Who is the better defenseman between Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale in terms of potential?

Bowen Byram (2019)

Jamie Drysdale (2020)

Drysdale probably has the higher ceiling simply because he's more offensively talented. However, he is on the smaller side and Byram has a better two-way game. So Byram likely has the higher floor.

I give the edge to Byram due to the strong two way game that doesn't really have a lot of wholes in it. Drysdale reminds me stylistically of Tyson Barrie, but has shown to be better in his own zone than Barrie has been this year. A lot of offense, and nothing spectacular defensively. From my viewings, Drysdale has done fine defending in the OHL and looked solid at the WJC, but doing it against men is going to be a completely different challenge.

I think Byrum's stock fell a little bit during the WJC. He didn't put up big offensive numbers. Even his WHL numbers are down a little bit from last season, but that seems to be a pattern post-draft. Maybe they focus more on rounding out their games after they've been drafted.

That being said, I would take Drysdale. It's much easier to judge Defensemen based on their offensive skill set at a young age. And I see him as a more talented playmaker for his age. Tough call, but you can't teach pure offensive talent.

It's Drysdale and it isn't very close. Byram will be a great top pair dman for Colorado but Drysdale is gonna be a superstar, possible prime-Karlsson level offensive defenseman.