Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Draft 1st Overall Pick, Alexis Lafreniere, LW

[Shadowtron]

...just glad we don't have Byfield; haven't been this unimpressed with a 'top' prospect in a long, long time.

Oooof! That bad, huh?

 

[bl02]

Anyone been watching Tim Stutzle so far? While I think Laf has had a good start, TS looks so dynamic. Can't help to wonder if he may become the better player. Time will tell I guess, but I'm just surprised that TS didn't get more consideration as a possible 1OA pick.

Love Stutzle he is the most exciting player probably out of the draft but no way is he better than Lafreniere overall. I just think they are different players but Lafreniere will be more valuable.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

An intangible of Lafreniere’s that has really struck me:

He really loves the game, he loves to win and it’s all about the team.

Just look at all of the pictures and videos after the goals he was on the ice for. He is SO genuinely happy for his teammates and that his team just scored a goal.

By looking at his face you would’ve thought they won the game in OT. And this without even getting a point on the scoresheet yet.

What this reminds of was how Messier and Graves used to talk about the Oilers during the latter portions of their dynasty and how part of being so successful was because everyone was genuinely happy for one another after a goal. It showed the closeness and selflessness of the team

I couldn’t help but think of that when seeing Laf. This kid is a born leader and he just wants to win. Seeing him on the bench before the game it is completely evident how much this kid loves the game. We are very lucky to have him.

 

[McSauer]

An intangible of Lafreniere’s that has really struck me:

He really loves the game, he loves to win and it’s all about the team.

Just look at all of the pictures and videos after the goals he was on the ice for. He is SO genuinely happy for his teammates and that his team just scored a goal.

By looking at his face you would’ve thought they won the game in OT. And this without even getting a point on the scoresheet yet.

Kid's a gamer; love guys that have that fiery attitude and want the puck every shift. And if they don't have the puck, they're gonna barrel over every opponent to get the puck and do whatever to put their team on the board.

Reminds me of Mess, Lindros (in his prime; was just an absolute monster on the ice); any other NHL legends we think have that same mentality I am forgetting? [Also, as a Giants fan, Ahmad Bradshaw comes to mind; always pumped and going all out each play, always wanted the ball.]

 

[McSauer]

Oooof! That bad, huh?

Just haven't been impressed with him for a while now. Great package of tools, but just don't see it (and Kings fans will never admit it, but they are REALLY doubting themselves over this pick.) I see a Brian Boyle clone, at this peak; not awful, but not the gamebreaker you want @ #2.

 

[aufheben]

Anyone been watching Tim Stutzle so far? While I think Laf has had a good start, TS looks so dynamic. Can't help to wonder if he may become the better player. Time will tell I guess, but I'm just surprised that TS didn't get more consideration as a possible 1OA pick.

I don’t care if Stutzle becomes Wayne Gretzky. There was no debate, no choice who the #1OA pick was. All that matters is that Lafreniere becomes good for us.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Kid's a gamer; love guys that have that fiery attitude and want the puck every shift. And if they don't have the puck, they're gonna barrel over every opponent to get the puck and do whatever to put their team on the board.

Reminds me of Mess, Lindros (in his prime; was just an absolute monster on the ice); any other NHL legends we think have that same mentality I am forgetting? [Also, as a Giants fan, Ahmad Bradshaw comes to mind; always pumped and going all out each play, always wanted the ball.]

Yep. I absolutely love it. He has more of throwback quality than I thought. Watch the 2nd Buch goal, he is beside himself with happiness

 

[The New Russian Five]

Stützle has had a great start to his NHL career and has not looked out of place, same with Lafrenière. The only difference is that one already scored a goal.

Once Lafrenière pots a few, I'm sure we will see people come around on him. I have followed Stützle for a few years, even a game he played here in Vienna. It was amazing. He was only 17 years old at the time but he was easily the best one on the ice.

Is this because he scored?

I haven't watched much of the Sens (I caught a period on Friday and instantly got bored) but what else has he done?

