Who does LA pick #2

[Bandit]

I just bought a Byfield jersey - hope LA picks him or I wasted a lot of $$$!

Dancing Boy, is that you?

 

[funky]

I get confused about the "compete" concerns about Byfield. As a 17 year old on a talent challenged team he ended up with one of the best ppg of all time. I saw a stat (can't find it, damn) comparing his team's huge + goal differential when he was on the ice vs huge - differential when he wasn't. He played 20+ min per game in all situations, including PK.
We have all seen his great shot, creative passes, incredible agility, and the guy plays defense too. But the guy has "compete" issues!?! What more could this underaged kid do to "compete"? This kid is and will be an unreal talent.

.

plus the kid hired Gary Roberts to train him and his goal is to play in the NHL this upcoming season. Said he has been watching a lot of his own game tapes to look for areas to improve as well as watching a ton of Malkin game footage to see what makes him effective. Sounds like the kid has some compete in him to me.

on a side note we as fans seem to have a hard time picking Byfield vs Stutzle. They may not be the only choice. Blake said they had to take a hard look at 4 players. I would not be surprised if Mason Raymond was the fourth. The more scouting reports I read the more I learn that he is right there is some scouts eyes.

I have my list back home, but I do know the dodge truck agencies have different opinions on Stutzle. The spread on Stutzle is he is ranked as high as 2 by quite a few but as low as 8th overall by a few.

Byfield also as high as 2 by the same amount but only as low as 4

Raymond however has been as high as 3 by a few (Byfield the 2 in those) and as low as 7.

even the experts can’t agree. Oh well, 4 plus months and maybe some European hockey in between now and the draft just to throw more of a wrench in everything.

What a year. Hopefully 2020 goes full 2020 on draft day and the team with the 1st overall pick decides they need a center. After the way this year has gone I wouldn’t bat an eyelash.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

.

plus the kid hired Gary Roberts to train him and his goal is to play in the NHL this upcoming season. Said he has been watching a lot of his own game tapes to look for areas to improve as well as watching a ton of Malkin game footage to see what makes him effective. Sounds like the kid has some compete in him to me.

on a side note we as fans seem to have a hard time picking Byfield vs Stutzle. They may not be the only choice. Blake said they had to take a hard look at 4 players. I would not be surprised if Mason Raymond was the fourth. The more scouting reports I read the more I learn that he is right there is some scouts eyes.

I have my list back home, but I do know the dodge truck agencies have different opinions on Stutzle. The spread on Stutzle is he is ranked as high as 2 by quite a few but as low as 8th overall by a few.

Byfield also as high as 2 by the same amount but only as low as 4

Raymond however has been as high as 3 by a few (Byfield the 2 in those) and as low as 7.

even the experts can’t agree. Oh well, 4 plus months and maybe some European hockey in between now and the draft just to throw more of a wrench in everything.

What a year. Hopefully 2020 goes full 2020 on draft day and the team with the 1st overall pick decides they need a center. After the way this year has gone I wouldn’t bat an eyelash.

I laughed but only because I've made this mistake in my head at least 100x and just haven't put it in writing yet

But I agree!

 

[Fishhead]

I get confused about the "compete" concerns about Byfield. As a 17 year old on a talent challenged team he ended up with one of the best ppg of all time. I saw a stat (can't find it, damn) comparing his team's huge + goal differential when he was on the ice vs huge - differential when he wasn't. He played 20+ min per game in all situations, including PK.
We have all seen his great shot, creative passes, incredible agility, and the guy plays defense too. But the guy has "compete" issues!?! What more could this underaged kid do to "compete"? This kid is and will be an unreal talent.

He tends to watch at times, that's all. I'm sure his differential was amazing, he's leaps ahead of everyone else on this team. He's extremely fast and can make up ground quickly, but with young players that sometimes means they sandbag a bit.

It's nothing against QB really, its not uncommon with young highly skilled players. When you are that much better and faster than the players around you, you don't have to think the game that far ahead and there's no pressure to push it every shift. It something he's going to have to learn at the next level, however, so it's a concern. I wouldn't say it's serious enough to call an issue.

