Prospect Info: Quinton Byfield (2nd Overall 2020 Draft) Discussion part II

[Peter James Bond III]

Back to Quinton Byfield and where he's at right now and the Kings plans for him. When you see that Danault is certainly very solid and will be fine at 2C, see Vilardi have a good camp, adding some bulk - strength-better conditioned...not to mention some great games with Lias Andersson - that leaves Byfield out of a top 9 center spot. He's had a good camp and the last few games, he played well
over 200 feet. Created chances and beat a few defenders, got off some good shots.

The word from Hoven was that the Kings think he's ready to make the step. I believe he is as well. So, if he makes the team, where does he fit? He's a center and while it could be interesting to see him break in at LW, possibly pushing for a top 9, the additions of these 3 to the top 9 - Danault, Arvidsson and Tkachev, leave no room. Tkachev has earned his spot and have not seen that kind of vision and
ability to make plays out of nothing - or very little - burst on the scene in the last decade, like him.

That then leaves, would it behoove Byfield to be 4C? It's interesting. A typical line 4 has grinders, puck cyclers and physicality....or shut down players.
But if he's centering Moore and Lemieux, that's an interesting line. If Byfield also gets some 2nd PP and the odd shift with others, to get to the 8-11 minute area,
it might not be a bad thing.

One could say he's better served playing 22 minutes a night in Ontario and there's nothing wrong with that. But it might not be a bad thing to have him
around Kopitar and Danault and the team now. Didn't Detroit (in their days of glory) break in good players on line 4? I don't think you can say having him
a 4C will be detrimental to his game and development. Does playing 22 minutes a night in Ontario make him better? Sure. But it's not the NHL. You can also say he will get better
playing 8-10 minutes a night with the Kings and being part of the team now. He's ready for the NHL, now. So why have him in Ontario?

"he'll be ruined, playing 8-10 minutes a night on the fourth line on the Kings!"
Bullshit.

 

[Telos]

I was thinking about that this morning after reading Dillman's preseason observations article suggesting that Byfield be the 4th line center. He would be able to actively learn from Kopitar and Danault while playing against weaker NHL competition. It also gives the Kings a very solid center lineup by having so much skill on the bottom 6. I don't have a problem with it. I don't care about the Calder race. With the Danault signing, it has to happen this way anyway. He has no shot at the top 6... He already had essentially half a season in the AHL and put up great numbers.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Back to Quinton Byfield and where he's at right now and the Kings plans for him. When you see that Danault is certainly very solid and will be fine at 2C, see Vilardi have a good camp, adding some bulk - strength-better conditioned...not to mention some great games with Lias Andersson - that leaves Byfield out of a top 9 center spot. He's had a good camp and the last few games, he played well
over 200 feet. Created chances and beat a few defenders, got off some good shots.

The word from Hoven was that the Kings think he's ready to make the step. I believe he is as well. So, if he makes the team, where does he fit? He's a center and while it could be interesting to see him break in at LW, possibly pushing for a top 9, the additions of these 3 to the top 9 - Danault, Arvidsson and Tkachev, leave no room. Tkachev has earned his spot and have not seen that kind of vision and
ability to make plays out of nothing - or very little - burst on the scene in the last decade, like him.

That then leaves, would it behoove Byfield to be 4C? It's interesting. A typical line 4 has grinders, puck cyclers and physicality....or shut down players.
But if he's centering Moore and Lemieux, that's an interesting line. If Byfield also gets some 2nd PP and the odd shift with others, to get to the 8-11 minute area,
it might not be a bad thing.

One could say he's better served playing 22 minutes a night in Ontario and there's nothing wrong with that. But it might not be a bad thing to have him
around Kopitar and Danault and the team now. Didn't Detroit (in their days of glory) break in good players on line 4? I don't think you can say having him
a 4C will be detrimental to his game and development. Does playing 22 minutes a night in Ontario make him better? Sure. But it's not the NHL. You can also say he will get better
playing 8-10 minutes a night with the Kings and being part of the team now. He's ready for the NHL, now. So why have him in Ontario?

