Who does LA pick #2

[AKAY47]

Kings should take Byfield
Kings might take Drysdale

John Hoven said the decision is between Byfield and Stutzle. I know The Mayor is not well-liked amongst the people here but I respect his sources and he's got a pretty good batting avg. I'll take his sources and run with it.

 

[howlman]

You can't go wrong with either Byfield or Stutzle, and it works out great for LA and Ottawa however it plays out with these two. That being said, players like Byfield rarely become available. The total package and speed of a towering center like Byfield who plays both ends of the ice. Blake and co have a pretty easy decision to make and German connections aside, has nothing to do with BPA and most potential moving forward. Ottawa fans are hoping Byfield falls to them. Not happening

 

[cyclones22]

You can't go wrong with either Byfield or Stutzle, and it works out great for LA and Ottawa however it plays out with these two. That being said, players like Byfield rarely become available. The total package and speed of a towering center like Byfield who plays both ends of the ice. Blake and co have a pretty easy decision to make and German connections aside, has nothing to do with BPA and most potential moving forward. Ottawa fans are hoping Byfield falls to them. Not happening

Agreed and his agility is ridiculous for his size. He's not just some big guy who has north/south speed once he has a head of steam, his ability to go east/west along with his reach is super enticing.

 

[bland]

Thing is, "best player available" doesn't exist, its just a cliche thrown out every draft year.

Unless the choice is obvious, such as Lafreniere, organizational need and positional availability is always a factor in the decision making. Hell, just last year the team selected Bjornfot in his spot specifically because they knew the quality and scarcity of defenders put a premium on that position AND they had another pick coming very quickly with a variety of similarly rated forwards available. The whole concept of "best player available" meant nothing. Its an empty term.

Nobody here, or on the planet, can definitively state that Byfied is a better player than Stutzle. Right now, Marco Rossi is the mythical BPA at #2 based on the maturity of his game, but nobody is going to take him over the others.

I would absolutely argue that Stutzle's positional flexibility and the teams strength up the middle of their prospect chart should absolutely be part of their decision making process.

 

[AKAY47]

Are the Kings going to get the Leafs 2nd round pick? How does that work since the season got axed? I guess they'll still count Campbell's win totals (if he gets to 6?)

 

[NyQuil]

Ottawa fans are hoping Byfield falls to them. Not happening

That's funny, because some are concerned that you guys will pick Stutzle.

Stutzle's versatility provides an organization with a lot of prospect depth with a lot of options. If our current C prospects pan out, you can put him on the wing. His ceiling may not be as high, but I think his floor is potentially much higher and he may be less of a project.

In any event, we don't really have to agonize about the decision because it's all up to you guys. (and then Dorion goes off the board for some reason)

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Thing is, "best player available" doesn't exist, its just a cliche thrown out every draft year.

Unless the choice is obvious, such as Lafreniere, organizational need and positional availability is always a factor in the decision making. Hell, just last year the team selected Bjornfot in his spot specifically because they knew the quality and scarcity of defenders put a premium on that position AND they had another pick coming very quickly with a variety of similarly rated forwards available. The whole concept of "best player available" meant nothing. Its an empty term.

Nobody here, or on the planet, can definitively state that Byfied is a better player than Stutzle. Right now, Marco Rossi is the mythical BPA at #2 based on the maturity of his game, but nobody is going to take him over the others.

I would absolutely argue that Stutzle's positional flexibility and the teams strength up the middle of their prospect chart should absolutely be part of their decision making process.

Agreed, but I think what people mean when they say that is "don't draft for current positional need," i.e. don't draft Drysdale at 2 unless you truly think he's the best player, and even then, there's gotta be a down-trade you can make for better value.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

My frame of thinking is like this. There's only one Draisaitl like there's only one Kopitar. If I'm looking at history correctly there's been only one really great player from a non traditional hockey country like Slovenia and like Germany. Hischier may be that player for the Swiss. So what I'm saying is will Stutzle be another great player from Germany? There really hasn't been many til Draisaitl and there may not be another for awhile. So the chance of Stutzle being as good as Drai would not be that great no? I'm just thinking out loud I know I'll prolly get drilled for this but just something I've been pondering about.