I will say this. If QB played full blast and battled every shift like Lafreniere, I think he wouldn't be available at #2.

 

[Statto]

At the moment though Stutzle seems like he can make the jump into the NHL next season

I’m not so sure. I think he’d need a little time in the AHL first, to adjust to the smaller ice and tighter defences. He’d get a cup of coffee but I think he’d need time to adjust before making the jump full time. Btw, it’s a non issue for me as being NHL ready isn’t a factor for whom I would draft, it’s about the longer game.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Shift Work: Quinton Byfield

Shift Work: Tim Stützle

Worth looking at imo. Not in great depth or anything, just highlights some of the more subtle things done throughout the game that both excel at yet some feel are weaknesses of either player. Also worth noting closer to the beginning of the year, so before Stutzle really got comfortable in DEL too.

There are also full game shift by shift videos rather than synopses since we have plenty o time before then, lol

 

[Statto]

I think the extra year for QB is "nearly" a coin flip. Don't get me wrong, even Stutzle could still bust but if he could bust, say, 20% chance, then QB is one year behind AND the same 20% chance...so in my bogus math, let's say that's 40%...which is close to a coin flip to me...and we have to wait a year to find out.

I don’t understand how you can form an argument based on numbers you’ve literally picked from thin air. Both players have demonstrated the ability to work through challenges (Byfield, poor team - Stützle, playing against men). With their talent level an inability to cope when it gets tough is usually the reason players bust. Neither shows a hint of that and character is now something teams really zero in on. It’s in no way a coin flip that either busts.

If he grows two more inches witch is very possible based on his past 4 years of growth spurts he would be the only 6'6" forward in NHL history to be a first line center with any actual value. He could stop growing or maybe only grow 1" over the next 4 years and that would cause a ton of concern for his ability to be a highly effective foward.

However, you also consider Byfields age and height as a risk when in fact it’s a reason to be even more excited about him. Presenting him growing another 2 inches as a risk is a fairly contrived issue and again based on no facts other than his height. Being too tall and gangly is a problem from 20 years ago. Sports science has long been able to help properly manage and handle growth spurts and the like, so it really isn’t a problem. His body type won’t change if he grows taller as his frame will also grow, he will just get bigger and stronger. Knowing how to manage a players body type and physical condition is basic stuff these days. I Imagine a guy of his size, who even if he doesn’t hit like Brownie, could overpower anyone in the league, is immovable from in front of the net and then I think about how good his hands are. He already has great puck protection ability and if bigger it only gets better. It’s the same with his shot, it’s already technically good, so a strength increase will just make it better.

There are plenty of ‘big’ skilled guys in the games history, we can start with Mario Lemieux at 6’ 4” and as has already been mentioned Arnott was 6’5. I don’t ever recall an expert discussion about how either player would benefit from being a touch smaller. If he ended up being the biggest ever 1 C how is that an issue? Someone has to hold that crown and it really isn’t a negative as he isn’t an Ectomorph body type, he’s a Mesomorph by the looks of things and that’s fine.

Of course he may bust, that risk applies to every single player drafted, even Lafreniere. However, Byfield is no greater risk than anyone else for that. Both Stützle and Byfield will be Elite players IMO, top 6 players at worst if their respective developments get screwed up. The reason I’d choose Byfield is that there is the potential that if he hits his absolute ceiling he becomes a Franchise player, even if it’s only a 10% chance it’s a significant difference maker. We have a record of being patient with player development and I’m sure we will get something close to the ceiling with whomever we pick. I don’t think either player busts in LA.

I do agree though that’s there a case for letting Byfield play junior again next year to allow him to grow and develop. However, not on the team he was at last year. He needs to be traded so he can play on a contending team, with decent players so he can take his game to the next level. If his rights are not moved he may be better served with sheltered minutes playing 60+ games in LA. It’s definitely going to be the most important decision that gets made for him, in terms of hitting whatever his ceiling proves to be. There is so much time between now and when they have to decide that the answer, whatever it is, could easily change.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Also, a lot of people here both on this and the main board keep saying that "we're rebuilding". I don't think the front office or ownership agree with that.

