Quoting: HockeyFan989
.... that’s a outdated way of thinking
There r 2 things teams look for the most on a prospect.... potential and how well their game translates to the NHL,
Let’s say... Lundell, he was one of the most NHL ready prospects at the 2020 draft but went 12th, why? Because of potential... the other 11 teams believe their guy will surpass him
Potential and development curve is the key... take all the NHL ready prospects u want, what matters is who’s better in their prime (23-30)
Still remember back then when we took Scheif.. in 2011, reached a bit to get him
Next 2 years he was struggling at the NHL level and constantly falling making people nickname him “Bambi” and though him a bust.. after that well the rest is history, he grew into his frame (6’3) and is now a #1 center
Some players just need more time that’s all
1st no one looked at Scheif as not being where he should be around his peers. Hell when he was at wjc20 he stood out.
2nd no one thought of him as slow on the ice. Which really is the point here. You can say whatever else but he looked sluggish not once but twice at wjc20. Hell even guys like McMichael were getting caught from behind when they played team US and he looked twice as fast and disruptive than Byfield.
This is not the same game that people are still drafting guys for in a lot of ways, you still got people out there trying to play old hockey. You can't play the Getzlaf style center in the NHL anymore. They hoped Byfield would be a PLD kind of player. But PLD was never that damn slow. PLD can move. This is not about his "frame" or his "needing to learn how to play away from the puck" or whatever,, he competed against guys who are right there with him in needing to do all of that as well.
This is about the fact that he is simply too slow. I don't know how anyone could watch his play at both WJC and say otherwise. That isn't going to change. The NHL is a track meet. If you want to play top 6 in it, you have to be able to move.
Byfield has the skill set to be a bottom 6 guy at this point because he doesn't move well.
I hate to say it, but the two biggest factors of being an NHL forward today are 1 speed, 2 stick handling. Because if you don't have the speed you simply won't be a top 6 guy anymore. It doesn't matter what else you bring. You're a liability on the ice if you can't keep up.
You have to realize that at some point. We can make every excuse for it, but every player at wjc has basically the same excuses. But they were so much faster than he is.
You aren't going to line a guy up with his foot speed up against the fastest players in the NHL and expect good things to happen. He'll get eaten alive. Take all but a fraction of a seconds for guys like McDavid, Point, Stutzle, MacKinnon, Barzal, etc... to blow by him. Can you say honestly that you really believe that's going to change at this point. Because 18 year old any of those guys is way faster than he is.
Everyone is trying to keep up with those guys. If what you wanted when you drafted a guy 2nd over all was a defensive 3C who starts in his own zone great, but you don't draft 2OA for that.
Until he can show foot speed capable of playing with these guys he ain't selling me on hype. Like 80% of the "growth" in the game is can you actually keep pace, which for most guys is on a mental aspect not a foot aspect. If you are already behind in the feet, watch out. The NHL game is faster than WJC. If you can't keep up there you're in trouble at the next level because the fastest guys at WJC is basically NHL top 6s guys.
So some scouts can talk about potential and grow into game etc.. but at 18 years old you are either physically fast enough to play or you aren't. As there really is no amount of training you can do to catch up. The slow kid in the class is still gonna be the slow kid. That don't change. People don't just add speed like that. Believe me there are a lot of people who wish they could. It doesn't work that way.