World News – CA – Kings pick towering center Quinton Byfield for 2nd

Los Angeles Kings selected Quinton Byfield as second overall pick in 2020 NHL Draft

With the pick, Byfield made NHL history as the highest black player ever drafted, according to Athletic Clark’s Ryan S

Byfield is a gifted player He possesses enormous size and reach, but moves on the ice with extreme ease His incredibly soft hands and elite puck protection allow him to generate scoring chances at will, and a heavy shot sees him finish at a high pace It also has a large playing capacity

Despite his size, Byfield is not too physical defensively, but he makes up for it with a strong, active stick and impressive anticipation.However, he sometimes lacks engagement on both sides of the ice, especially in defense. also tend to try to cheat for offensive chances instead of staying behind the puck

All of Byfield’s weaknesses can be easily remedied with the help of professional coaching He will easily become a non-legitimate 1 center as long as his own engine doesn’t get in the way His ceiling may be higher than Alexis’s Lafrenière, but its floor is significantly lower

Byfield has received numerous comparisons with Evgeni Malkin Craig Button, of TSN, is the most prominent draft analyst to ever do so, calling Byfield a « Malkin clone » last summer He also said Byfield had « Evgeni Malkin hands « in front of the world juniors

Athletic’s Corey Pronman didn’t make any player comparisons in his scout report, but said Byfield had « really elite hands » and his skating ability was the foundation of his game Who wrote Malkin everywhere

Quinton Byfield