GDT: Pre-Season LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks @7:00pm 10/3/23

[kings11]

you are correct sir

These have been the fist three lines
Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Phillip Danault – Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Arthur Kaliyev

These also skated together today
Carl Grundstrom – Blake Lizotte – Trevor Lewis
Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Alex Turcotte – Alex Laferriere

I’d love to see the Turcotte line get some run before being sent down

 

[kilowatt]

I’d love to see the Turcotte line get some run before being sent down

Instead, we’ll keep them out of the preseason lineups and then also let them miss Reign training camp

 

[Eagle Fang]

I wouldn’t say it’s a severe lack of hockey IQ. I think he doesn’t have any tools that are extremely impressive at all. But if I was to say one thing about his game that’s really lacking is that he plays extremely timid and with very little confidence.

I think the Kings are more focused on making him a good winger for Kopitar rather than allowing him a situation where he can just play the game without thinking too much. I don’t think he’s impressive but I feel like we’d see a lot more from him if he wasn’t a mental midget.

Respectfully, I have to disagree. He's a good skater with speed, has a powerful shot, and is pretty agile for a big body. As a lot of people have said, he's 6-4 but plays like he's 5-11. There's certainly good and bad things about that in and of itself.

If you combined his physical attributes with Gabe Vilardi's brain, you'd have a really good player.

But for the lack of hockey IQ thing, it's just something I personally noticed from both his NHL and AHL games. When you watch the top end players on any team, on TV you can kind of see plays developing and most times the good players make that play... or even plays you didn't see coming.

With Byfield, I just don't see that happening very often. Either way, I think it's imperative that he show something this year.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Hope next year Kings re sign Roy, let Arvidsson walk, and find a way to dump Grundstrom and Lizotte so Thomas, Laffy, Turcotte, and Helenius all have a shot. Two of those players will be waiver eligible.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Hope next year Kings re sign Roy, let Arvidsson walk, and find a way to dump Grundstrom and Lizotte so Thomas, Laffy, Turcotte, and Helenius all have a shot. Two of those players will be waiver eligible.

Akil Thomas is a bum.

 

[VILARGOD]

Lafreniere has a higher career points per game than Byfield.

Yes, with more games played and at a whole year older and a lot less injury. I actually wasn't trying to say Byfield isn't disappointing right now

My point was Byfield is still a case in which theres still hoping and coping left

Laf is at the point where fans are completely losing hope, and he just had a terrible camp apparently, with the org not knowing if he should even have a spot on the roster

I was just comparing two different fanbases' level of despair between their two top picks haha

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Would love to see Turcotte play in place of Kaliyev

But instead hes gonna be ontario's 3RW

I wouldn’t say it’s a severe lack of hockey IQ. I think he doesn’t have any tools that are extremely impressive at all. But if I was to say one thing about his game that’s really lacking is that he plays extremely timid and with very little confidence.

I think the Kings are more focused on making him a good winger for Kopitar rather than allowing him a situation where he can just play the game without thinking too much. I don’t think he’s impressive but I feel like we’d see a lot more from him if he wasn’t a mental midget.

I think that may be one of his 'flaws' from juniors. One of the reasons I was so high on him was he was absolutely used to being THE guy stirring the drink on the team--but from Team Canada to now, he seems so focused on being a 'good teammate' canadian stereotype that he's extremely deferential instead of the 'f*** it i'll do it myself' guy from Sudbury. Will that ever come out, come back? It's hard to say. But he's getting too old to just be Anze's assistant.

 

[Schmooley]

I think that may be one of his 'flaws' from juniors. One of the reasons I was so high on him was he was absolutely used to being THE guy stirring the drink on the team--but from Team Canada to now, he seems so focused on being a 'good teammate' canadian stereotype that he's extremely deferential instead of the 'f*** it i'll do it myself' guy from Sudbury. Will that ever come out, come back? It's hard to say. But he's getting too old to just be Anze's assistant.

I think using his reach and being strong on the forecheck and being good in the corners on the cycle was enough to secure him a spot on the top line. That lines numbers went up when he joined because a lot of work hes doing.
But now he needs to take another step this year. That type of play has earned him a spot but now he needs to show some skill on a nightly basis that made him a #2 pick.
Personally I think hell get there.

 

[Schrute farms]

I wouldn’t say it’s a severe lack of hockey IQ. I think he doesn’t have any tools that are extremely impressive at all. But if I was to say one thing about his game that’s really lacking is that he plays extremely timid and with very little confidence.

I think the Kings are more focused on making him a good winger for Kopitar rather than allowing him a situation where he can just play the game without thinking too much. I don’t think he’s impressive but I feel like we’d see a lot more from him if he wasn’t a mental midget.

