Stutzle's got the tools to be a playmaking center or winger, though I'm thinking he's more likely to be a winger in the NHL. I say that with the knowledge that he mostly played wing in Germany and at the WJC.
He definitely needs to shoot more. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence in his shot, but he only registered 6 shots in 5 games at the WJC, and 2 of those 6 shots came against Kazakhstan (and he didn't register a goal). In the DEL, he averaged a little over 2 shots per game (88 shots in 41 games).
If he's not much of a goal scorer at those levels, it makes sense why some would be concerned about how much of a goal scorer he can be in the NHL and on a smaller surface against bigger and more physical competition. That said, his skating is a huge asset and him adding some muscle and strength is going to make him a difficult player to defend. He's an elusive player who can back off defenders with his speed.
Hard to say how much his shot can improve or if he'll somehow become more of a shooter in the next level. He scored 5 even strength goals in 41 games in Germany. We already get frustrated by many players on this team who are reluctant shooters, so do you need to surround him with finishers to fully capitalize on his strengths, or is he going to be good enough to make his wingers into scoring threats? That remains to be determined.
If the Kings were still sitting at #4, of course we'd all be doing backflips if Stutzle fell to that spot. Until the results of the draft lottery, we were mostly sold on Stutzle with some leaning towards Lucas Raymond, Marco Rossi or Jamie Drysdale. Now they can guarantee themselves Stutzle or go with Byfield, who to me has the highest ceiling in this draft.
The question is, is Stutzle closer to reaching his ceiling, and would you be willing to wait 3-4 seasons for Byfield to make a huge impact, which is about the time it took for guys like Draisaitl and Barkov to break out.
