GeeoffBrown
Registered User
- Jul 6, 2007
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to me, Byfield seems like a bit of a slow starter. He took a bit to get going in the WJC but then just kept scoring. So, it's possible even by the end of THIS season he is crushing the AHL
Would LA still pick Byfield in a redraft?
- Thread starter Byron Bitz
- Start date
Those two things don't have to go hand in hand, however. They knew Byfield would take time, and he's still an excellent pick regardless of what Stutzle does. That said we can't exclude they'd take Stutzle in a re-draft, given the tremendous level he's already shown.
treple13
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- Sep 1, 2013
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As a Flames fan I remember how much better Bennett looked in the first year after their draft than Drai. It's way too early to be making this call.
Not if Byfield hits his ceiling. If he does, no one (including Stutzle and Lafreniere) is touching him.
I feel like my point was pretty obvious and you just chose to ignore it. Teams spent lots of time and resources scouting these players pre-draft. A few games post-draft doesn't mean a team is (or should be) regretting their decision.
Like the example I gave before, Skinner was much better than Seguin in their rookie seasons, but Seguin has clearly been the better player over the course of their careers. I'm not necessarily saying that Byfield/Stutzle is going to end up the same way; my point is that patience can be beneficial.
Yes. He was and is always the longer term project while Stutzle was closer to NHL ready after playing in a pro league. I don't think LA's decision would be changed by 20 games of the guy everyone knew was a project still being a project while the guy everyone knew was more NHL ready has been more NHL ready.
Whether or you think Stutzle is/isn't or was/wasn't the better prospect isn't really the question IMO, it's whether there's been enough new information in 20 games to change their decision and I just don't see it. They took Byfield knowing full well he was less NHL ready because he's a 6'4" center and an elite skater, that combo of physical tools is just so incredibly rare and I'm very skeptical that a crystal ball showing them what's happened up to March 7th 2021 would change their minds.
This stuff always takes time. If you ran a poll in April 2019 asking if Colorado would rather have Makar or Pettersson it would have been lopsided for Pettersson. If you asked that same question today it's probably at least 60/40 in Makar's favour.
Whether or you think Stutzle is/isn't or was/wasn't the better prospect isn't really the question IMO, it's whether there's been enough new information in 20 games to change their decision and I just don't see it. They took Byfield knowing full well he was less NHL ready because he's a 6'4" center and an elite skater, that combo of physical tools is just so incredibly rare and I'm very skeptical that a crystal ball showing them what's happened up to March 7th 2021 would change their minds.
This stuff always takes time. If you ran a poll in April 2019 asking if Colorado would rather have Makar or Pettersson it would have been lopsided for Pettersson. If you asked that same question today it's probably at least 60/40 in Makar's favour.
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
An aspect that I think should be factored in is that LA is an organization that really takes their time developing their high picks. Look how long it took Vilardi to get to the NHL. A lot of that was injuries, but LA took their time with his injuries and his development. They could've accelerated it.
Turcotte didn't start out in the NHL this season, like some other top 10 picks. Kaliyev didn't take the Robertson path where he got an NHL spot because he was a very good OHL scorer. He had to earn it with his play in the AHL to start this season, and now he's back in the AHL after one NHL game. They could've kept him in the NHL lineup after he scored in his first game but they didn't. Bjornfot is probably the only recent high pick they threw into the NHL early, but he's supposed to be a very NHL ready player early on. You have to give players what they earn. He earned an NHL spot last season, and then when his play declined, they sent him elsewhere instead of keeping him in the NHL the whole season. Unless he was bad to start this season and clearly not ready to play in the NHL, he was always going to get a good chance to make the team after playing games last season.
This isn't to say Byfield is better than Stuetzle or worse. It's to say that you can't be saying that LA would prefer Stuetzle just because he's now in the NHL, and scoring points. If Stuetzle was picked by LA, it's unlikely he'd be in the NHL. Byfield might be the player scoring points, if he was picked by Ottawa. And none of this is a good or bad thing. It's the situation. Not any more complicated than that. LA has a plan for their players, and we'll see if it works better than the plan other teams have.
Turcotte didn't start out in the NHL this season, like some other top 10 picks. Kaliyev didn't take the Robertson path where he got an NHL spot because he was a very good OHL scorer. He had to earn it with his play in the AHL to start this season, and now he's back in the AHL after one NHL game. They could've kept him in the NHL lineup after he scored in his first game but they didn't. Bjornfot is probably the only recent high pick they threw into the NHL early, but he's supposed to be a very NHL ready player early on. You have to give players what they earn. He earned an NHL spot last season, and then when his play declined, they sent him elsewhere instead of keeping him in the NHL the whole season. Unless he was bad to start this season and clearly not ready to play in the NHL, he was always going to get a good chance to make the team after playing games last season.
