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

[FSL KINGS]

Please get Byfield some NHL caliber linemates.

 

[FrozenKing18]

I have Colton Dach and Vilardi on his wings in NHL22. My version of Legion of Doom lol

 

[Reclamation Project]

Konecny would look good next to Byfield. Chuckles would probably give him to us for a second.

 

[bmr]

Danault may end up being the best Kings UFA signing ever when all is said and done.

If you could somehow redesign analytics to include all the intangibles, this guy would be ahead in practically every category. Blake really did a masterful job here and it's very lucky for Byfield that he has guys like Kopitar/Danault to help mold him into a great Center.

 

[Rorschach]

If you could somehow redesign analytics to include all the intangibles, this guy would be ahead in practically every category. Blake really did a masterful job here and it's very lucky for Byfield that he has guys like Kopitar/Danault to help mold him into a great Center.

He didn't luck into the guy either, like tried to get some UFA and Phil was the 3rd choice we had to settle for. Blake targeted him, said the right things and got him relatively cheap, salary-wise. He only had to go .5 mil a year, no more term, than the deal Phil already rejected from Montreal.

 

[kings11]

He didn't luck into the guy either, like tried to get some UFA and Phil was the 3rd choice we had to settle for. Blake targeted him, said the right things and got him relatively cheap, salary-wise. He only had to go .5 mil a year, no more term, than the deal Phil already rejected from Montreal.

Who were the top two targets ?

 

[Rorschach]

Who were the top two targets ?

What I mean was there were no other targets, Danault was Blake's first choice.

 

[bmr]

He didn't luck into the guy either, like tried to get some UFA and Phil was the 3rd choice we had to settle for. Blake targeted him, said the right things and got him relatively cheap, salary-wise. He only had to go .5 mil a year, no more term, than the deal Phil already rejected from Montreal.

I get that - I'm just saying that it's very fortunate and ultra important to have your prospects surrounded by natural born leaders who do the right things on/off the ice and keep the mood light. I think having guys like Williams/Mitchell/Richards/Greene/Stoll/etc.. really helps with culture and shaping these guys into professionals who know what it takes to win in the playoffs. It's probably a huge reason why other teams flounder even with an abundance of talent.

 

[kings11]

What I mean was there were no other targets, Danault was Blake's first choice.

Got it..

 

[Herby]

I get that - I'm just saying that it's very fortunate and ultra important to have your prospects surrounded by natural born leaders who do the right things on/off the ice and keep the mood light. I think having guys like Williams/Mitchell/Richards/Greene/Stoll/etc.. really helps with culture and shaping these guys into professionals who know what it takes to win in the playoffs. It's probably a huge reason why other teams flounder even with an abundance of talent.

Not sure if Stoll and Richards should be considered positive influences off the ice, probably the opposite. Brown and Kopitar have been ideal citizens for awhile. If QB becomes the type of person off the ice that Brown is and the type of player on the ice that Kopitar is he will be an excellent player for this franchise for a long time. Danault seems like the type of guy who can kind of give you the best of both worlds, he really showed his leadership with Montreal's young players in their run last year but is also playing at a very high level as well for the Kings this year. He seems like an overall good dude and great teammate and obviously been a great player on the ice. As someone else said, the most impactful FA signing LA has had maybe ever.

 

[Rorschach]

I get that - I'm just saying that it's very fortunate and ultra important to have your prospects surrounded by natural born leaders who do the right things on/off the ice and keep the mood light. I think having guys like Williams/Mitchell/Richards/Greene/Stoll/etc.. really helps with culture and shaping these guys into professionals who know what it takes to win in the playoffs. It's probably a huge reason why other teams flounder even with an abundance of talent.

Not disagreeing at all. I just find myself feeling very happy with the job Blake has done so far especially now that things are coming together.

 

[apocalypse]

Not disagreeing at all. I just find myself feeling very happy with the job Blake has done so far especially now that things are coming together.

Don't count your chips just yet.

 

[bland]

Not sure if Stoll and Richards should be considered positive influences off the ice, probably the opposite. Brown and Kopitar have been ideal citizens for awhile. If QB becomes the type of person off the ice that Brown is and the type of player on the ice that Kopitar is he will be an excellent player for this franchise for a long time. Danault seems like the type of guy who can kind of give you the best of both worlds, he really showed his leadership with Montreal's young players in their run last year but is also playing at a very high level as well for the Kings this year. He seems like an overall good dude and great teammate and obviously been a great player on the ice. As someone else said, the most impactful FA signing LA has had maybe ever.

