ahahha. I feel ya. Thats the reason im glad we have 3rd. The decision is on you guys and the decision may or may not haunt you forever. I love both so much but based on an insider, Stutzle was partying in Germany once he found out LA could be taking him. And theres a German connection with the assistant coach. I really have a feeling they take him. They also didnt interview Byfield when they were a bottom 5 team

Unfotunate I'd rather Stuzle over Byfield for Ottawa

Not a good start at patching up a violent debate history.
Why would we give up Turcotte in order to draft Byfield? Byfield has many flaws to overcome as we've talked about. Turcotte can make a serious case to be in the Kings lineup next year. Byfields ceiling isn't much higher than Vilardis or Turcottes.

im torn; back and forth. Im all in on Byfield and Drysdale/Raymond or Stutzle and Rossi

Byfield's ceiling is around Barkov or a bit better imo. Stutzle's ceiling is around Giroux in his prime imo

It’s definitely 50/50 in my mind. I don’t read too much into the fact they didn’t interview him. We also don’t know who else they did or didn’t interview. Byfield is too much player to pass on...

Vilardis ceiling is Kopitars and so far that is better than Barkov. Turcottes ceiling is Toews, hopefully he gets there. As long as one of then reaches there ceiling that's all that matters to me. The other can be 2C

Sure but Stutzle is versatile, a wizard with the puck and could challenge Laf for best player in this draft class. A ton of mocks and analysts have him at 2, i really think they like him more. Add in to the fact that he can be a centre or LW since they have Kopitar, Vilardi and Turcotte and i dont think its a big stretch they take him

1.Laf
2.Stuzle
3.Byfield
4. Perfetti
5. Raymond
6. Holtz
This is just the order I think Ottawa should have them for their two picks and maybe if one falls trade up for him. I do not want to draft a dman neither of them really stand out to me and we can get two of these guys guaranteed and hopefully trade up for a third

In my opinion I think both Stuzle and Byfield will be better than Turcotte. Byfields ceiling is much higher than Vilardi and Turcotte. But like you always say “he has flaws”. So do all the prospects lol

McKenzie, Button, and many others have Stutzle ranked a 2. Some scouts have Byfield ranked as low as 6. Stutzle is too much of a player to pass on. Don't underestimate the germans. Draisaitl should have gone 1OA.

Barkov is way better than Kopitar offensively but Kopitar is better defensively

Id have Raymond or Rossi at 5

Rossi is definetly the best player right now but I don't think he has much more potential to grow. He has already reached pretty much his max physical capactiy where the rest of these guys have some room to grow. I'd have Rossi and Drysdale as 7/8 for Ottawa to take but they will go higher than I'd like them at.

As cool as it would be to get a 67's player Rossi and Quinn both has flash in the pan seasons on the best junior team the CHL has seen in a long time. Neither of them were close to that good the season before and I wouldn't be surprised if neither of them lived up to the hype. IMO the last 67's player we took was Ceci and we should stay away again this year

Fair enough, except most prospects aren't 6'4 soon to be 6'5 and lack physicality.

That's your opinion and a lot of people defer from it. Stutzle is the BPA and the better playmaker as well as the better all-rounded player hence why the Kings need to pick him.

Ive always wanted them to draft Raymond. He's a complete player imo

Kings dont want offensive players. They play defense first hockey. Look what happens when you have too many offensive players like Toronto. They break your bank.

I think taking Raymond and Holtz would be awesome to pair with Brannstrom to create a Swedish connection on Ottawa once again. Also Raymond plays for same team Karlsson did in Sweeden so their is that connection as well. Would not be mad at all with him at 5OA

If LA wants Stutzle, Ottawa would be better off getting Byfield imo. Nothing against Turcotte, I just think Byfield has more potential to be a game breaker.

Ooh, yea, I don't agree with this one. Vilardi and Turcotte are both going to be fine players in the NHL, but Byfield is projected to be a franchise player. His main comparable has been Evgeni Malkin. Neither Turcotte nor Vilardi have that potential.



This used to be true. However, I think that the Kings are moving away from this philosophy. At the state of the franchise event in 2018, Blake said that offense will no longer take a backseat to defense. I think they'd still like to get defensively responsible players, but they're not going to be stacking their bottom six with guys like Trevor Lewis and Dwight King anymore. I don't think we're going to be run-and-gun like the Penguins or Maple Leafs and just throw defense out the window, but defense isn't going to be this team's religion anymore.