Literally today:

“We get to the make the second selection in a very good NHL draft, at a time when we’re trying to rebuild into a championship team,” Yanetti noted. . . . “Things worked out pretty damned good. It’s a chance to change the franchise, and to speed up the rebuild. It’s a chance to complete the process we’ve been working on over the past few years.”

LA Kings Have Two Players In Their Crosshairs For 2nd Overall Draft Pick

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

The article itself is on a different topic, but this intro provides some pretty interesting context for the "Byfield only scores in transition" crowd:

Fun fact: 42 percent of all 5-on-5 goals occur within five seconds of the attacking team entering the offensive zone. That was a key takeaway when Hockey-Graphs contributor Adam Stringham analyzed every goal from the 2013-14 season. What does that tell us? It’s more evidence that transitional play — how swiftly teams switch from defense to offense and vice versa — is crucial in a contemporary NHL that’s trending toward speed and skill.

By the Numbers: Identifying the NHL's best puck-moving...

 

[Rorschach]

Literally today:

LA Kings Have Two Players In Their Crosshairs For 2nd Overall Draft Pick

I listed my facts. Everything else is just semantics.
1) Look at the roster, it has way too many key vets and stars to be a complete rebuild, salary-wise
2) Maybe the FO originally intended for a 5 year rebuild but we’re coming out of it early due to hitting on Vilardi, plus last year’s draft
3) The fact the two biggest stars stayed shows the FO showed them the plan and the turnaround time is fast enough for them
4) A re-tool is a partial rebuild; every retool is a sort of rebuild but not every rebuild is a retool rebuild; main difference is the star players you keep on the roster
5) Our re-tool was a bit deeper than say, a Chicago annual retool...that’s because our cupboard was bare due to mediocre drafting for a few years and DL unloading assets for certain key rental vets

The process of a complete rebuild or a retool is still “rebuilding” by unloading older vets and getting younger, cheaper but quality players to replace them. The difference is, how deep do you go and this how long is the process. In this case, it hasn’t been that long...this has only been our second draft with a top lottery pick.

My point is, management knows and so do the vet players that they don’t have five or six years. This becomes important as BPA in this draft, NHL-readiness becomes a factor in evaluating the prospect.

Stützle I believe can contribute now, as a winger, due to his skating and his off-season strength conditioning, along with his game. Byfield looks like he’s another year in junior, then AHL, and each year is a we’ll see year. (Being tall and big is no longer as important as it was before in the NHL, so it doesn’t counteract NHL-readiness. ) QB is quite young and more raw than almost all of the other prospects at the top of this draft. He has quite a bit to prove and needs a couple extra years to do it. The question is can the team wait? I don’t think so in the Kings’ case. Kopitar may be very close to retired before QB gets to skate more than 40 games in the same season on the Kings.

 

[Rorschach]

I don’t understand how you can form an argument based on numbers you’ve literally picked from thin air. Both players have demonstrated the ability to work through challenges (Byfield, poor team - Stützle, playing against men). With their talent level an inability to cope when it gets tough is usually the reason players bust. Neither shows a hint of that and character is now something teams really zero in on. It’s in no way a coin flip that either busts.



However, you also consider Byfields age and height as a risk when in fact it’s a reason to be even more excited about him. Presenting him growing another 2 inches as a risk is a fairly contrived issue and again based on no facts other than his height. Being too tall and gangly is a problem from 20 years ago. Sports science has long been able to help properly manage and handle growth spurts and the like, so it really isn’t a problem. His body type won’t change if he grows taller as his frame will also grow, he will just get bigger and stronger. Knowing how to manage a players body type and physical condition is basic stuff these days. I Imagine a guy of his size, who even if he doesn’t hit like Brownie, could overpower anyone in the league, is immovable from in front of the net and then I think about how good his hands are. He already has great puck protection ability and if bigger it only gets better. It’s the same with his shot, it’s already technically good, so a strength increase will just make it better.