"he'll be ruined, playing 8-10 minutes a night on the fourth line on the Kings!"
Bullshit.

I generally agree with the above, but what about Turcotte? He is more senior than Byfield, and it would nice to see him in the lineup before Byfield. The other option is that because the C role on the main roster is clogged, perhaps experiment in Ontario having Turcotte play full-time as a winger. The other thing is that I was expecting JAD to be a lock for 4C considering how well he performed last year. He brought energy and skill and I saw him as the future 4C for this team, while Byfield is the future 2/3 C, with Danault slotting into the 3C down the road and Byfield taking over his position (and someday to Kopitar's position if he ages and is better suited as a 2C.

 

[DoktorJeep]

I’ll put money on Byfield scoring more NHL points than Danault this season.

 

[KingLB]

I’ll put money on Byfield scoring more NHL points than Danault this season.

Im trying to visualize that, and if that would make me really happy or really sad…

 

[cyclones22]

It's going to be an interesting setup because traditionally for teams your shutdown line is your third line and your energy line is your fourth line. But on this team the top two lines are not only going to to be expected to score but also shut down the opponent's best lines. They will also attract the top defensive pairings from the opposition.

I think Gabe's line is going to be counted on to score. They're going to get some favorable deployment. I'd be fine with a Byfield, Moore, Lemieux fourth line. If anything it's going to coax Byfield into shooting more, which I think is a good thing. And Moore is a pretty good player offensively. Now where does AA fit in all this? That's a great question. Out of sight out of mind.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Im trying to visualize that, and if that would make me really happy or really sad…

Hopefully they both put up 40+ points.

 

[KingLB]

Hopefully they both put up 40+ points.

If that happens I don’t see how the Kings don’t make the playoffs. (Assuming no Kopitar or Doughty injury)

 

[lumbergh]

I’ll put money on Byfield scoring more NHL points than Danault this season.

Is it weird to hope that the Kings will pay $5.5 million for their 4th line center?

 

[kilowatt]

A fourth line player on a good fourth line gets about 10-12 minutes per game, add power play time to that and Byfield at 13-14 or so minutes per game, shifting up the line up when needed, isn't the worst idea. Could be a heck of a lineup.

Kopitar, Danault, Vilardi, Byfield, sheesh.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

A fourth line player on a good fourth line gets about 10-12 minutes per game, add power play time to that and Byfield at 13-14 or so minutes per game, shifting up the line up when needed, isn't the worst idea. Could be a heck of a lineup.

Kopitar, Danault, Vilardi, Byfield, sheesh.

It would be beautiful because Kopi's minutes would already be tapered a bit by Danault. Imagine getting Kopitar down to 17 minutes a game and mostly offensively so he can go hard because Danault is eatin 17 hard minutes and then Vilardi and Byfield getting 13 each. Pipe dream but yeah.

I think 'load management' needs to be a HUGE thing for Kopitar AND Doughty this year but I have very little faith in the latter happening.

 

[KingLB]

A fourth line player on a good fourth line gets about 10-12 minutes per game, add power play time to that and Byfield at 13-14 or so minutes per game, shifting up the line up when needed, isn't the worst idea. Could be a heck of a lineup.

Kopitar, Danault, Vilardi, Byfield, sheesh.

I was thinking that too, but…the 4th line generally gets shifts after the PP as the top 2 lines are resting. So in Byfield’s case you might just be trading 5on5 time for PP time.

 

[kilowatt]

I was thinking that too, but…the 4th line generally gets shifts after the PP as the top 2 lines are resting. So in Byfield’s case you might just be trading 5on5 time for PP time.

Maybe, but given the potential players on the third and fourth lines:

Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Athanasiou - Byfield - Moore

Those aren't your typical third and fourth lines. It's almost like the top two lines are shutdown lines, freeing the kids to pressure offensively.

 

[bmr]

Maybe, but given the potential players on the third and fourth lines:

Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Athanasiou - Byfield - Moore

Those aren't your typical third and fourth lines. It's almost like the top two lines are shutdown lines, freeing the kids to pressure offensively.