I'm honestly good with either Byfield or Stutzle. If the Kings can pick up a quality asset by trading down from 2 to 3 and letting Ottawa take their choice, then I'd be ok with that. There's no way they trade down to #5 though.

You obviously haven't watched enough of Byfield. The Malkin comparison is a bad one. Malkin is a hard hitting physical player with elite playmaking ability and a great goal scorer. Malkin's an extremely creative goalscorer, he can score in a million different ways.

Byfield is 6'4 with close to zero physicality in his game. He is not an elite playmaker and sometimes has difficulty making the hard to execute passes. He is a really good goal scorer, but somewhat limited in goal scoring. Not the most creative. Another thing I can't stand about his game is his tendency to get caught watching the play in his own end, as a center that is not a good sign. He doesn't have the best work ethic either. Of course he is a 17 year old prospect so he has time to improve his game. I project him as at least 3 years from making the NHL. It is most definitely very generous to compare him to Malkin, but the comparison is still very inaccurate.

I strongly suggest you watch more of Byfield and Stutzle so you know what we are getting into with the two of them.

I have watched extensive highlights of both players and am equally impressed by them. I was previously leaning towards Stutzle until I learned about the age disparity between the players. Byfield is 7 months younger and a year behind in his development process. Given another year to develop, I can only imagine how far ahead his game will be next year.

I'm not sure where you get that Byfield isn't very physical. I mean sure, he's not a 4th line player that's out there looking to destroy players on every shift, but he definitely throws the body around. The nice part is that he doesn't really need to. He can beat you with his speed and puck skills. Some of his highlights remind me of Peter Forsberg, Jason Allison, and Anze Kopitar, and how they use their body to separate players from the puck. Once he gets the puck on his stick, you're not taking it from him. Here's a quote describing his play without the puck:



I think he'll probably need another season in junior before he's ready for the NHL, but projecting 3 years out is unrealistic.

Additionally, pretty much every scout praises Byfield's two-way game. I've heard the knocks on his playmaking ability, saying that it is "only very good" but not elite, but nothing knocking his work ethic or defensive play. All reports that I have read have given him top marks in both areas.

The Malkin comparable is not one that I came up with. Several scouts use that to describe him. Craig Button and Larry Fisher both make that comparison in this article, with additional comparisons to Auston Matthews and Anze Kopitar for certain aspects of their game. A quick Google search will show that several other scouts have made the same comparison to Malkin. The other comparison I have heard is Eric Staal. None of the comparisons made are bad company.

You also have to remember the competition that each player is playing against. Byfield is playing against some of the best 16-20 year olds in the best junior league in the world, while Stutzle is playing in a 7th or 8th tier men's professional league. I'd be much more confident in his abilities if he were playing in the SEL or Liiga, but the German league isn't really anything to get excited about. The league leader in scoring is Wayne Simpson, a player that was passed over multiple times in the NHL entry draft, who failed to crack an NHL roster. It's no surprise that Stutzle looks good against that competition.

I'm not saying that Byfield is the clear cut choice above Stutzle, either player would be a fine addition to the Kings. I'm just saying that I wouldn't dismiss Byfield for the reasons you describe either.

Well stated

I'm glad you feel better about Byfield than I do.
Time will tell.
Regardless we need someone who can play wing. We already have a franchise center that has comparisons to Kopitar in Vilardi as well as another potential 1C in Turcotte.
You underestimate Stutzle and seem blind to the flaws in Byfields game.

I don't underestimate Stutzle. I think he'll be an exceptional player in the NHL. Any team that gets him has a potential franchise player on their hands. I think he's on equal footing with Byfield right now, and the only reason why I lean towards Byfield is because he's a year younger. Byfield is significantly closer to where Lafreniere was at this point 12 months ago. I'm excited to see where Byfield could be 12 months from now.

Every player has flaws in his game. The flaws in Byfield's game are just hugely overshadowed by his strengths, and in areas that can be improved upon through professional coaching.

Stutzle's flaws are his strength and shot. Here's another quote from a direct comparison of both players:







Strength and shot are two areas that you can't really teach. You either have it or you don't. Hopefully Stutzle can grow into his frame and work on the physicality issue, as the lack of strength is only going to magnify when he starts playing against the biggest and strongest players in the world in the NHL. The shot issue is concerning as well. However, neither are dealbreakers. Like I said, anyone that gets Stutzle is getting a quality player.