There are plenty of ‘big’ skilled guys in the games history, we can start with Mario Lemieux at 6’ 4” and as has already been mentioned Arnott was 6’5. I don’t ever recall an expert discussion about how either player would benefit from being a touch smaller. If he ended up being the biggest ever 1 C how is that an issue? Someone has to hold that crown and it really isn’t a negative as he isn’t an Ectomorph body type, he’s a Mesomorph by the looks of things and that’s fine.

Of course he may bust, that risk applies to every single player drafted, even Lafreniere. However, Byfield is no greater risk than anyone else for that. Both Stützle and Byfield will be Elite players IMO, top 6 players at worst if their respective developments get screwed up. The reason I’d choose Byfield is that there is the potential that if he hits his absolute ceiling he becomes a Franchise player, even if it’s only a 10% chance it’s a significant difference maker. We have a record of being patient with player development and I’m sure we will get something close to the ceiling with whomever we pick. I don’t think either player busts in LA.

I do agree though that’s there a case for letting Byfield play junior again next year to allow him to grow and develop. However, not on the team he was at last year. He needs to be traded so he can play on a contending team, with decent players so he can take his game to the next level. If his rights are not moved he may be better served with sheltered minutes playing 60+ games in LA. It’s definitely going to be the most important decision that gets made for him, in terms of hitting whatever his ceiling proves to be. There is so much time between now and when they have to decide that the answer, whatever it is, could easily change.

I read all this and can summarize your arguments here: “I’m willing to look at all the upside and ignore all of the risk, no matter how apparent it is.”

I’ll give you some real numbers...he only scored 82 points in 45g last season. Other comparable CHL players in the same draft: Rossi 120 points in 56g, Lafreniere 112 points in 52g, Perfetti 111 points in 61g. Point is at the top of the draft, the guys are all scoring 110+ points in their draft season...QB not only was hurt, which is often a big ding in your juniors draft season traditionally, he was more on a 90 point pace...that doesn’t translate into 75 points in the NHL. And he had no impressive showings at any of the participated tournaments this year either, I believe.

All QB has on an elite level is potential. I know this is HF but potential may be nice to dream about, it’s actually a big negative in the real world when comparing to surer things. It’s probably why multiple NHL scouts have him 6th overall and not top 3.

 

[Jungle Boy]

I get confused about the "compete" concerns about Byfield. As a 17 year old on a talent challenged team he ended up with one of the best ppg of all time. I saw a stat (can't find it, damn) comparing his team's huge + goal differential when he was on the ice vs huge - differential when he wasn't. He played 20+ min per game in all situations, including PK.
We have all seen his great shot, creative passes, incredible agility, and the guy plays defense too. But the guy has "compete" issues!?! What more could this underaged kid do to "compete"? This kid is and will be an unreal talent.

Last year Kalyev felt to the 2nd round (thankfully) because some scouts thought that he was cherrypicking. After the draft I read somewhere that in some games he was playing 30+ minutes. Maybe, that’s the case with Byfield.

 

[Schrute farms]

Draft prospect tear-down season has definitely begun

 

[cyclones22]

I read all this and can summarize your arguments here: “I’m willing to look at all the upside and ignore all of the risk, no matter how apparent it is.”

I’ll give you some real numbers...he only scored 82 points in 45g last season. Other comparable CHL players in the same draft: Rossi 120 points in 56g, Lafreniere 112 points in 52g, Perfetti 111 points in 61g. Point is at the top of the draft, the guys are all scoring 110+ points in their draft season...QB not only was hurt, which is often a big ding in your juniors draft season traditionally, he was more on a 90 point pace...that doesn’t translate into 75 points in the NHL. And he had no impressive showings at any of the participated tournaments this year either, I believe.

