given skill but Stutzle probably has better game sense and vision. Either way, it didn't take "multiple years" for people to see how amazing Kane was, and it's the same situation with Stutzle. Some guys are just stars from their first shifts in the league.

 

[kings11]

I don't know about comparisons, some comparisons are really off for comparing 17 year olds to pros. But I saw Patrick Kane play alot in person as an 18/19 year old in the NHL and Stutzle has many similarities, they are both dynamic with the puck on their sticks. Defenseman don't play these guys like they play 99% of the league.

I think Kane was more naturally gifted with God given skill but Stutzle probably has better game sense and vision. Either way, it didn't take "multiple years" for people to see how amazing Kane was, and it's the same situation with Stutzle. Some guys are just stars from their first shifts in the league.

Kane also played with an edge the guys a prick lol

 

[SFKingshomer]

I don’t think we will know what we have in Byfield for 2 or 3 years into the NHL.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

So you’re saying he is wrong or that we are supposed to just ignore what Stutzle in particular is doing?

I was strongly behind drafting QB myself, but let’s be honest here, based on what TS has shown in the NHL there is zero chance the Kings are still making the same pick. I know some people hate to admit stuff like that, but come on, how can you think otherwise?

Stutzle is scoring at a less than 50 point pace. Guys get absolutely eviscerated on this board for that.

I'm pretty comfortable saying this is panning out literally exactly as expected between these two picks--Byfield isn't yet in the NHL, and Stutzle is getting acclimated.

You draft for 20 years, not 2 months.

Kings had months and months to make their decision between the two and made it. No way they're second guessing it for the guy scoring at the same pace as Nail Yakupov's rookie season at this point.

Yes, TS looks like he's going to be a phenomenal player and ANY of the top three could end up the best player. THat was always the risk. But no scout is having second thoughts after a quarter season of the weirdest nhl season in recent memory; TS isn't doing THAT good.

I can't understand why you all keep going about this. Every opinion I read from any 'expert' had Byfield in the top three, if not #2. So, let's not act like the Kings went off the grid here...

It will take YEARS before we can accurately compare who was the better pick....YEARS. Just look at Vilardi, he was drafted 4 years ago. Just stop already...

It's literally the exact same people that wrote off Vilardi.

I find it fascinating how people on this board are so insecure about the fact that Stutzle looks much more ready than Byfield.

There was a real reason why people preferred Stutzle over Byfield. But most on this board were too set on him for whatever reason to see the legitimate argument for Stutzle.


But we are all gonna keep hoping that Byfield pans out because the past is the past, but again, as someone who plays stocks, the last thing I do when I am investing in stocks is HOPE that the company does good. If I see a similar company that looks more proven, I will go with it because it's less of a gamble. And at 2nd overall I wouldn't go with a gamble.

I mean, everyone knew Stutzle was 'more ready' than Byfield. The argument isn't about that. It's whether him being in the NHL right now invalidates belief in QB and it doesn't. Both guys can be awesome. Both are doing basically what's expected right now.

Someone on the main board thread pointed out how Bennett had an excellent rookie year but do you take him over Nylander, Ehlers, or the guy right in front of him, Draisaitl now? Recall how much people were trashing Leon early on?

I'm not saying TS is at all comparable to Bennett or Yakupov. He looks the part, electric dude with an electric personality. But development isn't linear and the guy winning the start of the race doesn't always win.

Edit: actually even using Draisaitl as a comparison, which is a pretty good one--
wasn't in the nhl at 18.
9 points at 19. BUST.
51 points at 20. Okay this guy can be a player.
77 and 70 points at 21 and 22--alright we've got a legit star on our hands.
105, 110, 114 (pace) points ever since.

I feel like that's a more realistic path at Byfield and it seems like some people are going to have to sack up their expectations on prospect development.

 

[King'sPawn]

So you’re saying he is wrong or that we are supposed to just ignore what Stutzle in particular is doing?

I was strongly behind drafting QB myself, but let’s be honest here, based on what TS has shown in the NHL there is zero chance the Kings are still making the same pick. I know some people hate to admit stuff like that, but come on, how can you think otherwise?