This isn't to say Byfield is better than Stuetzle or worse. It's to say that you can't be saying that LA would prefer Stuetzle just because he's now in the NHL, and scoring points. If Stuetzle was picked by LA, it's unlikely he'd be in the NHL. Byfield might be the player scoring points, if he was picked by Ottawa. And none of this is a good or bad thing. It's the situation. Not any more complicated than that. LA has a plan for their players, and we'll see if it works better than the plan other teams have.
I'd take Stutzle personally but very narrowly (just as on draft day) and I feel like this thread is destined for some good old cosmic retribution in a few years for those who think it's Stutzle and it's not even close or that 9 months past their draft day that the answer is somehow clear.
Really surprised Byfield is winning this poll when Stutzle is winning the poll against Laf. So Stutzle would get drafted 1st overall but LA would still take Byfield over him? Makes sense.
- Apr 27, 2005
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Raccoon Jesus
Todd McLellan is an inside agent
There is plenty of solid reasoning throughout this thread, you just chose to shamelessly bump it in the name of "please like my guy" instead of reading.
Oh I’v read the reasoning, it’s completely asinine. Anyways I’d still take Laf over Stu but anyone with half a brain takes Stu over Byfield
koyvoo
Registered User
- Nov 8, 2014
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Are there people who think the Kings didn’t know full well that Byfield had more development time to put in? Do people actually think the Kings envisioned the months after his draft to be anything but what they have been? And that includes knowing full well that some players that they left on the table would likely make the NHL and have an NHL impact earlier than him?
Of course they’d still take him at #2.
They didn’t back on him being the best choice at 18,19,20 years old. They banked on him being the best choice in the decade after that.
Very typical HF thread.
Of course they’d still take him at #2.
They didn’t back on him being the best choice at 18,19,20 years old. They banked on him being the best choice in the decade after that.
Very typical HF thread.
Raccoon Jesus
Todd McLellan is an inside agent
And folks with more than half a brain will realize you draft for 20 years, not 6 immediate months.
You may disagree with the reasoning but it's far from 'asinine.'
But let's be real, your purpose wasn't to have rational discussion, so have fun with that
Which is such a difficult thing to do, it’s so hard for scouts to project how these players will translate from junior to the NHL that’s why scouts would kill to get a glimpse of how these kids would handle the NHL game. Tim Stutzle now has a far better chance than Byfield does at becoming a star in the NHL over the next 20 years because we have seen how well his skills are translating to the NHL.
MartinS82
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- May 26, 2016
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Based on what I have seen with regards to how LA drafts they still pick Byfield. They tend to go big, 2-way guys over highly skilled guys if they are close. Now we don't know how they valued Stutzle, if they were 51/49 in favor of Byfield then yeah, maybe he's done enough to swing it his way...but we don't know that information, just what they say publicly.
Personally I like the highly skilled guys more, but that's not the question the poll asks.
Personally I like the highly skilled guys more, but that's not the question the poll asks.
Should be Stutzle given how they look now. Even if Byfield gets to the same level in a few years that's still a few years of very good NHL player you're missing till then. Would take Stutzle over Lafreniere as well, don't see the same level of skill in the latter not to mention Stutzle should be a C pretty soon.
discostu
Registered User
I think this is a fair question to ask, but, only LA knows whether they would do anything differently.
Stützle has looked about as good as you could have expected. If he was lower on any scouts list because of worry about how well he'd transition, that issue is probably resolved. What's been impressive about him is that as good as he is right now, you can see how just a bit more muscle on him will improve his game. You can sew the top line player he's going to be.
Whether Stützles transition would change the mind of LA or any other team over their preferred player is uncertain, but, based on want I've seen of the kid, I don't think his stock could have gone down in anyone's eyes.
Stützle has looked about as good as you could have expected. If he was lower on any scouts list because of worry about how well he'd transition, that issue is probably resolved. What's been impressive about him is that as good as he is right now, you can see how just a bit more muscle on him will improve his game. You can sew the top line player he's going to be.
Whether Stützles transition would change the mind of LA or any other team over their preferred player is uncertain, but, based on want I've seen of the kid, I don't think his stock could have gone down in anyone's eyes.
