Jeremy Laura: Yzerman not thrilled with June draft, format may help Detroit

This is certainly a system that would benefit the lowest teams at first glance. Ottawa couldn't pick worse than 3rd and 4th overall.

I'm still not completely clear on how this would work, would it just be based on standings fir teams that are in the playoffs, since there will hopefully be playoffs down the line?

I also really like Stutzle at 2nd overal, but I'm no scout.

Yzerman is no fool. His apparent hostile response to an early draft was likely pure stage craft on his part. Huge win for the bottom ranked non playoff teams to limit the draft to one draw and the winner only able to move up a maximum of 4 spots.

Yzerman might be scowling on the outside but you know he is laughing on the inside.

This is certainly a system that would benefit the lowest teams at first glance. Ottawa couldn't pick worse than 3rd and 4th overall.

I'm still not completely clear on how this would work, would it just be based on standings fir teams that are in the playoffs, since there will hopefully be playoffs down the line?

I also really like Stutzle at 2nd overal, but I'm no scout.
- david22

As best I can tell, it will be based on points and % of games played. It could certainly stink if a team picks at 31 and is bounced from the playoffs in round 1 (assuming they play them)

Yzerman is no fool. His apparent hostile response to an early draft was likely pure stage craft on his part. Huge win for the bottom ranked non playoff teams to limit the draft to one draw and the winner only able to move up a maximum of 4 spots.

Yzerman might be scowling on the outside but you know he is laughing on the inside.
- spatso

I would never play poker with him. He is stone faced at the table!

One thing is for certain with Yzerman and drafting - he puts skill and work ethic above all else. Whoever is the hardest-working and most skilled player available is the one Yzerman will pick. He doesn't seem to go into drafts looking for a position of need, or if he does, it's not the driving concern.

One thing is for certain with Yzerman and drafting - he puts skill and work ethic above all else. Whoever is the hardest-working and most skilled player available is the one Yzerman will pick. He doesn't seem to go into drafts looking for a position of need, or if he does, it's not the driving concern.
- GalacticStone

I’ll disagree with the last part. He passed on skill to fill need with Seider. He did try and trade down but couldn’t swing it. You are 100% right on work ethic though. He is demanding a level that is impressive. Nice observation

I'm fine with Stutzle at 4 but absolutely not at 2. Gotta go with Byfield.

Stutzle >>>>> Byfield

Jeremy Laura: Yzerman not thrilled with June draft, format may help Detroit
- Jeremy Laura

This could be a reach, but I believe this club has lost more games by 2+ goals, than any team has lost by any margin this season. So..... Why not look forward to the draft. Big Laffie could be yours sooner than later and this kid will not disappoint!

Another reason to celebrate, Ericsson/Daley/Howard and their 11.5M AAV dead cap space will be walking out the door

Age matters for draft-eligible players.

Byfield is 11 months younger than Rossi, 10 months younger than Lafreniere, 9 months younger than Perfetti and 8 months younger than Stutzle. So really it would be fairer to compare Byfield's 2019-20 season against 2018-2019 for the other prospects.

In terms of points per game, 2020 Byfield is actually a tick ahead of 2019 Lafreniere and blows 2019 Rossi and Perfetti out of the water. Stutzle is a trickier comparison since he spent 2019 in the German U20 league (much worse than the CHL) and 2020 in the German DEL (much better than the CHL, but still worse than the AHL) but I'm comfortable stating that Byfield's has the more impressive context-adjusted statline so far.

Not saying it's a guarantee that one will pan out better than the other -- stuff happens -- but I think as of right now Byfield is a pretty clear cut No. 2. Considering age and competition he's on a higher trajectory, I think, than any other 2020 draft eligible prospect besides Lafreniere.

Age matters for draft-eligible players.

Byfield is 11 months younger than Rossi, 10 months younger than Lafreniere, 9 months younger than Perfetti and 8 months younger than Stutzle. So really it would be fairer to compare Byfield's 2019-20 season against 2018-2019 for the other prospects.

In terms of points per game, 2020 Byfield is actually a tick ahead of 2019 Lafreniere and blows 2019 Rossi and Perfetti out of the water. Stutzle is a trickier comparison since he spent 2019 in the German U20 league (much worse than the CHL) and 2020 in the German DEL (much better than the CHL, but still worse than the AHL) but I'm comfortable stating that Byfield's has the more impressive context-adjusted statline so far.