Ideal citizens off the ice don't have much to do with what happens on ice. There is just no comparison between Richards and Kopitar/Brown as leaders.

And Stoll did more off the ice for some of his teammates on one day in Vegas than most players would do in their lifetime.

 

[Herby]

Ideal citizens off the ice don't have much to do with what happens on ice. There is just no comparison between Richards and Kopitar/Brown as leaders.

And Stoll did more off the ice for some of his teammates on one day in Vegas than most players would do in their lifetime.

Dustin Brown didn't show leadership on the ice during the 2012 run? He was scoring goals, destroying people every night, playing solid two-way hockey.

I think it's unfortunate that you have such a negative opinion on two of the all-time greats in franchise history. I watch every game on road feeds and the praise for Kopitar from other players, coaches and media is universal. Former players always say what a great player and teammate he was, he is the main reason there are banners in the rafters, the Kings drafting him changed everything.

 

[All The Kings Men]

Not sure if Stoll...

just gonna stop ya right there bud

 

[Lt Dan]

Not sure if Stoll and Richards should be considered positive influences off the ice, probably the opposite. Brown and Kopitar have been ideal citizens for awhile. If QB becomes the type of person off the ice that Brown is and the type of player on the ice that Kopitar is he will be an excellent player for this franchise for a long time. Danault seems like the type of guy who can kind of give you the best of both worlds, he really showed his leadership with Montreal's young players in their run last year but is also playing at a very high level as well for the Kings this year. He seems like an overall good dude and great teammate and obviously been a great player on the ice. As someone else said, the most impactful FA signing LA has had maybe ever.

A+++ will read again


This part though

As someone else said, the most impactful FA signing LA has had maybe ever.

Scary though, isn't it? In over 50 years....

 

[bland]

Dustin Brown didn't show leadership on the ice during the 2012 run? He was scoring goals, destroying people every night, playing solid two-way hockey.

I think it's unfortunate that you have such a negative opinion on two of the all-time greats in franchise history. I watch every game on road feeds and the praise for Kopitar from other players, coaches and media is universal. Former players always say what a great player and teammate he was, he is the main reason there are banners in the rafters, the Kings drafting him changed everything.

Sure, both are great guys and Kopitar is a no-brainer Hall of Famer. Seems like you are getting caught up in some sanctimonious nonsense that really has nothing to do with what leadership is.

Both Kopitar and Brown needed REAL leadership to maximize their careers just as Richards needed their abilities to win the Cup. Neither could get their team past the first round before or after the steps Lombardi took to bring in the missing accountability in that room.

You can have a room full of the best guys in town and they won't win a damn thing until a coalescing agent builds them into a team, and there is zero doubt that Mike Richards was that guy here and throughout his career.

He was a serial winner, and the combination of his incredibly special skill set and the talents of those next to him was a damn near perfect formula.

The Kings were 11-1 in playoff series with Richards. 0-4 bookended around him.

Read about instrumental Richards was in acclimating Toffoli, Pearson and especially Gaborik to a contending roster. There is a reason why Richards always set himself up to be the last guy every King saw as they hit the ice. Some people just have the talent and credibility to instill a level of positive accountability among a group of people, and the results here were legendary.

The Kings haven't come remotely close to that level.since he left.

 

[bmr]

Not sure if Stoll and Richards should be considered positive influences off the ice, probably the opposite. Brown and Kopitar have been ideal citizens for awhile. If QB becomes the type of person off the ice that Brown is and the type of player on the ice that Kopitar is he will be an excellent player for this franchise for a long time. Danault seems like the type of guy who can kind of give you the best of both worlds, he really showed his leadership with Montreal's young players in their run last year but is also playing at a very high level as well for the Kings this year. He seems like an overall good dude and great teammate and obviously been a great player on the ice. As someone else said, the most impactful FA signing LA has had maybe ever.

Okay, maybe *on* the ice is more accurate...but a lot of that stuff didn't come to light until afterward.

 

[Trash Panda]

Dustin Brown didn't show leadership on the ice during the 2012 run? He was scoring goals, destroying people every night, playing solid two-way hockey.

I think it's unfortunate that you have such a negative opinion on two of the all-time greats in franchise history. I watch every game on road feeds and the praise for Kopitar from other players, coaches and media is universal. Former players always say what a great player and teammate he was, he is the main reason there are banners in the rafters, the Kings drafting him changed everything.

Kopitar absolutely changed the trajectory of this franchise when he showed up, without a doubt.