All QB has on an elite level is potential. I know this is HF but potential may be nice to dream about, it’s actually a big negative in the real world when comparing to surer things. It’s probably why multiple NHL scouts have him 6th overall and not top 3.

Re-posting this from earlier in the thread re: QB's production. And FYI, Rossi is 11 months older than QB. Laf is 10 months older. Perfetti is 8 months older. That matters as save for Laf who plays in a different league, none of those guys were producing what Byfield was doing at the same age.

For me, the choice is not that hard. Image below is best PPG in the OHL since 2010. Byfield ranks 6th. Of the 17 players on this list that have made it to the NHL, 8 are considered top players in the NHL and only 3 failed to really make the NHL. And he is on the higher end of this list.

On top of that, Byfield only played 5 games in the last 1/3rd of his season (5 games since feb 7), and is the youngest player on this list. So his 1.82 PPG represents former part of his development, rather than the latter. He is doing this in a league with deep history of developing players. All of this screams top tier talent.

I don't know how but Byfield' shot is somehow underrated. He had a 27% shooting percentage. He doesn't have a good shot, he has a GREAT shot. Only can think of Holtz and Quinn who clearly have a better shot.

Every single player in the top 10, except Quinton Byfield, had at least 1 other 1st or 2nd round talent on their team. Byfield played with 1 drafted player, 6th round pick Blake Murray (they played on 2 separate lines).

All the data analytics look great for Byfield. In Scouching's analytics, Byfield has the highest NHLes score (yes higher than Lafreniere), which adjusts a player's league, age, and raw production to make a comparable analysis. When Byfield on the ice, his team is scoring 35% more goals and allowing 27% less goals than when he is not on the ice. Stats from Pick224 and HockeyPC on twitter showed that Byfield was 1st in the OHL in G per 60 minutes played and primary assists per 60 minutes played.

People who point out Byfield's production mainly comes from transition plays forget that the OHL is a transition league and a majority of goals are scored on either the rush or PP. Odds are, you heard someone hear from Draft Dynasty about his concerns, and made now its a major argument point. Yet, that argument was never brought up for Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, DeBrincat, Yakupov, Svechnikov, etc despite them doing the same thing. Don't believe me. Here is a bunch of player highlights from their ohl seasons:
McDavid
Marner
Strome
Tkachuk
Svechnikov
Must I go on?

The way I see it, this debate is like the Svechnikov/Zadina debate. It was so obvious that Svechnikov was the #2 pick, yet there was so much debate about who should go at #2. I like Stutzle, he has potential to be a PP quarterback and be an elite winger, but Byfield has the potential to be a #1 franchise center. Stutzle does not attack the center of the ice enough to play center in the NHL. The majority of his production comes from playing perimeter on the power play. He takes advantage of the extra ice in the international rinks, where he can skate his way into a gorgeous passing play. He won't have the space like he does in the DEL.

Also these are opinions, I'm not trying to say you're wrong. I'm just trying to say how I feel.


View attachment 352725

 

[psych3man]

And FYI, Rossi is 11 months older than QB. Laf is 10 months older. Perfetti is 8 months older. That matters as save for Laf who plays in a different league, none of those guys were producing what Byfield was doing at the same age.

...and all of those players mentioned above had significantly more talented teammates than Byfield...we know how much that matters in hockey

 

[KINGS17]

I listed my facts. Everything else is just semantics.
1) Look at the roster, it has way too many key vets and stars to be a complete rebuild, salary-wise
2) Maybe the FO originally intended for a 5 year rebuild but we’re coming out of it early due to hitting on Vilardi, plus last year’s draft
3) The fact the two biggest stars stayed shows the FO showed them the plan and the turnaround time is fast enough for them
4) A re-tool is a partial rebuild; every retool is a sort of rebuild but not every rebuild is a retool rebuild; main difference is the star players you keep on the roster
5) Our re-tool was a bit deeper than say, a Chicago annual retool...that’s because our cupboard was bare due to mediocre drafting for a few years and DL unloading assets for certain key rental vets

The process of a complete rebuild or a retool is still “rebuilding” by unloading older vets and getting younger, cheaper but quality players to replace them. The difference is, how deep do you go and this how long is the process. In this case, it hasn’t been that long...this has only been our second draft with a top lottery pick.

