This is a lesson the Kings development staff could learn
January 13, 2026
This is a lesson the Kings development staff could learn
6 comments
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Foundations and non-negotiables are pucks to the net and nothing risky within 5 ft of the offensive blue line.
Look at Slafkovsky… Similarly sized to Byfield, also touted as a “proiect”player who had a high ceiling.
Two 50-pt seasons and now he’s up to 38 in 46, while Byfield is still at 27 in 44. Hes also 2 full years younger btw.
Is it Byfield? Is it Hiller? Is it the organization? Its probably all of the above. But you have to do something.. you cannot let this continue before your 2nd overall pick plateaus cuz he’s very close to reaching that point.
Marty with the wisdom, great quote.
IMO hockey players are like artists more than any other athlete due to the read and react nature of the game. It’s a flow state kinda game. Yeah, you want good habits defensively and good structure, but it’s equally important to find the balance and let the artists create.
Slaf also does a lot of good things without the puck that doesn’t show up on the scoresheet that opens up space for Suzuki, Caufield, Demidov and Kapanen to do their thing.
As a Habs fan first, we’ve had knuckle dragging morons coaches like Hiller since as far back as I can remember and I’m 40 years old. It’s a breath of fresh air to see Marty give young kids a chance to play their game and be creative without having them learn to forecheck, back check, play D and win battles before they get a sniff of a chance to use their skills.
Another part of the problem is the FO. Bad hires and mixed results management from Blake. They wanted the young players in what was the deepest farm system in the league at the time to develop, but also kept blocking the young players’ development by bringing in players that blocked their positions and created logjams. They turned an asset into mediocre results. This is also on McLellan and Hiller who obviously preferred veterans over younger players.
6 comments
Make sure to [join the /r/LosAngelesKings discord as well](https://discord.gg/H6EH73h) for live game chat and more!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/losangeleskings) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Foundations and non-negotiables are pucks to the net and nothing risky within 5 ft of the offensive blue line.
Look at Slafkovsky… Similarly sized to Byfield, also touted as a “proiect”player who had a high ceiling.
Two 50-pt seasons and now he’s up to 38 in 46, while Byfield is still at 27 in 44. Hes also 2 full years younger btw.
Is it Byfield? Is it Hiller? Is it the organization? Its probably all of the above. But you have to do something.. you cannot let this continue before your 2nd overall pick plateaus cuz he’s very close to reaching that point.
Marty with the wisdom, great quote.
IMO hockey players are like artists more than any other athlete due to the read and react nature of the game. It’s a flow state kinda game. Yeah, you want good habits defensively and good structure, but it’s equally important to find the balance and let the artists create.
Slaf also does a lot of good things without the puck that doesn’t show up on the scoresheet that opens up space for Suzuki, Caufield, Demidov and Kapanen to do their thing.
As a Habs fan first, we’ve had knuckle dragging morons coaches like Hiller since as far back as I can remember and I’m 40 years old. It’s a breath of fresh air to see Marty give young kids a chance to play their game and be creative without having them learn to forecheck, back check, play D and win battles before they get a sniff of a chance to use their skills.
Another part of the problem is the FO. Bad hires and mixed results management from Blake. They wanted the young players in what was the deepest farm system in the league at the time to develop, but also kept blocking the young players’ development by bringing in players that blocked their positions and created logjams. They turned an asset into mediocre results. This is also on McLellan and Hiller who obviously preferred veterans over younger players.