I think the Kings know what they got in Byfield. They know what they passed on with Stutzle. I know this may sound surprising, but there are teams of people in 31 organizations who get paid to do this.

I've warmed up to DB, but holy ****ing hot take. He also said the Rangers would pass up on Lafreniere based on the events since the draft.

Stutzle is a very talented player who is making an easier and faster transition to the NHL. He deserves his praise. But would you draft a player for the past 5 months over:

- 2x CHL player of the year
- CHL rookie of the year
- WJC MVP on the gold-medal winning team

Among other accolades? The first 2 months into an NHL career is the more telling body of work.

Stutzle has had a meteoric rise, not too dissimilar from Hischier. But these trajectories aren't linear.

And yes, with all that, Byfield may very well NOT get better. But that's why he's in a developmental league - to give him the best shot to do so.

If the Kings were really threatened by the success of Stutzle, they'd call up Byfield to see where he is at the NHL level and evaluate if this is the right pick.

I'm not saying you have to listen to me, but at least parrot the hot takes of people who make a career out of evaluating and followingbthe draft, prospects, and the development process.

 

[Herby]

I think the Kings know what they got in Byfield. They know what they passed on with Stutzle. I know this may sound surprising, but there are teams of people in 31 organizations who get paid to do this.

I've warmed up to DB, but holy ****ing hot take. He also said the Rangers would pass up on Lafreniere based on the events since the draft.

Stutzle is a very talented player who is making an easier and faster transition to the NHL. He deserves his praise. But would you draft a player for the past 5 months over:

- 2x CHL player of the year
- CHL rookie of the year
- WJC MVP on the gold-medal winning team

Among other accolades? The first 2 months into an NHL career is the more telling body of work.

Stutzle has had a meteoric rise, not too dissimilar from Hischier. But these trajectories aren't linear.

And yes, with all that, Byfield may very well NOT get better. But that's why he's in a developmental league - to give him the best shot to do so.

If the Kings were really threatened by the success of Stutzle, they'd call up Byfield to see where he is at the NHL level and evaluate if this is the right pick.

I'm not saying you have to listen to me, but at least parrot the hot takes of people who make a career out of evaluating and followingbthe draft, prospects, and the development process.

I respect your opinion, and again I am not knocking either QB or AL, I think (surprisingly) that you are falling into the trap that others are in thinking that praising TS is somehow knocking QB, which I don't think is the case. I gave a pretty long and detailed post a few up as to why I would have taken QB, and I don't fault Blake at all for the pick. But you also just can't ignore what we have seen from TS vs. the best players in the world.

I also don't think its a "hot take" to say that TS would be the #1 pick if the draft were re-held today, he has shown a skill level and vision that very few in the league possess and he is making plays in the NHL as an 18 year old that only the best in the world have done at the same age, so yes I believe having seen what they have seen the Kings and Rangers both easily take TS. 25 NHL games is significantly more valuable an evaluation tool than multiple seasons playing vs. teenagers. Using the Kopitar example again, we all knew Anze was a star from the second he stepped onto NHL ice (same with Doughty). Would it have been a "hot take" to say Anze Kopitar was a better prospect and would have gone higher in a re-draft than Bobby Ryan or Jack Johnson in November 2006? I don't think it would have been, and I don't think it is here, nor was it a knock against either one of those players.

Again using the Kopitar example because I think it's the most similar, a bunch of professional evaluators also missed on AK, he should have been the #2 pick in his draft and he proved it almost right away, check up on some Andy Murray quotes about Kopi in the 2005 camp. You can't write off players or call them busts right away, but you can certainly see when a player is a superstar. A bunch of teams missed out on a superstar and those pros were clearly wrong. Unfortunately I think the Kings missed out on a future superstar here, now lets see how Byfield ends up being , again, he is a very good, elite prospect but you are always going to take the sure thing, and TS is a sure thing star, he is going to contend for scoring titles for the next dozen + years now, and saying that isn't a knock on QB or AL.