My point is, management knows and so do the vet players that they don’t have five or six years. This becomes important as BPA in this draft, NHL-readiness becomes a factor in evaluating the prospect.

Stützle I believe can contribute now, as a winger, due to his skating and his off-season strength conditioning, along with his game. Byfield looks like he’s another year in junior, then AHL, and each year is a we’ll see year. (Being tall and big is no longer as important as it was before in the NHL, so it doesn’t counteract NHL-readiness. ) QB is quite young and more raw than almost all of the other prospects at the top of this draft. He has quite a bit to prove and needs a couple extra years to do it. The question is can the team wait? I don’t think so in the Kings’ case. Kopitar may be very close to retired before QB gets to skate more than 40 games in the same season on the Kings.

Management is going to screw this up royally if they don't take the proper time and rush to just get back into the playoffs. Sadly, I don't think we will ever see Kopitar hoist the Stanley Cup as captain of the Kings.

The Kings need to take the player they believe will be the best player when he reaches his peak, and not worry about when they are NHL-ready. If they take Byfield, I fully expect him to be back in junior hockey next season.

 

[Rorschach]

Re-posting this from earlier in the thread re: QB's production. And FYI, Rossi is 11 months older than QB. Laf is 10 months older. Perfetti is 8 months older. That matters as save for Laf who plays in a different league, none of those guys were producing what Byfield was doing at the same age.

Correct, that is my point. He's one year younger; he's one year behind development and it shows. Drafting someone one year earlier takes one year longer in development time and is much riskier than drafting someone who has already developed, developed correctly and has already accomplished what they need to. QB lacks some maturity in his game, some dynamic-ism, especially when looking at the alternative, Stutzle. He has not accomplished yet what others already have. It's arguable that his potential ceiling is "higher" but really what we're saying is it could be higher or actually lower since we don't know, that's how potential is by nature.

I don't want a project with the #2OA. I think drafting in the mid to late teens, maybe it's ok to pick a project of a player. Every prospect has risk, even Lafreniere does. But I personally don't feel like LA can afford to gamble with the time or in risk, given their current situation. But that's me.

Just because a guy appears to have big physical stats, that doesn't make up for his lack of development. What's in the back of my mind is three times we had some similar kind of choice with three different outcomes, each pointed similarly in the same direction...Doughty over Bogosian (Kings choose smarter over bigger, win), Voynov over Teubert (Kings choose smarter and bigger, win with smarter), Tarasenko over Forbort (Kings choose project over smarter, smarter wins). Maybe this is all BS but this is what I'm thinking. Thank god we chose smarter over bigger with the last #2OA.

 

[Rorschach]

Management is going to screw this up royally if they don't take the proper time and rush to just get back into the playoffs. Sadly, I don't think we will ever see Kopitar hoist the Stanley Cup as captain of the Kings.

The Kings need to take the player they believe will be the best player when he reaches his peak, and not worry about when they are NHL-ready. If they take Byfield, I fully expect him to be back in junior hockey next season.

On your first point, you may be right but I don't think of Stutzle as a screw up (not like the signing of Kovalchuk). I know I'm in the minority here but with all of the time off and the newly re-motivated guys like Doughty with the injection of young blood, I think the Kings are a playoff team right now with the addition of a vet LHD.

Second point, agree, but Stutzle might be the one with the higher ceiling even above Lafreniere due to his hockey sense and skating.

Third point, fully agree and hopefully if he is a King, he scores like 140 points and we all laugh about the time we were debating his development.

Looking at how the team is being put together, I don't think we are building a 2012 team this time. We have tons of character but we're focusing more on skill and drive, and much less on a heavy game this time around.