Just to throw something out there...Draisaitl may have been German born but Papa was Czech and played 19 seasons( In Germany) plus coached and has continue to coach upto this day! And Leon played the last years(3) of Juniors in Canada with Prince Albert Raiders and Kelowna Rockets. So I'm wondering out loud what part of Draisaitl is actually German. He's a talent for sure and I know he got his early start in Germany and putting up some phenomenal numbers but is he German? You could say he's the product of the German system to a large extent but came to Canada to find the best level of competition for his age group and he rose to the challenge?And what of his NHL goalscoring exploits? Going from 19,29,25 then 50 and finishing the shorty with 43! I'm always suspicious with production like that...just like when people were suspicious of the East Germans when they won so many medals at the Olympics(event after event) in the pre-take down the wall(Communism)!

 

[KopitarFAN]

Are the Kings going to get the Leafs 2nd round pick? How does that work since the season got axed? I guess they'll still count Campbell's win totals (if he gets to 6?)

These aren't regular season games, so that's done, but if Clifford re-signs there, the 2021 3rd they got becomes a 2nd.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

That's funny, because some are concerned that you guys will pick Stutzle.

Stutzle's versatility provides an organization with a lot of prospect depth with a lot of options. If our current C prospects pan out, you can put him on the wing. His ceiling may not be as high, but I think his floor is potentially much higher and he may be less of a project.

In any event, we don't really have to agonize about the decision because it's all up to you guys. (and then Dorion goes off the board for some reason)

Ottawa has Colin White,Josh Norris, 6-5 Logan Brown,Drake Batherson,Shane Pinto at North Dakota which they'll convert the last two,Chris Tiernay and Artem Anisimov! I think they need a LWinger behind B Tkachuk and Stuetzle fits that bill

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

For those saying that it's going to be Stutzle because of the Kings depth at centre in their prospect pool does not comprehend Yanetti, Blake and co.'s philosophy. All you need to do is listen to Yanetti speak post lottery draft about what he's learned as a scout.

He said the biggest mistake he's done (his scouting team) is draft based off of need. Yanetti mentioned it's something he's learned to drift away from. That speaks volume, IMO. The Kings won't look at their depth chart and say "hey, we need the next Drew Doughty". They're going to be taking the best player available at 2. That's where the convo starts and ends.

Now, as to WHO they think is the better player between Byfield and Stutzle? That's a different story. I think Byfield is going to be the better player but will not be shocked if Stutzle is the pick. I've mentioned it a few times and I'll mention it again. The Kings have a heavy presence in Germany with scouts (Anschutz owns a team in Germany) and Marco Sturm is one of Blake's closest allies (he's also one of the assistant coaches). There will be a lot of guys whispering "Stutzle" in Blake's ear.

John Mayer said the Kings brass are at 60-40 Byfield right now. This debate will be going on right up until draft day in October. Neither of the two will be on the Kings roster right off the bat (they may be the 9 game sniff, but that's about it).

I think the question ultimately becomes who has the potential to become a top flight franchise centre? Byfield boyz! So the next step is to find wingers that can play with him and put together a line with the scoring prowess of the Triple Crown...that's the question...is Byfield a Franchise type Centre...Yes! PS I envision Vilardi going to the RWing with Byfield...then the task becomes who plays LW...Kempe...convert Kaliyev to LW and hope his lazy( I don't back check)ways disappear or do the Kings package some of their 2nd rounders(35,48) and maybe a 3rd from this year or next to get someone they deem a fit around the 20-23 pick of the 2020 first round? Questions,questions,questions

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Stutzle is going to be the Kings pick at 2

OMG No!

 

[KopitarFAN]

In a few weeks, once we've been given time to read, watch and process everything, I'd be interested in how different this poll would look.