Not saying it's a guarantee that one will pan out better than the other -- stuff happens -- but I think as of right now Byfield is a pretty clear cut No. 2. Considering age and competition he's on a higher trajectory, I think, than any other 2020 draft eligible prospect besides Lafreniere.
- Sven22

Not to down play byfield too much as I do believe the age factor has a bit to play into it, but with that said Rossi/perfetti have been in the ohl the same amount of years as byfield and I do believe that perfetti was born in the same year so not saying those players will be as good as byfield but I don’t think that the age factor carries as much weight as it would seem.

Personally I think that the chl is overrated in terms of player development. Inspite of byfield being young he is still a man amongst 16/17 year old boys at 6’4 214 pounds while stutzle plays & has excelled against men. Similar to the reason why ekblad dominated junior because of his size but whiles he’s been great never became a superstar in the nhl.

Combine that where a large part of his flak has come from having an abysmal world juniors while stutzle simultaneously took off doesn’t help. If it wasn’t for his reputation he would almost certainly would have lost his number 2 status after the tournament.

I’m not trying to knock byfield because he certainly had a good year, it’s more a case of the guys behind him have closed the gap significantly. Myself I think that it’s a coin flip between byfield and stutzle, based on playing styles I would say stutzle will have the higher offensive ceiling while byfield will be the better 200 ft player.

This could be a reach, but I believe this club has lost more games by 2+ goals, than any team has lost by any margin this season. So..... Why not look forward to the draft. Big Laffie could be yours sooner than later and this kid will not disappoint!

Another reason to celebrate, Ericsson/Daley/Howard and their 11.5M AAV dead cap space will be walking out the door
- bikeguy99

I think part of it is figuring out the trade market. With cap space, Yzerman may be looking to leverage for more picks or prospects by taking a “bad” deal. This isn’t a rumor so no one freak out, but a for instance would be taking Jack Johnson and a pick or player from Pitt. I don’t see that exact deal, but similar deals happen

Just for the record, I was screaming for Hughes over Zadina, not because I wanted to draft based on need...But because I believed that the gap between Zadina and Hughes was non-existent. I thought Hughes was the better player. At best it was a tie. So when there is a tie, at that stage you go with need. But our scouts goofed thinking Zadina was a better player.

Today I argue that Drysdale is not on the same level as Byfield, Stutzle, Rossi, Perfetti. He's a lower tier. So if you draft on best available player...it's not Drysdale at #2 or #3 or #4. And even if you say you want to draft based on need...we need a 1C more than anything. Larkin isn't a 1C. Veleno isn't. We've got nobody in our system. Not saying we don't need a 1D, but we do have a couple guys in the system who might develop into that. It would be pretty dumb to look at Drysdale when you have a couple of potential 1C's on the board.

Yzerman is no fool. His apparent hostile response to an early draft was likely pure stage craft on his part. Huge win for the bottom ranked non playoff teams to limit the draft to one draw and the winner only able to move up a maximum of 4 spots.

Yzerman might be scowling on the outside but you know he is laughing on the inside.
- spatso

Or his response to the idea that a team technically could draft #1 and then go on to win the Cup this summer prompted the NHL to avoid that embarrassment and limit the number of spots to move up. This nuance of the draft was not initially communicated until days after Yzerman's public rebuke. Well played.

I’ll disagree with the last part. He passed on skill to fill need with Seider. He did try and trade down but couldn’t swing it. You are 100% right on work ethic though. He is demanding a level that is impressive. Nice observation
- Jeremy Laura

He passed on skill to take Seider? Like who? Perhaps he just had a different opinion on who was the better player than the media and scouting reports. Seider looks very skilled to me. His reputation in Tampa was to emphasize skill...

Just for the record, I was screaming for Hughes over Zadina, not because I wanted to draft based on need...But because I believed that the gap between Zadina and Hughes was non-existent. I thought Hughes was the better player. At best it was a tie. So when there is a tie, at that stage you go with need. But our scouts goofed thinking Zadina was a better player.