 

[KINGS17]

Re-posting this from earlier in the thread re: QB's production. And FYI, Rossi is 11 months older than QB. Laf is 10 months older. Perfetti is 8 months older. That matters as save for Laf who plays in a different league, none of those guys were producing what Byfield was doing at the same age.

If Byfield was born 30 days later, he would have been in next year's draft. Eleven months matters quite a bit in the development of a 17-19 year old hockey player, or any athlete for that matter.

 

[KINGS17]

On your first point, you may be right but I don't think of Stutzle as a screw up (not like the signing of Kovalchuk). I know I'm in the minority here but with all of the time off and the newly re-motivated guys like Doughty with the injection of young blood, I think the Kings are a playoff team right now with the addition of a vet LHD.

Second point, agree, but Stutzle might be the one with the higher ceiling even above Lafreniere due to his hockey sense and skating.

Third point, fully agree and hopefully if he is a King, he scores like 140 points and we all laugh about the time we were debating his development.

Looking at how the team is being put together, I don't think we are building a 2012 team this time. We have tons of character but we're focusing more on skill and drive, and much less on a heavy game this time around.

What makes you think Byfield plays a "heavy" game? I think Stutzle will be a fine player in the NHL. I don't see to same potential in him to take over a game in the way Byfield will if he reaches his full potential.

To borrow a baseball analogy, for me Byfield is a 5-tool prospect.

 

[cyclones22]

A project? Oh good grief. His production at his age is elite. He's accomplished MORE at his age than the others have. Forget his physical traits. The numbers don't lie. Now I'm starting to feel like Raccoon Jesus.

 

[Rorschach]

What makes you think Byfield plays a "heavy" game? I think Stutzle will be a fine player in the NHL. I don't see to same potential in him to take over a game in the way Byfield will if he reaches his full potential.

To borrow a baseball analogy, for me Byfield is a 5-tool prospect.

No, I agree with you, he definitely does NOT play a heavy game...in fact that's a common critique of him that he doesn't really use his size. But lots of other people here are saying his size is such a big deal, potentially, enough to overlook his lack of major accomplishments and a whole year less of development. I'm saying that size in today's NHL really doesn't matter as much anymore and neither should it matter to the Kings who are not trying to draft as much size in order to build a heavy team.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Derek Forbort was a project. Colten Teubert was a project. Brian Boyle was a project. Hugh Jessiman was a project.

Not a single f***ing scouting service has labeled Quinton Byfield a project. Just someone who’s never watched him play.

 

[Telos]

Yeah, Byfield isn't a project, he is just being labeled as such because he is younger and less developed, but to be honest, nobody knows until we draft the kid and put him through a training camp. For all we know, he makes the roster...

 

[Fishhead]

Shift Work: Quinton Byfield

Shift Work: Tim Stützle

Worth looking at imo. Not in great depth or anything, just highlights some of the more subtle things done throughout the game that both excel at yet some feel are weaknesses of either player. Also worth noting closer to the beginning of the year, so before Stutzle really got comfortable in DEL too.

There are also full game shift by shift videos rather than synopses since we have plenty o time before then, lol

Thanks for this.

Didn't get to watch the whole thing because I'm in a meeting

Part of what I was talking about is illustrated in the first 5 minutes. Right around 2 minutes, QB is coming out of his own zone with the jump on 2 guys. He ends up being the last guy back in the zone behind his man, which with his stride and speed shouldn't happen. I get that it doesn't end up a huge deal, but if that bounce off the shot by #15 goes another way and they retain possession, QB's guy has a step on him and is in the high slot.

Another thing is at around 3:50 after he loses the 50/50 on the boards he peels back and kind of chases the puck a little, then coasts a bit and waves his stick at the guy who ends up passing it off and it's in the net. He's got to be more tenacious there, at that point there shouldn't be a gap and that pass that ended up the 2nd assist could have been prevented.

High expectations, yea. But that's the stuff that he needs to iron out. He's certainly not a project in my eyes, he's going to be dominant. Every guy except for Lafreniere is going to have some warts, I think QB is the least warty.