 

[LAKings88]

I’ll be happy with either. Liking the idea of Byfield more and more. If he is a Kopitar/Malkin type then sign me up.

Stutzle has a pizazz LA has lacked for some time. I get a P. Bure skating vibe from him without the goal scoring of course. Wouldn’t mind a guy that can keep you on the edge of your seat.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Calm your jets.

Was referring to his lack of size and his speed (speed, in a good way).... in referring to playing wing.

Anyone could watch less than 20 sec of tape and see he’s got wheels.

Wheels? Darryl Sutter thought Rico Fata had wheels too and prematurely brought the kid up after being a 1st rounder(6th overall). He's got to have more than wheels,especially if he's the 2nd overall pick

 

[crassbonanza]

Blake and co have a pretty easy decision to make and German connections aside, has nothing to do with BPA and most potential moving forward.

A number of scouting groups have moved Stutzle up to 2nd, I don't think it is clear cut at all that Byfield is the BPA.

 

[K1900L]

Just to throw something out there...Draisaitl may have been German born but Papa was Czech and played 19 seasons( In Germany) plus coached and has continue to coach upto this day! And Leon played the last years(3) of Juniors in Canada with Prince Albert Raiders and Kelowna Rockets. So I'm wondering out loud what part of Draisaitl is actually German. He's a talent for sure and I know he got his early start in Germany and putting up some phenomenal numbers but is he German? You could say he's the product of the German system to a large extent but came to Canada to find the best level of competition for his age group and he rose to the challenge?And what of his NHL goalscoring exploits? Going from 19,29,25 then 50 and finishing the shorty with 43! I'm always suspicious with production like that...just like when people were suspicious of the East Germans when they won so many medals at the Olympics(event after event) in the pre-take down the wall(Communism)!

Come on dude, seriously?

 

[bmr]

Are you guys sure that Byfield is that much better than Stutzle? Stutzle is playing against some pretty good competition in the DEL. But i'll admit, Byfield probably has a higher ceiling based on several more years of development. Tough decision.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Come on dude, seriously?

Are you one of those Bettman guys...NHL hockey has no drug problems,we are clean...but the rest of the sporting World is filthy,stinky and filled with so may drugs and not only of the legal kind

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Are you guys sure that Byfield is that much better than Stutzle? Stutzle is playing against some pretty good competition in the DEL. But i'll admit, Byfield probably has a higher ceiling based on several more years of development. Tough decision.

Not tough by me it's Byfield 100%...you don't by-pass a franchise type Centre...I bet NHL teams would like a re-do of the 2005 draft after the Crosby pick...it sure wouldn't be Ryan,Johnson,Price...it would be KopiStar,just as the 2020 should,will and better be Quinton Byfield,the Next Great LA Kings Centre

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Are you guys sure that Byfield is that much better than Stutzle? Stutzle is playing against some pretty good competition in the DEL. But i'll admit, Byfield probably has a higher ceiling based on several more years of development. Tough decision.

DEL is good competition? Its a has-beens and never-will-bees League

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Are you one of those Bettman guys...NHL hockey has no drug problems,we are clean...but the rest of the sporting World is filthy,stinky and filled with so may drugs and not only of the legal kind

Speaking of drugs, how many are you on?

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Are you guys sure that Byfield is that much better than Stutzle? Stutzle is playing against some pretty good competition in the DEL. But i'll admit, Byfield probably has a higher ceiling based on several more years of development. Tough decision.

DEL is not good competition...see how Stuetzle turns out once he gets to Seattle to play junior for the (WHL)Thunderbirds...not a tough decision,Byfield is a Franchise type Centre no one should By-Pass!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Speaking of drugs, how many are you on?

Nothing that affects my judgement of talent! What about you?

 

[Stimpythecat]

If the kings interviewed Stutzle before the draft, that is an indication that the kings ranked Byfield higher and thus Byfield would be the BPA. Byfield stated that the kings did not interview him since they did not think they would be picking that high.

So does anyone know if and when Stutzle was interviewed?