EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Quinton Byfield was forced to play catch-up as a rookie with the Los Angeles Kings last season, through no fault of his own.
The 19-year-old center, selected No. 2 by the Kings in the 2020 NHL Draft, had been set to make their opening night roster before fracturing his left ankle in a preseason game Oct. 5, delaying his season debut until Jan. 20.
“Coming in halfway through the year when everything’s in full swing and you’ve been hurt for half a year is definitely difficult, but there’s not any excuse you can really make on that,” Byfield said following the conclusion of the Kings development camp this month. “And I think this year I’ll just be more prepared and ready to go.”
Byfield had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 40 games, scoring his first NHL goal Jan. 27 against the New York Islanders. Confident in his offensive skills despite the modest production, Byfield has been focused instead on improving at face-offs and defensive positioning this offseason in hopes of earning more ice time this season on the third line.
Those deficiencies were exposed in Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Edmonton Oilers, when Byfield had no points, a minus-2 rating and four penalty minutes, winning six of 13 face-offs (46.2 percent). Despite being scratched for the final five games of the series, which the Kings lost in seven games, he said he was able to learn from that setback.
“I’ve never lost hope on anything,” said Byfield, who turns 20 on Aug. 19. “I mean, I know I’m a good player and I’ll be there eventually. It’s just a little bit of patience and just getting the opportunity as well.”
Mike Donnelly, a longtime member of the Kings player development department, said he believes growth in parts of Byfield’s game was hindered by a lack of offseason opportunities in recent years. There was no development camp held in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Byfield (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) did not take part last year because of a heel injury.
“‘Q’ with his bad heel, he couldn’t participate in development camp, and this is important stuff,” Donnelly said. “It set us back, there’s no question. … We try to catch up as much as we can.”
The pandemic did give Byfield the option to play in the American Hockey League. He played 43 games for Ontario over the past two seasons, including 11 games as part of a rehabilitation assignment after the ankle injury, allowing Byfield to learn what it takes to be a professional (he did play six games with Los Angeles in 2020-21 ).
“It was either the [Ontario Hockey League] or junior if there wasn’t a pandemic, so who knows what would have happened there?” Byfield said. “But because of the COVID and everything, got to play a year in the AHL, learn a lot from those guys. Lot of older veterans down there that have been there for a while, so they kind of showed me the ropes.”
Byfield said he believes everything he has gone through will prepare him for a breakout season.
“I think I’ve still got a ton more to prove,” he said. “And the next season I think it’ll be a lot better.”
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