Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

With The 3rd Pick In The NHL Draft

06/23/2020 at 12:31pm EDT

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

If the Wings pick third again, general manager Steve Yzerman is likely to select either Quinton Byfield or Tim Stützle, depending on which forward is available. Alexis Lafrenière is considered the consensus first overall pick, and Byfield and Stützle are projected to go in the top three.

If Byfield is the one available, the Wings will gain a 6-foot-4, 215-pound center who had 32 goals and 50 assists in 45 games this season with the Sudbury Wolves (Ontario Hockey League). Byfield’s 1.82 points-per-game average ranked fifth among OHL skaters. The 17-year-old was a member of Canada’s gold-medal winning squad at the 2020 World Junior Championship.

Byfield moves well, is deft with the puck in tight areas and maneuvers himself to the net to create scoring opportunities. He projects as a top-line center, someone who could give the Wings a formidable one-two punch with Dylan Larkin. Potentially in a few seasons, the depth chart up the middle reads Byfield, Larkin, and Joe Veleno (the Wings’ pick at 30th overall in 2018). Veleno could also fit as a winger, and Michael Rasmussen, the team’s first-round pick from 2017, could slot into the third-line center spot.

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.