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

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Villardi is not winger and will never be.
He is a playmaking center. Those guys don't do well as scoring winger.
If any, Villardi's creativity should be used to feed a sniping winger.
We have anough center prospects of everyone's interest. I wouldn't mind to trade one of them for Holtz if available.
This guys does nothing else but shooting
 
Peter James Bond II said:
After Trevor Lewis winning the Kings' Unsung Hero Award - almost annually - Moore should win it, this year. Yes, the way Byfield spun and shrugged off Coyote's on the wall and maintaining possession, was so impressive.
Quick footwork and elusive too...agree - when develops man strength, he will almost be one of a kind at 6'5" 230 and tough to contain. I recall Yannetti saying "he's not that strong - yet". That was true. I've never seen 220 lbs
look so lanky.
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Reminds me of seeing Wayne Simmonds at tip a king looking 150 lbs soaking wet just hours before he went out there and beat the piss out of someone (Sawyer?).
 
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Peter James Bond II said:
After Trevor Lewis winning the Kings' Unsung Hero Award - almost annually - Moore should win it, this year. Yes, the way Byfield spun and shrugged off Coyote's on the wall and maintaining possession, was so impressive.
Quick footwork and elusive too...agree - when develops man strength, he will almost be one of a kind at 6'5" 230 and tough to contain. I recall Yannetti saying "he's not that strong - yet". That was true. I've never seen 220 lbs
look so lanky.
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As RJ pointed out that was a 6'2 27 year old man trying like hell to stop him. Leveraging his stick and weight to try and dislodge him and QB just kept plowing and then spun him around and untied his shoelaces. At that point the defender just backed off because he had enough.
 
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King'sPawn said:
1) Byfield isn't eligible for the AHL next year. He only had an exception this year because the OHL had no season

2) Kaprizov played in Russia. Not the minors

3) if you don't think Byfield played well, I disagree. But if you think Byfield did not play well enough, without actually watching him, then there are problems. And it's not with people who watched him.

4) while many players do need time to grow, Byfield has size and skating ability already. Most players need to grow, because they get pushed off the puck too easily, can get hurt with a simple check, or can't keep up with the play.

That's one of the driving forces to getting him time NOW. To see where he is and what he needs to work on.

If doing what's in Byfield's best interest professionally is going to have you lose faith in Blake, then I don't know what to tell you.
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What I'm concerned about is that if the Kings get close to making the playoffs next season and put pressure on QB, Vilardi, and other rookies to perform better, then this could stunt their growth and cause them to regress and not develop. I just think that the OHL and the AHL would be a better place for QB momentarily to develop where there's absolutely no pressure on him. Let him come up to the Kings when he's good and used to the pros. May it be 1, 2 or even 3 years from now. There's no use in rushing the kid. He could be the next Crosby in my opinion if he's not rushed. If rushed, we might be lucky if he levels off at Miko Koivu.
 
apocalypse said:
What I'm concerned about is that if the Kings get close to making the playoffs next season and put pressure on QB, Vilardi, and other rookies to perform better, then this could stunt their growth and cause them to regress and not develop. I just think that the OHL and the AHL would be a better place for QB momentarily to develop where there's absolutely no pressure on him. Let him come up to the Kings when he's good and used to the pros. May it be 1, 2 or even 3 years from now. There's no use in rushing the kid. He could be the next Crosby in my opinion if he's not rushed. If rushed, we might be lucky if he levels off at Miko Koivu.
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If he was the next Crosby he wouldn't need more time to develop. His past few games have shown he should be developing in the NHL or at least AHL, him going back to the OHL is ridiculous. He's had a very good showing and proved that he's ready to take the next step.
 
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If he can fill out a bit more he will be the #1 center by the end of next season/beginning of the season after.
If hes still lacking man strength they should really ease him into the hard minutes and pressure situations until he can not only handle it physically but thrive there. Keeping Kopitar may turn out to be a blessing for this reason. Hell still be able to play at a high level for the next season or 2 until Byfield is ready.
 
apocalypse said:
What I'm concerned about is that if the Kings get close to making the playoffs next season and put pressure on QB, Vilardi, and other rookies to perform better, then this could stunt their growth and cause them to regress and not develop. I just think that the OHL and the AHL would be a better place for QB momentarily to develop where there's absolutely no pressure on him. Let him come up to the Kings when he's good and used to the pros. May it be 1, 2 or even 3 years from now. There's no use in rushing the kid. He could be the next Crosby in my opinion if he's not rushed. If rushed, we might be lucky if he levels off at Miko Koivu.
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Dealing with pressure is one of the things young players have to learn. Sending really good young players to a lower league with less pressure can also screw up their development, especially the mental aspect.

I can totally see this argument when discussing guys who are later picks, but it's rare that an early first rounder like Byfield or Vilardi gets screwed up from being exposed to high-pressure situations. They've been exposed to that their entire careers, they've always been "the" guy. What those players need is to learn from top players how to take their games to the highest level, and they aren't going to get that in the AHL or Juniors.
 