 

[SFKingshomer]

I went back and forth before deciding Byfields potential is too good to pass up. Watching him at WJ this year vs last year was night and day but he was still inconsistent. He seems a bit passive at times like he’s afraid of making a mistake. I felt he was better in game 2 than his 6 point night when he was a physical force away from the puck. The talent is there and I think the IQ is as well. The drive to want to be the guy is what he needs to do more consistently.

 

[Fishhead]

Again using the Kopitar example because I think it's the most similar, a bunch of professional evaluators also missed on AK, he should have been the #2 pick in his draft and he proved it almost right away, check up on some Andy Murray quotes about Kopi in the 2005 camp. You can't write off players or call them busts right away, but you can certainly see when a player is a superstar. A bunch of teams missed out on a superstar and those pros were clearly wrong. Unfortunately I think the Kings missed out on a future superstar here, now lets see how Byfield ends up being , again, he is a very good, elite prospect but you are always going to take the sure thing, and TS is a sure thing star, he is going to contend for scoring titles for the next dozen + years now, and saying that isn't a knock on QB or AL.

TS looks like a great, dynamic player, and I'm not predicting TS is going to flame out or anything, but realize that this is the exact same thing we heard about Yakupov when he came into the league. His first season was a shortened season just like this year and he produced at an even higher clip than TS is right now. Even though that draft was trashy, it's awfully early for those kind of statements.

 

[BigKing]

I listed some issues I've had with his game earlier but I wasn't shitting on him as a prospect or anything: just talking about some of the flaws I see in his game that can hopefully be improved upon. I'm glad he's able to play AHL this year and I still fully expect him to suit up in LA for at least one game at some point.

My take from the WJC was that he would look a lot different if he was asked to be "the guy" instead of the role he was given. Well, he is asked to be "the guy" in Ontario and he does look different but I still want to see that extra bit of "I'm the guy" out of him which means trying to score. Let's see that shot.

As for TS, I'm far from ready to say the Kings made a mistake passing on him. It was always known that he was more pro ready right now and you were going to need to have some patience with Byfield. Nobody should be panicking over him at this point.

 

[Herby]

TS looks like a great, dynamic player, and I'm not predicting TS is going to flame out or anything, but realize that this is the exact same thing we heard about Yakupov when he came into the league. His first season was a shortened season just like this year and he produced at an even higher clip than TS is right now. Even though that draft was trashy, it's awfully early for those kind of statements.

I think that is cherry picking a bit, yes but for 1 Yakupov there are 10 guys like Matthews, Doughty, McDavid, Kane, Mackinnon who were stars in their D+1 and then just continued on to superstardom. I am guessing that TS follows those guys career paths and not Yakupov's.

I would be absolutely shocked if this guy isn't contending perennially for scoring titles for the next decade. I wasn't sold coming out but he has impressed me a ton.

 

[King'sPawn]

I respect your opinion, and again I am not knocking either QB or AL, I think (surprisingly) that you are falling into the trap that others are in thinking that praising TS is somehow knocking QB, which I don't think is the case. I gave a pretty long and detailed post a few up as to why I would have taken QB, and I don't fault Blake at all for the pick. But you also just can't ignore what we have seen from TS vs. the best players in the world.

I also don't think its a "hot take" to say that TS would be the #1 pick if the draft were re-held today, he has shown a skill level and vision that very few in the league possess and he is making plays in the NHL as an 18 year old that only the best in the world have done at the same age, so yes I believe having seen what they have seen the Kings and Rangers both easily take TS. 25 NHL games is significantly more valuable an evaluation tool than multiple seasons playing vs. teenagers. Using the Kopitar example again, we all knew Anze was a star from the second he stepped onto NHL ice (same with Doughty). Would it have been a "hot take" to say Anze Kopitar was a better prospect and would have gone higher in a re-draft than Bobby Ryan or Jack Johnson in November 2006? I don't think it would have been, and I don't think it is here, nor was it a knock against either one of those players.