Today I argue that Drysdale is not on the same level as Byfield, Stutzle, Rossi, Perfetti. He's a lower tier. So if you draft on best available player...it's not Drysdale at #2 or #3 or #4. And even if you say you want to draft based on need...we need a 1C more than anything. Larkin isn't a 1C. Veleno isn't. We've got nobody in our system. Not saying we don't need a 1D, but we do have a couple guys in the system who might develop into that. It would be pretty dumb to look at Drysdale when you have a couple of potential 1C's on the board.
- Kooleus

While tempting as it would be to land a superstar D I think that given Seider will likely occupy that top RD spot eventually I could see yzerman leaning towards a forward at that point.

That said I haven’t seen anyone saying drysdale is below those 4 forwards at this point. Byfield/Stutzle are almost certainly a tier above as they’re projected superstars while most of what I’ve read has drysdale between them and the top remaining forwards or on the same tier as the remaining forwards. Perfetti will likely be a winger in the nhl and it’s always questionable as to wether goal scoring (his biggest asset) will translate from juniors to pro, with Rossi the only concern is his size. If it wasn’t for that I would say he would be a lock for number 4.

Now to drysdale you can’t really compare the value a D brings to his team to that of a forward. His comparable (and I think if he’s developed properly will be similar) is cale makar. There is 31 teams in the league I could safely bet would want a player with that potential in their system. I myself may be bias as I thought he was Canada’s best D at the world juniors (I have seen him project to fall as far as 8) but I don’t think any team taking him at 4 would regret that decision.

While tempting as it would be to land a superstar D I think that given Seider will likely occupy that top RD spot eventually I could see yzerman leaning towards a forward at that point.

That said I haven’t seen anyone saying drysdale is below those 4 forwards at this point. Byfield/Stutzle are almost certainly a tier above as they’re projected superstars while most of what I’ve read has drysdale between them and the top remaining forwards or on the same tier as the remaining forwards. Perfetti will likely be a winger in the nhl and it’s always questionable as to wether goal scoring (his biggest asset) will translate from juniors to pro, with Rossi the only concern is his size. If it wasn’t for that I would say he would be a lock for number 4.

Now to drysdale you can’t really compare the value a D brings to his team to that of a forward. His comparable (and I think if he’s developed properly will be similar) is cale makar. There is 31 teams in the league I could safely bet would want a player with that potential in their system. I myself may be bias as I thought he was Canada’s best D at the world juniors (I have seen him project to fall as far as 8) but I don’t think any team taking him at 4 would regret that decision.
- RedC21

I don't touch Drysdale at #4. Also think Yzerman is smart enough to see that too. He puts up points but is just an average defender. LA loves him so they could take him early, but if he slips by LA then I could see Drysdale falling to 8 or 9. I have a hunch someone takes Askarov in the 5-8 range.

I don't touch Drysdale at #4. Also think Yzerman is smart enough to see that too. He puts up points but is just an average defender. LA loves him so they could take him early, but if he slips by LA then I could see Drysdale falling to 8 or 9. I have a hunch someone takes Askarov in the 5-8 range.
- Kooleus

Similar could be said about makar so you never know, like I said I have a bias from watching the juniors.

Also I think given each teams systems I could see him going 4,5 or 6. LA, Ducks, and jersey all have really good forward prospects but lack a stud defender in their systems. I think your right about yzerman though. Seider is being groomed for that spot no outright reason to select drysdale there unless he considers him BPA

My gut feeling for askarov is the hawks. The got good D prospects, good forward prospects, and Stan bowman is a little old school and has made some pretty bad gambles before. Also they moved lehner at the deadline and Crawford is pretty washed up. Only other teams I could see doing it is Montreal (cause that would be the most habs thing to do) or buffalo (if they prioritize goaltending over getting offensive help for eichel)

Overall I probably wouldn’t touch askarov in the top 10 but gut feeling says one of those teams does

Similar could be said about makar so you never know, like I said I have a bias from watching the juniors.

