Barry Amsterdam
Nättias Dänielstrom
- Apr 2, 2013
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Lafrienere could be the first to put up 100 assists in the CHL since Crosby I believe. He’s pacing 96 assists for 60 games.
he started the tournament on the second line at wing. Don’t tell me it’s “false” lol. No elite level center should struggle to play wing. So I wouldn’t blame his struggles on playing out of position.
I’m sure he’ll be a very good player in the nhl. Some people get WAY too defensive over this stuff. The level of hair splitting we’re doing over guys with this kind of talent is extreme. If I say byfield struggles or isn’t as good, that’s still to say the guy is a top 5 player IN THE ****ING WORLD at his age group. It’s not like I don’t like him or would be upset if we drafted him lol
Nathan Mackinnon was a depth player for Canada at the WJC in his draft year too, and he turned out alright.
He didn't play in his natural position at all and one period of that against the United States doesn't make that correct. You presented it like they were in similar situations and that is completely false.
MacKinnon being brought up is likewise important because he spent very little of his draft tournament up the lineup. Also an incredibly young player for his draft year as well. Your FACTS are he played one period in a second line role not at his natural position and was demoted by Hunter looking for a spark after his team sputtered out of the gate. Unsurprisingly he demoted the youngest player on his entire team. Just like Lafreniere was a virtual non-factor in his first tournament while being some three months younger than Byfield at the time of comparison, he did get to play his natural position in the depth role at least.
Also my post very much distinguished center which is his role and while you might think switching from center to wing is easy, at this level of competition it isn't and certainly not when it is the first time you have been asked to do it.
Yeah I would take Byfield second overall but the excuses made for him about that tournament do get old (not on this board but in general). He had a brutal tournament and was pushed down the line up accordingly.
Completely different situations.
I mean I would give him a bit of a pass on his play dropping a bit playing wing but it shouldnt have effected him the way he looked out there. Including the pretournament games where he was on the second line he looked decent in one and bad in the other. He was demoted for good reason. Its not comparable to Mackinnon who most Canadian fans wanted to see get more ice time because he was looking solid in his fourth line role.
Byfield was a guy who I didnt want on the ice as a big Canada fan. He did a lot of stuff that regardless of playing center or wing shouldnt happen.Plays were dying on his stick in the offensive zone, being on the wing shouldnt impact your ability to create chances off a cycle. He showed no hustle/copmete level in puck battles and wasnt doing anything on the forecheck. Mackinnon in his limited time did stuff that made you think he deserved ice time and that even if he wasnt a high end producer going forward he would at least be a guy who battlesand is competitive as ****. I wasnt expecting him to light the tournament up but it was the little things like compete level and motivation that I wanted to see from Byfield. After getting demoted I wanted to see him look like he cared and go out and change his game a bit to earn more time but he didnt do any of that.
That said, its a small tourney and hes a young draft eligible. I would still draft him second overall and hope those things come with age. I just dont like hte sugar coating and excuses for his tournament and I also dont like the Mackinnon comparison to attempt to bring context to his tourney
The kid turned 17 years old like 4 months before the tournament started.
This is just another OHL specific ranking but I think it's relevant here. If he's right, then Byfield could go 3rd.
The Wings are guaranteed a top-four pick if they finish last.We will be lucky if we get top 5 pick.
The Wings are guaranteed a top-four pick if they finish last.
Size quickly becomes overrated when you don't use it. To quote the article:
The only real concern I have with Byfield is his real lack of physicality despite the large frame, and at times he tends to shy away from contact altogether. He loses more battles along the boards than he should. I would like to see a more willingness to fight through checks and not give up on plays as much. He is a bit of a gentle giant which is something teams could take advantage of at the next level.
He may be a big center but he's no Lindros, that's for sure.
For the record, Goc never played for the Sabres. He had stints with the Sharks, the Predators, the Panthers, the Pens and the Blues.former Buffalo Sabres defensive line center Marcel Goc
For the record, Goc never played for the Sabres. He had stints with the Sharks, the Predators, the Panthers, the Pens and the Blues.
That's some high praise. What's his playstyle, and upside in your opinion?Easy plan we will draft Lafreniere/Stutzle and next year we take Stanislav Svozil, 16yo defenseman playing in Czech Extraliga, he Is playing like 25yo, he will be NHL ready in his draft year.
He Is solid two way defenseman at 16yo age, good skater and likes to go through traffic, very agile. He Is like Hronek with better offensive capabilities, he makes dangerous passes in ozone. One of the top prospects of 2021 draft.That's some high praise. What's his playstyle, and upside in your opinion?
Why 3rd?
We can pick 1st
Been thinking about it, and I would be shocked if Stutzle isn't in Detroit's top 3. He has a bigger role in the DEL than Seider had, which is impressive at his age. And he has been very productive against men already as well. With how promising Seider looks that has to make the idea of Stutzle seem very appealing.
One of the biggest reasons I want a top 1-2 pick is not just because I like the upside of Lafreniere/Byfield, but also because I think they have a higher floor too. They have a much higher floor than guys like Rossi, Perfetti, Raymond IMO. Stutzle starts to look more appealing when you look at it from that perspective.
I wouldn't even be shocked if we won pick #2 and took Stutzle over Byfield, honestly. I'm curious to see what Bob's list looks like tomorrow.
Yes. Yessss. Come to the dark side, my friend.
I wasn’t speaking to what I would do, but how I think the Wings are looking at it.