It's a very interesting dynamic this year with the new acquisitions. I don't want to get too excited for this season because it is still early, but this team has a lot of potential to be a disruptive force if everything clicks. The first game against Vegas was fun to watch, with quick passing and intelligent playmaking. The second game against Vegas was difficult to watch. Kopitar, Brown and Doughty looked slow and uninterested. I think the kids are really going to start showing how hungry they are for minutes. For me- Tkachev, Andersson, Vilardi, Byfield and Danault have been my favorite five to watch thus far.

 

[YP44]

Anyone else surprised they have not tried Vilardi and Byfield together with one on the wing? They are opposite handed players so whomever has the faceoff on their strong side plays center. Changes from shift to shift.

 

[kilowatt]

Anyone else surprised they have not tried Vilardi and Byfield together with one on the wing? They are opposite handed players so whomever has the faceoff on their strong side plays center. Changes from shift to shift.

I just don't think they're ready to shift either to the wing yet.

 

[BringTheReign]

A fourth line player on a good fourth line gets about 10-12 minutes per game, add power play time to that and Byfield at 13-14 or so minutes per game, shifting up the line up when needed, isn't the worst idea. Could be a heck of a lineup.

Kopitar, Danault, Vilardi, Byfield, sheesh.

Agreed. It's an older model of development than we see in a lot cases these days, but in our case it's for a good reason (i.e. we have strong center depth). Byfield getting soft match-ups 5-on-5 plus O-zone starts and PP time is a great way to break in a player who still has a ton of growing into his own frame to do.

 

[BringTheReign]

Anyone else surprised they have not tried Vilardi and Byfield together with one on the wing? They are opposite handed players so whomever has the faceoff on their strong side plays center. Changes from shift to shift.

This would be awesome, Carter and Richards used to do the same thing.

However, that 3rd player would need to be one trigger happy SOB. Byfield and Vilardi both seem to love making that extra pass.

 

[Bandit]

This would be awesome, Carter and Richards used to do the same thing.

However, that 3rd player would need to be one trigger happy SOB. Byfield and Vilardi both seem to love making that extra pass.

Sounds like a job for Kaliyev. Of course Vilardi would need to learn how to play center at the NHL level, not sure that's in the cards for him.

 

[redcard]

This would be awesome, Carter and Richards used to do the same thing.

However, that 3rd player would need to be one trigger happy SOB. Byfield and Vilardi both seem to love making that extra pass.

Sounds like a perfect spot for an Arty Party.

 

[bland]

Maybe, but given the potential players on the third and fourth lines:

Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Athanasiou - Byfield - Moore

Those aren't your typical third and fourth lines. It's almost like the top two lines are shutdown lines, freeing the kids to pressure offensively.

Its an interesting situation, and it isn't just for this season. The Kings have four top 6 centers on the roster ready to play right now. Obviously Danault and Kopitar will slide down from top 6 roles with time, but neither is going past the "third" line, so this is not a temporary situation.

If the solution is to put Vilardi on the wing, I would suggest that dealing him with other forwards in this logjam for an even better proven winger may be the better option.

 

[kilowatt]

Its an interesting situation, and it isn't just for this season. The Kings have four top 6 centers on the roster ready to play right now. Obviously Danault and Kopitar will slide down from top 6 roles with time, but neither is going past the "third" line, so this is not a temporary situation.

If the solution is to put Vilardi on the wing, I would suggest that dealing him with other forwards in this logjam for an even better proven winger may be the better option.

Danault has played plenty of wing in his career as well.

Can you imagine any team trying to score on a line of Danault - Kopitar - Iafallo?

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Danault has played plenty of wing in his career as well.

Can you imagine any team trying to score on a line of Danault - Kopitar - Iafallo?

Lol

 

[redcard]

Danault has played plenty of wing in his career as well.

Can you imagine any team trying to score on a line of Danault - Kopitar - Iafallo?

That wouldn't be a shutdown line.

That'd be a go the f*** home line.

 

[cyclones22]

Well certainly the best one since golden age Kings Kopi, Richards and Carter line to close out games. Toss in Stoll every once in awhile to give one of the other guys a breather.