Kings Forward Wins Battle of 2020 Top Picks

In a battle of former top draft picks, The Los Angeles Kings were victorious.

Dec 4, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55) reaches for the puck against the Dallas Stars during the second period of a hockey game at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images / Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Kings left the 2020 NHL Draft in a celebratory mood. Having the second overall pick in that draft, the organization selected a big center prospect named Quinton Byfield. Despite not being able to take the consensus top prospect Alexis Lafreniere, who went number one overall to the New York Rangers, the team felt they landed a can't miss player.

It hasn't gone completely to the liking of Byfield and the Kings since he joined the franchise, but he's still an important player for this team. Coming off a 55-point campaign he joined his fellow draft classmate Lafreniere as official breakout candidates in 2024. The top two picks from that 2020 class had the chance to battle it out one-on-one and Byfield and the Kings were victorious.

The Kings walloped the Rangers in a weekend matchup, earning a 5-1 victory in Madison Square Garden. While Lafreniere was held without a point and was a -2, Byfield played one of his best games of the season. He skated in 19:20 minutes of. ice-time over 26 shifts and recorded one goal and an assist on three shots on goal.

The goal Byfield did score was an excellent play from start to finish. It started with him making an aggressive pursuit of the puck as the Rangers exited the zone. As New York tried to navigate the neutral zone, the Kings forced a turnover and Byfield accelerated into the offensive zone with lightning-fast speed. With a defender draped on his back, he still kept fighting through with an open shooting posture and fired a one-timed shot top shelf behind Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

HIGHLIGHTS INCOMING 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/cY7ktMOz5T

— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 14, 2024

With the chance to re-do the years since the 2020 draft, the Kings and Rangers may have gone in different directions. Both are excellent players, coming off of campaigns of 55 and 57 points, and can still reach another level of production. Neither are a bonafide superstar, however, nor are they eve the biggest star from their draft class. The fact remains still that Byfield is eighth and Lafreniere is third on the 2020 NHL Draft's scoring list. But in this matchup, the Kings and Byfield won the battle of 2020 top picks.

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