Also I think given each teams systems I could see him going 4,5 or 6. LA, Ducks, and jersey all have really good forward prospects but lack a stud defender in their systems. I think your right about yzerman though. Seider is being groomed for that spot no outright reason to select drysdale there unless he considers him BPA

My gut feeling for askarov is the hawks. The got good D prospects, good forward prospects, and Stan bowman is a little old school and has made some pretty bad gambles before. Also they moved lehner at the deadline and Crawford is pretty washed up. Only other teams I could see doing it is Montreal (cause that would be the most habs thing to do) or buffalo (if they prioritize goaltending over getting offensive help for eichel)

Overall I probably wouldn’t touch askarov in the top 10 but gut feeling says one of those teams does
- RedC21

If Askarov is sill sitting there after 10...I wouldn't mind using two of our 2nds to move up and take him. You obviously need to do more. Take on an awful contract + two 2nds for a mid-1st to take Askarov.

Not to down play byfield too much as I do believe the age factor has a bit to play into it, but with that said Rossi/perfetti have been in the ohl the same amount of years as byfield and I do believe that perfetti was born in the same year so not saying those players will be as good as byfield but I don’t think that the age factor carries as much weight as it would seem.

Personally I think that the chl is overrated in terms of player development. Inspite of byfield being young he is still a man amongst 16/17 year old boys at 6’4 214 pounds while stutzle plays & has excelled against men. Similar to the reason why ekblad dominated junior because of his size but whiles he’s been great never became a superstar in the nhl.

Combine that where a large part of his flak has come from having an abysmal world juniors while stutzle simultaneously took off doesn’t help. If it wasn’t for his reputation he would almost certainly would have lost his number 2 status after the tournament.

I’m not trying to knock byfield because he certainly had a good year, it’s more a case of the guys behind him have closed the gap significantly. Myself I think that it’s a coin flip between byfield and stutzle, based on playing styles I would say stutzle will have the higher offensive ceiling while byfield will be the better 200 ft player.
- RedC21

Just a couple of quick comments I'd like to add here, with the up front acknowledgement that I definitely respect your take and I don't want to be too overconfident in my own.

1. Remember that Lafreniere also had an awful WJC in 2019 when he was essentially the same age as Byfield this year.

2. I don't discount the "played against men" factor for Stutzle this year, but at the same time let's be realistic about the German development system and professional leagues.

There were only 9 Germans who played an NHL game this year, only two of whom developed in Germany rather than coming to the US or Canada for their junior years -- Korbinian Holzer and Thomas Greiss. There were also only 2 Germans in the KHL, 3 in the Swiss NLA, and none in either Sweden or Finland.

As for the DEL, this is a league where it's pretty commonplace for AHL second liners to go over there and lead the league in scoring. Stutzle finished seventh in team scoring this year, which is awesome for a 17-year-old, don't get me wrong, but it's not like he blew the doors off either. In the German junior system he was light years ahead of everybody, of course, but I think that's a clear example of big fish, small pond (even much more so than top juniors in the CHL).

Again, I'm not trying to crap all over Stutzle because I think he's definitely a top 10 prospect and maybe top 5 this year, and you might well be right that he has a higher offensive ceiling than I'm giving him credit for. He could be the best player drafted this year. So could Rossi. So could Perfetti. So could Raymond. So could some guy not even on our radar. That's the reality of drafting.

I just think that he has a lot more question marks and holes in his resume than Byfield does right now. I could be wrong, I've been wrong many times in the past, but that's where I'm at.

Hey Sven. I'm in the exact same camp. Byfield over Stutzle, without hesitation. In fact, if I was picking #1 I'd see what the offers were to move down to #2. Most think Lafrenierre is a superstar winger but I see this as more of a Hall versus Seguin situation. Both very good. But do you need a winger or a 1C? Obviously a 1C. So if someone offers Byfield and another great asset, I'd take it.

Just a couple of quick comments I'd like to add here, with the up front acknowledgement that I definitely respect your take and I don't want to be too overconfident in my own.

1. Remember that Lafreniere also had an awful WJC in 2019 when he was essentially the same age as Byfield this year.

2. I don't discount the "played against men" factor for Stutzle this year, but at the same time let's be realistic about the German development system and professional leagues.

There were only 9 Germans who played an NHL game this year, only two of whom developed in Germany rather than coming to the US or Canada for their junior years -- Korbinian Holzer and Thomas Greiss. There were also only 2 Germans in the KHL, 3 in the Swiss NLA, and none in either Sweden or Finland.

As for the DEL, this is a league where it's pretty commonplace for AHL second liners to go over there and lead the league in scoring. Stutzle finished seventh in team scoring this year, which is awesome for a 17-year-old, don't get me wrong, but it's not like he blew the doors off either. In the German junior system he was light years ahead of everybody, of course, but I think that's a clear example of big fish, small pond (even much more so than top juniors in the CHL).