It's not just that he scored. But just watching him, he's so fast and shifty. Reminds me a bit of McKinnon. He forces defenders to back off because of his quickness so well. I don't know. While I have been impressed so far with Laf, I can't help but seeing more out of Stutzle than him in these first two games (Small sample size I know). This might also be bias because I thought TS was phenomenal in the WJC this year.

I'm just curious, what supposedly makes AL a better prospect than TS?

 

[The New Russian Five]

I don’t care if Stutzle becomes greater than Wayne Gretzky.

There was no debate, no choice who the #1OA pick was. All that matters is that Lafreniere becomes good for us.

Pardon me for trying to compare players on a message forum... Like that's never happened before lol

 

[will1066]

I don’t care if Stutzle becomes Wayne Gretzky. There was no debate, no choice who the #1OA pick was. All that matters is that Lafreniere becomes good for us.

But this is HFNYR, where story arcs and make-believe rivalries and comparisons must be created to generate dramatic discussions.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Pardon me for trying to compare players on a message forum... Like that's never happened before lol

Ok but let me ask again.

What has he done that was so dynamic other than the goal he scored? Just going off of analytics he and his line got their teeth kicked in on Friday. They were better-ish yesterday but again, I didn't watch any of the game yesterday so I can't really speak to any of this.

 

[aufheben]

Guys, we drafted 1st overall after finishing 16th in the league.

Don’t overthink it.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Ok but let me ask again.

What has he done that was so dynamic other than the goal he scored? Just going off of analytics he and his line got their teeth kicked in on Friday. They were better-ish yesterday but again, I didn't watch any of the game yesterday so I can't really speak to any of this.

Lafrenière is more dominant in his first 2 games than Stützle, despite not scoring a goal. I think both have shown they are NHL ready and if the Rangers somehow had the 2nd overall pick last October, I would have been begging to pick Stützle.

Rangers got the best player in the draft on draft day. Whatever things look like in 10 years is irrelevant. They did the right thing. It's now up to the organization to make sure he develops and reaches his potential

 

[aufheben]

Ok but let me ask again.

What has he done that was so dynamic other than the goal he scored? Just going off of analytics he and his line got their teeth kicked in on Friday. They were better-ish yesterday but again, I didn't watch any of the game yesterday so I can't really speak to any of this.

The goal wasn’t anything special either. It was the same as Kakko’s goal last night.

 

[The New Russian Five]

Ok but let me ask again.

What has he done that was so dynamic other than the goal he scored? Just going off of analytics he and his line got their teeth kicked in on Friday. They were better-ish yesterday but again, I didn't watch any of the game yesterday so I can't really speak to any of this.

I don't understand why you are getting so riled up about this. I'm not saying we should have drafted one over the other. I am just trying to compare two elite players from the same draft class. I'm just surprised that Stutzle wasn't in the same conversation for the 1OA as AL. Whenever I ask this question, all I get is that "AL is just better."

I watched highlights from the Sens games and I was just impressed at how Stutlze used his skating, speed, and stick handling to make defensemen back off from him. I personally have more of an affinity towards players that have speed and can skate well. Doesn't mean I think he's better than AL. But I do think he is a bit more dynamic with his skill set.

So my question is what makes AL better? Is that he plays a better two-way game? Better IQ? Better all around game? It's really a simple question that shouldn't have upset anyone.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I don't understand why you are getting so riled up about this. I'm not saying we should have drafted one over the other. I am just trying to compare two elite players from the same draft class. I'm just surprised that Stutzle wasn't in the same conversation for the 1OA as AL. Whenever I ask this question, all I get is that "AL is just better."

I watched highlights from the Sens games and I was just impressed at how Stutlze used his skating, speed, and stick handling to make defensemen back off from him. I personally have more of an affinity towards players that have speed and can skate well. Doesn't mean I think he's better than AL. But I do think he is a bit more dynamic with his skill set.