I think the argument was being made that a player like Richards or Stoll exhibit more “gumption” if you will, especially on ice. Not being a vocal leader, but stepping up to change the tone of a game (or police encounter) with their actions when it’s needed most.

No slight to Kopitar, it’s arguably just not what he does best.

 

[Herby]

Kopitar absolutely changed the trajectory of this franchise when he showed up, without a doubt.

I think the argument was being made that a player like Richards or Stoll exhibit more “gumption” if you will, especially on ice. Not being a vocal leader, but stepping up to change the tone of a game (or police encounter) with their actions when it’s needed most.

No slight to Kopitar, it’s arguably just not what he does best.

I know what he is trying to say, I just completely disagree.

I also think it's a bit ridiculous to be critical of Brown this season in many posts while trying to defend the play of that corpse trying to say he contributed in 2014. Brown is obviously on a steep decline right now, but he is nowhere close to the level #10 was at in the 2014 playoffs. I just have a hard time giving credit to what was the worst player on the 2014 team in the overall success of the team. They won in spite of him.

If Mike Richards was some cure all that brought automatic wins why were the 2012 Kings 27-34 and out of a playoff spot before the Carter trade? Everyone knows why, because the team wasn't skilled enough.

As for Kopitar, I remember growing up watching other teams have great centers they won championships with. The Wings had Yzerman and Fedorov, Colorado had Sakic and Forsberg, Dallas had Modano, the Rangers had Messier. I was so jealous because it felt like the Kings would never get a player like that, and then they did, and 16 seasons, 1200 games and 2 championships later we clearly ended up with a player like that and I feel like he just never gets the credit he deserves from a large segment of his own fanbase, which is funny because everyone else around the league realizes how great he is. No one tries to minimize tangible value from other great HOF centers while hyping intangibles from lesser players. No one in Detroit says Yzerman only won because of Shanahan coming onboard. Also, the Kings didn't struggle the last 7 years because bottom of the roster players Mike Richards and Jarret Stoll left, they struggled because the Kings haven't drafted and developed a single 1st line forward or 1st pair defenseman since Drew Doughty who was drafted 14 years ago. To place that at the feet of Kopitar, Doughty, Brown and Quick and say it proves they can't win on their own is really unfair, IMO. No one in the league is winning with the talent level the Kings have had the last 7 years, no one.

just gonna stop ya right there bud

Yes, I know, he did the noble thing as the 30 year old veteran and agreed to smuggle the coke in for the younger players. That is the type of leadership the Kings need, not Dustin Brown winning the Messier Award and wasting his time raising a family.

I'll withhold judgement on Danault's leadership abilites until he shows something on par with that type of "leadership" Stoll showed.

 

[kingsfan]

There's multiple types of leaders, and some show it where fans can see it and some don't. Based on what people in the locker room and on the team say, Kopi and Brown are excellent leaders, every bit as fine as Richards and Stoll. Given what we know now about how things were going off the ice, it could be argued Kopi and Brown are even better leaders, given they showed by example on and off the ice with their work ethic and conduct.

 

[Fishhead]

A+++ will read again


This part though

Scary though, isn't it? In over 50 years....

The curse of the west coast. Travel is a huge consideration for most guys.

 

[bland]

There is nothing whatsoever to point to to justify the belief that Kopitar and Brown were, are or will be effective leaders.

No tangible results. The team has won just a single playoff game in 8 years. Only one young player - Kempe - has shown any marked improvement in that time frame. None of our vaunted center prospects have shown any real improvement since their draft years. The team quit on Sutter, Stevens and Desjardins during that time frame.

Brown rightfully had the gifted C removed after a couple of years of futility - after he let a rookie get potatoed right in front of him with no response. Kopitar was given that C and has... done what with it exactly?

The most obviously missing factor from this team over the past 4 years has been a total lack of leadership and accountability. Nobody has overachieved, nobody has risen to play above their perceived level, but plenty have underachieved.

So when you here somebody say "oh Kopi, he is a real leader" ask yourself just what that person has actually been lead to. There is a huge difference between a role model and a leader. Role models are totems of aspiration - a level to reach up towards. Leaders take you further than you thought you could go. The Kings have had plenty of role models, just no leaders.

 

[All The Kings Men]

The team quit on Sutter

I don't believe that narrative.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Back to Byfield. I hope they can somehow get him better wingers than AA and Brown. No cohesion at all or chemistry. Maybe that rumor about Pavel Zacha being a target wouldn't be a bad idea.
He would add size and be a good 3rd LW. I think he stil has some upside. Would be nice to move AI to 3rd line to help this line....but don't see that happening.

They should certainly get QB on PP2.