Who does LA pick #2

[kilowatt]

Let’s not sleep on Akil Thomas either.

Turcotte - Kopitar - Vilardi
Kaliyev - Byfield - Madden
Fagemo - Thomas - Kupari

 

[Steve Zissou]

BPA.

For me, it's Byfield.

Also, even if we are looking at our roster and what we have/need. Vilardi is still a wild card but could be a 2C. Turcotte still projects at like a 2/3C, and Kupari has already been on track to find a home on the wing.

I'm liking...

Byfield
Vilardi
Turcotte (Thomas if Turcotte moves to a W)
Anderson-Dolan

...down the middle for the foreseeable future.

Stutzle would rank higher IMO if he had a better shot to go along with his dangles, playmaking ability, and his vision of the ice.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

I slightly lean towards preferring Byfield, but I'd have no problem with the Kings taking Stutzle if they think he's the BPA. Nobody else should be considered. With that said, I'd be shocked if the Kings don't take Byfield

 

[Statto]

Right, I’m awake now so I can post more sensibly on this. If we pick at #2 it has to be Byfield, BPA every day of the week. If we need a winger we can trade one or more of our highly touted prospects, but we have to take Byfield as his ceiling will be higher than any of our other prospects.

I say “If we pick at #2..” as there is a case for trading down with Ottawa, however I don’t think it’s the right play. We need high end quality, not depth. Byfield, whilst it’s not a sure thing, could become a Franchise C and we have the depth to make a trade for help at wing. Whilst I love both Turcotte and Vilardi, Byfield is a different level and has the size to be absolutely dominant. We need a real difference maker in our prospect pool and Byfield is the guy.

 

[TwzKing]

Now is the time for quality not quantity. We have good players we need game-breaker potential

 

[Legionnaire]

I think we could get quality at #3 & #5.

 

[AKAY47]

Listening to Yanetti last night and two things stood out to me:

1) He said the biggest mistake he's ever done/the Kings scouting team has ever done is that they drafted for NEED instead of BPA. He said he'll never make that mistake again. So for those asking about our needs/saying we'll go BPA, I think the answer is pretty simple. The Kings will take whoever they feel is the best available prospect, regardless of his position.

2) I mentioned it earlier but Yanetti eluded to their heavy presence in Germany. I'm not saying I'd rather Stutzle over Byfield; as a matter of fact, I hope we go Byfield... BUT, I would definitely not be surprised if we go with Stutzle. All of the signs point to Stutzle right now, there are way too many links.

We'll see what happens.

 

[Mats26]

Byfield will be a franchise changer. He is the type of player you build around. It's a gift from the hockey gods to get a chance to pick such a high caliber player at this stage of our rebuild. He will no doubt relieve some pressure from Turcotte and Vilardi as well.

 

[kevsh]

Another take on Byfield that cautions patience:
A Development Plan for Quinton Byfield

He's going to need some work and as I pointed out earlier, in part thanks to that prospect video, his game is awesome against teenagers but will be tested against pros.

And as I also mentioned, his skating style is not ideal for a big man. I just hope Rob and Luc get the same feedback from their scouts, listen to it and not just take Byfield because most people say he's #2.

 

[Cat Herder]

I think we could get quality at #3 & #5.

please tell me you dont think you are getting #3 and #5 for pick #2

Regardless of who LA picks at #2 Ottawa has a good player at 3 so they do not need to trade up unless they want both 2&3 (whether that is Byfield or Stutzel)

Shawn Simpson (on Ottawa Radio and former NHL player and former management with the Capitals) said he thinks LA wants a D Man .. if they do, they could trade down to #5 and hope Detroit does not pick the D Man they wanted.

I can see #5 + the NYI 1st rounder (could be as high as 13th) + maybe a second rounder (Ottawa has several) for #2

 

[Johnny Utah]

Kings are loaded at center.

Kings don’t have an elite D prospect.

These facts make me think the Kings will trade down. Not saying they won’t take Stutzle, but think they might trade down, take him and somehow nab a D or a pick to take a D.

 

[Herby]

Kings are loaded at center.

Kings don’t have an elite D prospect.

These facts make me think the Kings will trade down. Not saying they won’t take Stutzle, but think they might trade down, take him and somehow nab a D or a pick to take a D.

Hard to win in the NHL without a dominant 1C, based on Vilardi's injury history and Turcotte's disappointing D+1 season are you confident the Kings can win a cup with them as the 1-2 punch? Kopitar will be 33 the next time he plays an NHL game.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Do. Not. Draft. For. Need.

