This season has been a breakout year for LA’s 2020 second-overall pick, Quinton Byfield. After splitting time between the Kings and their AHL affiliate in Ontario over the past few seasons, the 21-year-old forward has now found his role with the big club, while being a consistent producer throughout the 2023-24 NHL campaign.
To show just how effective Byfield has become, let’s dive into some basic numbers first, then take a look at several more advanced stats.
NOTE: All stats are as of Feb 14, 2024. Data is sourced from MoneyPuck.com and Hockey Reference.
Starting with the Basics
Byfield has totaled 38 points (16 G, 22 A) through 48 games, putting him on track for just under 65 points this season. He has a 16.7% shooting percentage (calculated by dividing the number of goals by number of shots on goal), which is similar to Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point (17.4%) and Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin (17.2%). This isn’t an elite shooting percentage, but when you compare it to previous seasons, it is a drastic improvement and does place him among the top 50 NHL players with over 200 minutes of ice time. In 2022-23, Byfield shot just 4.1% and only scored three goals in 53 games. Some of that could likely be explained away as bad puck luck, yet leaping from 4.1% to scoring on nearly 17% is a massive improvement.
Byfield also leads all Kings skaters in points per 60 minutes (p/60), a metric designed to equalize all players, regardless of which line they play on or how many minutes they get in an average game. Here, the 6-foot-5 Canadian just edged out Kevin Fiala with 3.04 vs. 2.93 p/60.
Of shifts started outside the neutral zone, Byfield has begun 54% of his shifts in the offensive zone and 46% in the defensive zone. This near 50/50 split suggests Byfield isn’t necessarily being spoon-fed opportunities by his teammates. He is putting in the work to get out of his own end and create offensive opportunities at the other end of the ice.
Byfield’s More Advanced Stats
Byfield leads the team in high-danger xGoals with 12.02. We explained what xGoals is, why it matters, and how it’s calculated in this article last week.
In short, MoneyPuck.com defines high-danger shots as “unblocked Shot attempts with a 20% or greater probability of being a goal.” Basically, this is a way to categorize shots by their quality and chance of scoring a goal. High-danger xGoals is essentially a combination of these concepts. It is a player’s total xGoals from only high-danger shots. Having a high high-danger xGoals number means that player is taking a lot of high-danger shots and that they all have a good chance of scoring. Byfield leads both of these categories on the Kings with 30 high-danger unblocked shot attempts (second is Trevor Moore with 27) and 12.02 high-danger xGoals (again, Moore is second with 8.6).
When looking at created xGoals, Byfield is currently third on the Kings with 18.8.
Created xGoals is very similar to normal xGoals, yet it gives the player additional credit for any rebound opportunity created by the initial shot. For example, if Byfield and Anze Kopitar are entering the zone in a 2-on-1 situation, and Byfield shoots for the top corner, that shot will have a relatively low created xGoal value. However, if Byfield shoots for the pads, it will have a higher created xGoal value because there is a much better chance that a rebound is created and capitalized on for a goal.
Although Byfield isn’t having an All-Star season, he has more than earned his spot on the Kings top line and proven to be an effective player in that role. Doubters may say that playing on a line with a future Hall of Famer in Kopitar has contributed to his success, which is unequivocally true, yet the underlying data supports the idea that Byfield has clearly put in the work on his own which has led to his success this season.
Of the seven line combinations the Kings have used for over 100 minutes, the Byfield-Kopitar-Kempe unit ranks fifth in xGoals per 60 and xGoals%. Returning to our previous data of Byfield leading the team in these individual metrics, the performance of the line being fifth suggests he is helping keep the line afloat instead of the other way around.
From all measured activity, Byfield is having the best season of his young NHL career this year. Kings management, which has shown extreme patience with their young prospect since he turned pro in 2020, is likely very encouraged by what the future may hold. It already appears Byfield is well on his way to earning additional responsibilities within the team and more playing time as he continues to improve.
RELATED CONTENT:
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com
Instead of comparing him to our mediocre team how does he fare next to the top NHL players? Competing against ourselves presents a pretty low bar.
He ranks 15th in the league in high danger xGoals, and 19th in high danger unblocked shot attempts. Within the top 75 for created xGoals.
QB is a Star right now, and will be the face of the Kings for years to come. Hard to not see this when watching him on the ice and in the interview room.