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apocalypse said:
What I'm concerned about is that if the Kings get close to making the playoffs next season and put pressure on QB, Vilardi, and other rookies to perform better, then this could stunt their growth and cause them to regress and not develop. I just think that the OHL and the AHL would be a better place for QB momentarily to develop where there's absolutely no pressure on him. Let him come up to the Kings when he's good and used to the pros. May it be 1, 2 or even 3 years from now. There's no use in rushing the kid. He could be the next Crosby in my opinion if he's not rushed. If rushed, we might be lucky if he levels off at Miko Koivu.
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1) He's good and used to the pros. If you watched him you'd see it.

2) no matter how much you say the AHL, he CANNOT go there next year

3) what makes you think there will be no pressure on him in the OHL? Sudbury would expect him to score almost every shift and lead them in the playoffs. And OHL teams are very lazy defensively, putting him back in an environment where he's playing out of the Kings structure.

4) having vets like Kopitar to insulate him from unnecessary pressure is exactly why he should be in the NHL, and further reinforces the importance of having vets on the team.

Have you watched him play at the NHL level yet?
 
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apocalypse said:
What I'm concerned about is that if the Kings get close to making the playoffs next season and put pressure on QB, Vilardi, and other rookies to perform better, then this could stunt their growth and cause them to regress and not develop. I just think that the OHL and the AHL would be a better place for QB momentarily to develop where there's absolutely no pressure on him. Let him come up to the Kings when he's good and used to the pros. May it be 1, 2 or even 3 years from now. There's no use in rushing the kid. He could be the next Crosby in my opinion if he's not rushed. If rushed, we might be lucky if he levels off at Miko Koivu.
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If you actually watch him, he looks like he's gained confidence in 5 games alone. QB hasn't been afraid to carry the puck, make daring passes, get open in front of the net, or use his body to cover the puck. If he had 20 games, he would absolutely show tremendous growth.

If you take Kakko or Hughes as examples, neither are lighting the world on fire points wise, but both have shown tremendous growth this season. Defensive responsibility, puck carrying, strength. Players of this caliber benefit from the challenge at a higher pace.. they learn, and use this to help them adapt and build their games.

What benefit would it be for QB to dominate Sudbury, go to the AHL for a year, and then learn the pace of the NHL game? He's too talented for that. In the other hand, some players benefit from honing their craft until the age of 23-24-25 in college/Europe etc and then getting a shot.. late bloomer types. But even then, many need a year to adapt to the NHL pace.

QB hasn't looked out of place at all and with a nice stretch of games, chemistry with linemates next season and learning tendencies, this kid will be a gamer. He was my #1 this past season.. everyone was on the Laf/Stu trains, I had and would still have QB #1 last year (and being a month out, would absolutely take him at #1 in the 2021 class as well). Just have some faith and patience.. don't watch the stat sheet, but really watch him play.

Honestly on a side, Vilardi looks like the player he was in Windsor with Andersson/AI.. making space, creative, confident.. sometimes guys get paired up with the least likely of guys and they just click. So again, another one that is developing just fine at the NHL level.
 
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apocalypse said:
What I'm concerned about is that if the Kings get close to making the playoffs next season and put pressure on QB, Vilardi, and other rookies to perform better, then this could stunt their growth and cause them to regress and not develop. I just think that the OHL and the AHL would be a better place for QB momentarily to develop where there's absolutely no pressure on him. Let him come up to the Kings when he's good and used to the pros. May it be 1, 2 or even 3 years from now. There's no use in rushing the kid. He could be the next Crosby in my opinion if he's not rushed. If rushed, we might be lucky if he levels off at Miko Koivu.
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It's not 1995 anymore.

15 guys from the 2019 draft on active rosters in the NHL, including many expected to contribute on playoff teams. Expecting one of Byfield or Vilardi to be a 2C on a fringe playoff team next season is not unrealistic or unreasonable. Esopecially when you have a guy like Kopitar who is going to draw most of the toughest defensive assignments.
 
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I think the Kings are extremely pleased and lucky with how this season turned out since Byfield was able to play in the AHL.

They were able to monitor his practice habits, work on individual skills needing improvement, coach him up in game situations, etc.

There is no turning back now to the OHL.
 
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Schmooley said:
If he can fill out a bit more he will be the #1 center by the end of next season/beginning of the season after.
If hes still lacking man strength they should really ease him into the hard minutes and pressure situations until he can not only handle it physically but thrive there. Keeping Kopitar may turn out to be a blessing for this reason. Hell still be able to play at a high level for the next season or 2 until Byfield is ready.
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And remember Kopitar played as a 18 year old for Sodertalje in the Swedish League. Ideally I'd like to see Byfield play LWing with Kopi and Kempe! The Kings are loaded at centre!
 
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