 

[BringTheReign]

Apparently we haven't even interviewed Byfield yet. They told his agents that they didn't want to bug him since they didn't think they'd pick that high. I feel like sitting at #4 they should've done that already, but at the same time, I've heard scouts say the interview can actually be harmful rather than helpful in terms of overthinking picks. They also could just be taking their time considering we won't draft until October or so.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I would take Byfield too - just analyzing from Kings perspective.

How great would it be in a Laker-Clipper town that two of the Kings top players in a few years are African American players - Thomas and Byfield. That would really help the game grow and bring in new fans.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Kings are loaded at center.

Kings don’t have an elite D prospect.

These facts make me think the Kings will trade down. Not saying they won’t take Stutzle, but think they might trade down, take him and somehow nab a D or a pick to take a D.

When is the last time a team traded the 2nd pick after knowing they had it? How many times has it happened in general? Far more likely they keep it simple and just take whoever they take with the pick. Especially if the top of the draft is deep. Why move up 1 or 2 spots by giving up an extra something if you're getting a good player where you're at? If the other team knows you need/want an elite D prospect, why would they make a trade with you? They would just have to wait you out at the draft table, and if you don't pick the elite D prospect, then they happily get an elite D prospect.

I'll stick with historical norms; they boringly use the 2nd pick.

 

[KINGS17]

Another thing I noticed in watching some Byfield video last night is he is a pretty good faceoff man. Easily over 50%, with the size and strength to add a few tricks to his bag.

Year	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PP	SH	SOG	GWG	FOW	FOA	P/G
2018-19	Sudbury (OHL)	64	29	32	61	12	38	4	2	182	5	281	539	0.95
2019-20	Sudbury (OHL)	40	32	42	74	22	40	6	2	137	6	275	540	1.85
Total	104	61	74	135	34	78	10	4	319	11	556	1079	1.3

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Also, the kid can skate and is very good in tight spaces.

 

[Cat Herder]

Apparently we haven't even interviewed Byfield yet. They told his agents that they didn't want to bug him since they didn't think they'd pick that high. I feel like sitting at #4 they should've done that already, but at the same time, I've heard scouts say the interview can actually be harmful rather than helpful in terms of overthinking picks. They also could just be taking their time considering we won't draft until October or so.

I was about to come post this here.. kind of weird IMO saying "we dont think we will pick that high" .. it is a lottery.

With that logic I assume they didn't interview Lafrenier or Stutzel as well

I think they may be one of the teams that might be low on Byfield (Bob McKenzie's polling of scouts a few had him lowish like 5 or 6)

 

[Lt Dan]

I was about to come post this here.. kind of weird IMO saying "we dont think we will pick that high" .. it is a lottery.

With that logic I assume they didn't interview Lafrenier or Stutzel as well

I think they may be one of the teams that might be low on Byfield (Bob McKenzie's polling of scouts a few had him lowish like 5 or 6)

Tell us about Cat herding. Assume I know nothing. Which is a safe assumption about most subjects
Do you use a lot of cardboard boxes?

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Kings should take Byfield
Kings might take Drysdale

 

[raswilliam]

 

[Cat Herder]

Tell us about Cat herding. Assume I know nothing. Which is a safe assumption about most subjects
Do you use a lot of cardboard boxes?

LOL well I was looking for a video on one tab of my browser and I posted a screen shot of another tab but someone on the Sens board saw the tab that said "Cat Herding" and I was convinced to change my name

here is the video for reference

 

[Pandaman11]

1st overall to Pittsburgh/Edmonton: This guy Alex Laferriere at eliteprospects.com
2nd overall to Kings: Alexis Lafrenière

 

[Islcey]

1st overall to Pittsburgh/Edmonton: This guy Alex Laferriere at eliteprospects.com
2nd overall to Kings: Alexis Lafrenière

I'm still taking Alexi Laperierre tbh

 

[KopitarFAN]

Kings should take Byfield
Kings might take Drysdale

I would be stunned, based on what Yannetti said last night, if they aren't choosing between Byfield and Stutzle.

Listening to Yanetti last night and two things stood out to me:

1) He said the biggest mistake he's ever done/the Kings scouting team has ever done is that they drafted for NEED instead of BPA. He said he'll never make that mistake again. So for those asking about our needs/saying we'll go BPA, I think the answer is pretty simple. The Kings will take whoever they feel is the best available prospect, regardless of his position.

2) I mentioned it earlier but Yanetti eluded to their heavy presence in Germany. I'm not saying I'd rather Stutzle over Byfield; as a matter of fact, I hope we go Byfield... BUT, I would definitely not be surprised if we go with Stutzle. All of the signs point to Stutzle right now, there are way too many links.

We'll see what happens.