Ranking the top 31 prospects in the 2020 NHL Draft: 2. Tim Stutzle

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 22: A view of the Round Seven draft board during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 22, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 22: A view of the Round Seven draft board during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 22, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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2019-2020 Season Recap

2019-2020 Stats

GP: 41 G: 7 A: 27 P: 34 +/-: 4

Ranked 14 by TSN at the beginning of the season, Stützle shot up draft rankings throughout the whole year.

The World Juniors was where Stützle became noticed on an international scale. While people in the scouting community held the German forward in high regard, he was a relative unknown to the normal hockey fan. After the tournament, many fans of opposing teams were captivated by the noticeable talent on display by Stützle.

While not producing at a crazy level during the tournament, finishing with 5 assists in 5 contests for the underdog German squad, they held in tough in the “group of death” and Stützle played a big role in that. Even though they didn’t make the playoffs, they upset the Czech Republic and gave Canada and the Americans tough games.

He was garnering a lot of attention during the tournament, and gained a lot of fans from his play:

https://twitter.com/DraftDynasty1/status/1210625662962356224?s=20

Team Canada assistant coach Andre Tourigny was impressed by Stützle’s performance:

"“Really good young player,” said Canadian assistant Andre Tourigny, also coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s. “He’s fast, he’s tough, he has some creativity. I really like his game.”"

The quote from the Sportsnet article “Tim Stutzle leading next generation of Germany’s elite hockey talent” which can be found at the link here.

While the World Juniors shouldn’t be a huge measuring stick in assessing a player’s future, the difference between Stützle and Byfield at the tournament was staggering.

He also added 5 points in 8 champions league games for Mannheim as well, he was one of their better players while being just 17-years old for the majority of the season.