Los Angeles Kings: Don’t overthink the second overall pick NHL Draft

With an already stacked farm system, the Los Angeles Kings will hold the second overall pick in this year’s draft.

How good are the Los Angeles Kings going to be in 2-3 years? Rhetorical question, but they are going to be even better after lucking into the second overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. A team from the qualifying round of the playoffs will land the number one overall pick, and therefore Alexis Lafreniere, but the Kings are in a favorable spot to grab a high-end talent.

Most mock drafts have Quinton Byfield as the consensus number two pick in this class, and general manager Rob Blake would be foolish to pass on the 17-year-old centerman. Byfield is already a big dude, standing at 6-foot-4, 214 pounds.

He’s a left-handed shot and has spent the last two seasons playing for the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. This past season, he scored 32 goals with 50 assists for 82 points and a +26 plus-minus rating in 45 games.

The combination of his size and speed are exceptional for someone his age. He possesses superb stick handling and the ability to absorb contact.

The immediate future of the Kings looks bleak at the NHL level, but in a couple of years, they could be right back in the playoff conversation. Especially once the likes of Alex Turcotte, Tobias Bjornfot, Arthur Kaliyev, and Rasmus Kupari – to name a few – make their highly-anticipated debuts.

But in terms of the 2020 NHL Draft, the choice is obvious. Take Byfield with the second overall pick and call it a day.