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Ranking the top 31 prospects in the 2020 NHL Draft: 3. Quinton Byfield

By Daniel Bruce

ST CATHARINES, ON - OCTOBER 4: Quinton Byfield #55 of the Sudbury Wolves skates during an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at Meridian Centre on October 4, 2018 in St Catharines, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
ST CATHARINES, ON - OCTOBER 4: Quinton Byfield #55 of the Sudbury Wolves skates during an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at Meridian Centre on October 4, 2018 in St Catharines, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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HAMILTON, ON – JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White and Quinton Byfield #55 of Team Red talk during the third period of the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
HAMILTON, ON – JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White and Quinton Byfield #55 of Team Red talk during the third period of the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Strengths

Size

The long rangy centerman standing at 6’4″ and 214 pounds has the size that all teams would covet at the center position.

While size isn’t the defining factor in determining if a player is great, the skill and skating ability that Byfield has at his disposal makes his toolkit as a whole that much more enticing.

While lacking in his willingness to be physical, Byfield can still use his size to his advantage, when he protects the puck it’s almost impossible to take it away. He regularly shields the puck and finds his teammates in front for great chances on net.

If he becomes more willing to be physical his size will become even more effective, being more assertive in his physicality he can become elite on both sides of the ice.

His length will make passing lanes tougher for opponents through the middle of the ice, with his great skating alongside of his size, teams will find it tough to navigate up the middle.

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Skating

Byfield does things on the ice that you don’t usually see from a guy his size, this has to do primarily with his exceptional skating ability.

If you watch any highlight tape of Byfield, you will notice that a large quantity of his scoring chances were created off of the rush. Quite often he can be seen gathering the puck in his own zone and skating it out for a chance on net.

Consistently leading odd man rushes, above he gathers the puck from his own blue line and brings it into the opponents zone, leading to a nice shot and goal for Byfield.

His top end speed is very impressive, when he gets to it he is a handful for anyone trying to defend him. His great acceleration allows him to get to his top speed quickly, where he can thrive with the puck and without it.

Byfield shows his great speed on this back check to disrupt a clear breakaway from the opposing team.

The size and speed combination of Byfield makes scouts drool over his untapped potential.

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