Just thinking we could''ve had this guy....

[DryKing]

LOL I like how some Kings fans go to is the "+/-" stats to try and make something like this seem even "okay" to as why we actually didn't draft the way better player that a lot of us kept wanting. But lets play that card. Byfield is a -2 10pts in 24 games. Stutzle is a +3 28pts in 22 games... Hmmmm. Yeahhhh. I think I would have taken Stutzle. And those wearing the rose tinted glasses and prefer blaming Fiala for everything yet Byfield is more of a joke this year instead of being better.

Hence why upper management needs to go and start from there.

Let's see how their careers work out but +/- is a legit stat. Stutzle is pretty good when it comes to 1:1 defense and has definitely worked to improve, however, a career -64 either is not prioritizing defense or on a line that is getting consistently outplayed by the opposition. Either way, it's not a great thing.

Now you say you would have drafted Stutzle instead of Byfield? That's cool. Stutzle was a known commodity in the sense that he was a consensus ready now. Everyone, for the most part, knew Stutzle would be a star and became a star quickly by ending up on a team with zero top line competition. From day 1 he was placed on a the top line on a team with low expectations which allowed him to hone his strengths and not really have to worry about his weaknesses (much like Zegras on the Ducks). To his credit, however, Stutzle never slacked on working to hone his skills but if you place him on a legit contender you will see his points go down as he is forced to work on completing his game.

Byfield, on the other hand, was known to be a work in progress with a probability of becoming anything from an upper mid-tier player to a susperstar. He stepped into a team who substaintal competition and no real hope of quickly getting top line or PP1 minutes. He has had to work his way up by honing his complete game and focusing on his defensive game first. In the minors he was known as a purely offensive player by most, which makes it remarkable how far he has come (even being considered a top tier defensive forward last year by numerous "authorities".

At draft day a GM who aimed to hit a grand slam would go for Byfield, excepting the risk in the process. A GM who wanted to take the safe bet of obtaining a surefire star, however, would go with Stutzle.

Until we see how Stutzle does in the playoffs, jury is truly out on him. Byfield, however, has already shown he can be a force in the playoffs even when matched against the best player in the world. For that reason, I remain happy we drafted Byfield as to me, the most important thing is winning the Cup not individual or regular season stats.

 

[ICE24]

I am still annoyed that we passed on Dustin Wolf during his draft year. It would have been the perfect story to pick the local kid who DOMINATED with the Jr Kings. We could have taken a flyer on him sooner than the Flames did. I know smaller goalies get overlooked a lot but that is why Wolf fell to the end of the draft.

Speaking of 2019, I wonder when Kaliyev gets back. I'm curious if Hiller's coaching could rehab his development like so many of the other prospects.

You can't cry Wolf that many times and then expect to be picked by the same team you're crying to.