Again using the Kopitar example because I think it's the most similar, a bunch of professional evaluators also missed on AK, he should have been the #2 pick in his draft and he proved it almost right away, check up on some Andy Murray quotes about Kopi in the 2005 camp. You can't write off players or call them busts right away, but you can certainly see when a player is a superstar. A bunch of teams missed out on a superstar and those pros were clearly wrong. Unfortunately I think the Kings missed out on a future superstar here, now lets see how Byfield ends up being , again, he is a very good, elite prospect but you are always going to take the sure thing, and TS is a sure thing star, he is going to contend for scoring titles for the next dozen + years now, and saying that isn't a knock on QB or AL.

This isn't just praising Stutzle, though. It's saying "The Kings would/should have drafted Stutzle over Byfield" based on the first 2 months of the season. That's a pretty significant difference.

Kopitar was putting up less than 0.5 pts/game numbers in the SHL (then called Elitserien) at this time in his career post draft. Check that. The season was just beginning at this point after the draft.

Kopitar spent a full year playing in Europe before coming over. Ryan put up over 1.5 pts/game in the OHL and put up a point-per-game in the WJC. I was happy the Kings took Kopitar, but there would have been zero defense, AT THIS POINT relative to being drafted, could any of us defend "Kopitar is better than Ryan".

It's equally absurd to say the same thing in 2006-07 because Ryan didn't even play in the NHL yet. We just know the Kings took a special player who could step in pretty quickly.

We know the Senators took a special player. He may end up being the better pick. He is definitely the better player now. I've not once disputed that.

But you don't draft based on now. You certainly don't redraft based on now (unless you took Mitchell Miller).

Lafreniere has a better body of work over a longer period of time. Saying Stutzle would go No. 1 over him IS a hot take made by someone who doesn't follow prospects.

It's POSSIBLE the Kings would draft Stutzle over Byfield in a redraft, but it would be silly if they did. Not because I'm convinced Byfield will be the best, but because Byfield is a swing for the fences pick with amazing upside. You don't change course just because you're at the 0-1 count.

 

[LAKings88]

I think the thing I keep on pondering are the scout discussions.

Seems like there was legit debate about Stutzle and Byfield.

The year before was Turcotte and Zegras.

These are normal of course.

To me the Kings are banking on more than just skill and are sticking to philosophy.

Part of me really wants to see that exciting pure skill injected but I get the formula.

 

[bland]

If there are folks within the organization that would change their pick after a few months, they should be relieved of their duties immediately.

 

[AzKing]

A lot of society has that immediate gratification syndrome thing combined with FOMO. You have people who can't even wait in line behind 2 people before they freak out and literally will read only two lines of a story and then make a decision before finishing it. They will then argue that decision into the ground. People will start a thread on a message board two slots down from an open thread on that exact same topic and then get bent when people ask them if they have read the answer already. If they can't have it right now, something must be wrong. A lot of new graduates feel that they should be making a minimum of $60k starting with a degree in Art History and no experience.

It's not just a Byfield thing. Gave Vilardi was a pile of trash wasted pick at one point. Bjornfort wasn't sexy and the Kings are stupid because they passed on Kaliyev. Awhile later they are geniuses for taking Kaliyev where they got him. Turcotte is a bust because Zegras is already playing. Every year it something new to bitch about.

I am just somewhat enjoying the amount of talent that we have in our system and watching it evolve. The fact that Byfield hasn't turned into a God overnight at his age isn't really something I am worried about.

 

[Herby]

Can anyone cite any examples of "the same people who gave up on Vilardi" in regards to evaluating Byfield as a player?

I have been posting here religiously forever and I don't remember there being many negative vibes towards Vilardi as a player at all, in fact quite the opposite, feel like most people loved the pick by Blake. I think most people were just hoping he would be able to be healthy enough to show what he could do. I think some people maybe thought that the Kings management should view anything they got from Vilardi as a bonus and not count on him as a cornerstone piece due to his injury uncertainty, and going C with Top 5 picks in back to back years probably says that it exactly what the Kings were thinking with regards to Gabe. Many of the trusted Kings media people seemed to echo the thoughts that his back injury may be career ending.

I think it's an apples to oranges comparison.