So my question is what makes AL better? Is that he plays a better two-way game? Better IQ? Better all around game? It's really a simple question that shouldn't have upset anyone.

Lol I asked you a question....

I just watched the highlights, outside of the goal, a turnover and getting deked out of his jock by Kerfoot (which was a welcome to the NHL moment if I ever saw one), I didn't see anything super impressive?

I'm not even hating on Stutzle, he's awesome. I just wanted to know what he did that blew you away.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Anyone been watching Tim Stutzle so far? While I think Laf has had a good start, TS looks so dynamic. Can't help to wonder if he may become the better player. Time will tell I guess, but I'm just surprised that TS didn't get more consideration as a possible 1OA pick.

f*** Stutzle with a rotten bratwurst. TEAM LAF ALL THE WAY

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Lol I asked you a question....

I just watched the highlights, outside of the goal, a turnover and getting deked out of his jock by Kerfoot (which was a welcome to the NHL moment if I ever saw one), I didn't see anything super impressive?

I'm not even hating on Stutzle, he's awesome. I just wanted to know what he did that blew you away.

Lafrenière looks like he has been in the league for years. That's the big difference between the two. When he is on the ice, he looks like he belongs. I can't really put my finger on what it is exactly, or describe it in 2-3 words, but I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way

 

[aufheben]

I don't understand why you are getting so riled up about this. I'm not saying we should have drafted one over the other. I am just trying to compare two elite players from the same draft class. I'm just surprised that Stutzle wasn't in the same conversation for the 1OA as AL. Whenever I ask this question, all I get is that "AL is just better."

Thats’s the thing though; He’s good at everything, and was in his own tier.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Thats’s the thing though. He’s good at everything. He doesn’t need to rely on one attribute like Laine or someone.

Yeah, I think his biggest weakness if there was one is his skating, and it's not even a hindrance. One thing I've noticed in these two games is he's not doing the hot shot prospect in their first NHL games thing of just trying to dangle through the entire opposing team, he's full on just playing simple and effective hockey that you'd see from a 5+ year vet, though I have no doubt that when he's fully settled in we're going to see him do some of the silly things he's done to teams in juniors.

Stuetzle is an exciting player for sure, but I think he plays the fast reactionary style of hockey that makes people get out of their seats when they watch him, where I think Lafreniere is more measured in his approach and just thinks the game like 5 steps ahead of every one else

 

[aufheben]

Yeah, I think his biggest weakness if there was one is his skating, and it's not even a hindrance. One thing I've noticed in these two games is he's not doing the hot shot prospect in their first NHL games thing of just trying to dangle through the entire opposing team, he's full on just playing simple and effective hockey that you'd see from a 5+ year vet, though I have no doubt that when he's fully settled in we're going to see him do some of the silly things he's done to teams in juniors

He looked pretty goddamn fast last night. But yeah, that’s pretty much what it comes down to: efficiency.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

He looked pretty goddamn fast last night.

And with that being his biggest weakness, it just goes to show how good of a hockey player this kid is

 

[EdJovanovski]

I'm glad Laf tucks his jersey in

 

[aufheben]

Stuetzle is an exciting player for sure, but I think he plays the fast reactionary style of hockey that makes people get out of their seats when they watch him, where I think Lafreniere is more measured in his approach and just thinks the game like 5 steps ahead of every one else

I think Stutzle is going to be like Pettersson. People get sucked into his wizardry and start comparing him to better-but-less-flashy players like Matthews. Pettersson is still a very, very good player, but fans add like an extra 10-20 points to his totals because of how crafty he is.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I think Stutzle is going to be like Pettersson. People get sucked into his wizardry and start comparing him to better-but-less-flashy players like Matthews. Pettersson is still a very, very good player, but fans add like an extra 10-20 points to his totals because of how crafty he is.

I think due to his intangibles and rounded game people underestimate how skilled Laf is too, watch highlights of junior and he's scoring between the legs goals and all sorts of crazy stuff, also has great cellys. He has some flash to his game too