Again, I'm not trying to crap all over Stutzle because I think he's definitely a top 10 prospect and maybe top 5 this year, and you might well be right that he has a higher offensive ceiling than I'm giving him credit for. He could be the best player drafted this year. So could Rossi. So could Perfetti. So could Raymond. So could some guy not even on our radar. That's the reality of drafting.

I just think that he has a lot more question marks and holes in his resume than Byfield does right now. I could be wrong, I've been wrong many times in the past, but that's where I'm at.
- Sven22

I definitely respect your opinion, it’s really apples and oranges here.

The juniors is a small sample size that scouts tend to weight heavier due to it being best on best for young players but at the end of the day it’s still a one month tournament. While players like nico hischer and Patrick laine won their draft spots at the juniors you have guys like Nathan MacKinnon who only registered 1 assist and guys like seguin and nugent-Hopkins who didn’t even make it. I’ll give that it did show that lafreniere older but he’s also a franchise player.

I’m well aware that the DEL isn’t a premier league by any means, it’s more of my opinion that the CHL needs to be overhauled. It’s a league that benefits elite young/older players by playing against kids right out of triple A and goalies which at that point are far behind skaters in development and are more likely to allow 5 goals a game than get a shutout.

Realistically I think the CHL needs to be split into a U18 half and a U20 half that way young elite players can move up and play against some of the strongest competition we have to offer. The U.S, and european leagues have done this in the past two decades and while we are still favoured to win best on best other countries have caught up to us in player development.

For reference for where my opinion is I view it as O’reilly (byfield) vs Barzal (stutzle). Flashy offence (that we have not seen close to his ceiling yet) vs an elite two way player. The modern day NHL is built around speed which is why I think many scouts are giving stutzle a bit of an edge.

I’ve also been extremely wrong before in the past so I could be here as well though

I definitely respect your opinion, it’s really apples and oranges here.

The juniors is a small sample size that scouts tend to weight heavier due to it being best on best for young players but at the end of the day it’s still a one month tournament. While players like nico hischer and Patrick laine won their draft spots at the juniors you have guys like Nathan MacKinnon who only registered 1 assist and guys like seguin and nugent-Hopkins who didn’t even make it. I’ll give that it did show that lafreniere older but he’s also a franchise player.

I’m well aware that the DEL isn’t a premier league by any means, it’s more of my opinion that the CHL needs to be overhauled. It’s a league that benefits elite young/older players by playing against kids right out of triple A and goalies which at that point are far behind skaters in development and are more likely to allow 5 goals a game than get a shutout.

Realistically I think the CHL needs to be split into a U18 half and a U20 half that way young elite players can move up and play against some of the strongest competition we have to offer. The U.S, and european leagues have done this in the past two decades and while we are still favoured to win best on best other countries have caught up to us in player development.

For reference for where my opinion is I view it as O’reilly (byfield) vs Barzal (stutzle). Flashy offence (that we have not seen close to his ceiling yet) vs an elite two way player. The modern day NHL is built around speed which is why I think many scouts are giving stutzle a bit of an edge.

I’ve also been extremely wrong before in the past so I could be here as well though
- RedC21

I can definitely see the benefit of splitting the CHL into U18 / U20. Either that, or allow 18/19 year old juniors who have clearly outgrown the level of competition to play in the AHL.

I get why the CHL wants to hang on to those older players to drive fan interest, but it sucks when a prospect's only two options are either make the NHL full time or waste a year (or two!) of development beating up on hopelessly outmatched 16-year-olds.

Hey Sven. I'm in the exact same camp. Byfield over Stutzle, without hesitation. In fact, if I was picking #1 I'd see what the offers were to move down to #2. Most think Lafrenierre is a superstar winger but I see this as more of a Hall versus Seguin situation. Both very good. But do you need a winger or a 1C? Obviously a 1C. So if someone offers Byfield and another great asset, I'd take it.
- Kooleus

Maybe if ottawa drafted 2nd and 3rd overall?

These trades almost never happen but fun to think about, since ottawa has a lot of picks and would be quite happy walking away with laf and stutzle.