This is exactly my thoughts. You draft a big, young guy like that for what he can become physically and imposing his size. But the dude usually plays like he's 5'9 150. He has no burning fire. He's uber talented enough to get by on that alone. If/when he realizes that he's a freaking big dude with skills, then watch out. But i'm starting to question now whether he has the drive, desire and fire to be that guy.

Further, as you mentioned, the continued winger utilization is making that development further limited and held back. Not to mention learning from Kopi. He's old enough and experienced now that he should be given his own line (like they had him before his last injury with GV on his wing) and him flourish. If he ultimately does not, then that's the time to move him back to a winger spot.

 

[King'sPawn]

Maybe it's because there's a part of me that's still a homer, but I still see growth and improvement in Byfield's game for the most part.

In Juniors, even before the draft when I first saw him, he was clearly one of the best players on the ice. And it wasn't just because he was bigger than the rest of the competition (although, sure, that played a part). But he was also a very fast skater for his size, even relative to his smaller peers. He has good hands. His shot could develop some work, obviously, but he can control the puck well in tight.

The knocks of "only scores off the rush" has been a pretty silly criticism, because most of the goals scored in junior, when I watch, are either on a rushing attack or with the man advantage. You generally don't see a whole lot of 5-on-5 cycles. The teams are either so close to each other that a cycle doesn't last, or the teams are so far apart that it's a shooting gallery against the weaker team. I invite you all to watch some junior games and tell me you see it differently.

Because of juniors, he did pick up some bad habits. Most commonly is the "fly-by" where he would approach a player with the puck, use his reach to poke the puck away and use his speed to lead an attack. Unfortunately, that doesn't work too often in the NHL, and he had to learn that. And more recently (towards the end of last season as well as the start of this season), he has deviated away from those habits and is starting to get more physically engaged.

To me, there are different aspects of hockey IQ - instincts and learning. And to make a comparison, I see Byfield and Fiala on opposite ends of the spectrum. Fiala has fantastic instincts which assist with his positioning and being in the right place. He knows how to use his skillset without hesitation, which allows him to play incredibly quickly. But you see him make the same kinds of mistakes again and again. No-look backhand passes where nobody is, and not even a good "area" to pass to; he takes those undisciplined penalties. This doesn't make him a bad player - but a flawed one, as all are.

With Byfield, he doesn't have the same instincts when on the ice. His positioning is off, where he doesn't go to the places he should. He still is learning how to use his body to play physically, which is why he looks timid. He doesn't sense a change in possession so he can make a break for a teammate to make a breakout pass for a breakaway. These skills he had used in junior have to be used differently, and it's just not a natural progression for him.

I can't provide a timeline to say how long it will take him to "learn" because frankly, he may not learn fast enough or at all - but I think his hockey IQ is being minimized here out of frustration with his performance. But there are elements to his game which have evolved. Reducing the fly-bys for one. He's looking around more, which affords him to move the puck quicker. But he still needs to learn puck placement not just with his shot selection, but with short passes, and he needs to learn to operate better under pressure.

 

[Sol]

Whether or not we agree or disagree, Byfield being on a line as Kopitars winger is bad for his development. He should have his own line so he can climb out of the shadow that Kopitars line casts.

 

[DoktorJeep]

I really wanted Byfield to kick ass. His pick was probably the last thing that I was fully supportive of from this management team. And those opinions are few and far between overall.

I want to blame his lack of development on his being blocked from playing big minutes from basically the month after he was drafted. But he’s played enough against men for me to see that, for where he was picked, he’s a late bloomer at best now.

I feel like today, we’re praying for a Tage Thompson scenario, where he breaks out from nowhere. To me it’s more likely QB will stick with the roster but find his way lower in the lineup over time. So by the playoffs he isn’t getting big minutes and it was a year of measurable growth but overall disappointing looking forward.

The gradual, continuous adjustment downwards of expectations is what’s most concerning to me. If he scored some goals in the preseason, this all gets put to bed. So I grant that the sample size is too small to close the book. But he’s in the same company as Kaliyev as far as kids who are being counted on to start the year.

With no cap space, there isn’t room to upgrade on either Byfield or Kaliyev. So you’re stuck with them or taking a flyer on a kid in the AHL who’s looked good for a brief stint.

Hey, I’m still pulling for both QB and Arty to break out. We see that happen and I’m a BLuc believer, plan the parade, 5 year extensions for every employee. Otherwise, I gotta think the podcasters are right and QB is the next Nick Bjugstad.