GDT 1:00pm FRIDAY!! ***LA Kings @ Anaheim Ducks GDT 11/28/25 1:00pm on FanDuel***

[symbology]

Just wait next year he'll be good /s

He can and probably will get there at some point.

 

[VCRW]

It took Kempe until his 6th season to score >50 points and has been consistently scoring >50 points since.

I think Byfield’s ceiling could be higher, but that’s a big fat ‘could’. Time will tell.

Except Juice wasn’t drafted to be a 1C…

Kempe was not a scorer in the Swedish league play. He was big, fast and an excellent athlete with middle 6 potential. The big splash he made when he arrived in Manchester was rather unexpected. But he was never a big scorer in Manchester.

Then the Kings spent/wasted 2 seasons trying to make him a 2C. Kempe found his happy place at wing and has produced better in each subsequent season.

QB was just the opposite. Projection at his draft was as a high scoring 1C. He was even sheltered at wing in his first 2 NHL seasons. Very different path but similar timeline.

One has to hope that like Juice and TO, he will be a late bloomer. Still hoping!

 

[symbology]

Except Juice wasn’t drafted to be a 1C…

Kempe was not a scorer in the Swedish league play. He was big, fast and an excellent athlete with middle 6 potential. The big splash he made when he arrived in Manchester was rather unexpected. But he was never a big scorer in Manchester.

Then the Kings spent/wasted 2 seasons trying to make him a 2C. Kempe found his happy place at wing and has produced better in each subsequent season.

QB was just the opposite. Projection at his draft was as a high scoring 1C. He was even sheltered at wing in his first 2 NHL seasons. Very different path but similar timeline.

One has to hope that like Juice and TO, he will be a late bloomer. Still hoping!

Good points, also good memory.