Maybe not from a strength standpoint, but I think you could argue that Jack at least had NHL level skating (if not plus level), while Lafreniere's is currently sub-average in terms of explosiveness and pace.
Yeah, I dunno. I think Laf needs a few games off at minimum, and realistically needs to be getting big minutes in the A. But that’s not an option, and the Q would be doing him more harm than good at this point.
When was he playing well? It's like Kakko last season, we praise the kid for making a pass or 1 good play a game in the NHL. OMG, did you see him skate around the net with the puck and find an open player at the point? Laf was never playing well. He just had a few plays you'd expect from an NHL player. I'm sure this offseason training will be important for his success. Skating needs to be worked on.
I'm not sure how you get drafted top 15 and make it that far without being a good skater. It blows my mind. I've played in some high level tournaments (No, we're not talking NHL level), but those players could flat out skate. I completely get puck protection and physical attributes play a major part against competition that might be smaller or not as physically strong as you (especially in the legs), but you had to know you just gone through your teen years not being one of the better skaters. That's something that should be worked on before being drafted.
I was on a Zoom call with Ben Prentiss Friday and someone asked about Olympic Lifting for more speed and power. He gave a recent example and said most of the Rangers class that were with him during the offseason have never done Olympic lifting and he didn't have enough time with them to teach them so had to do other things. I think now that he'll have a full and normal offseason to work with the guys that will certainly help. If Laf is living with K'Andre this offseason then I'm sure he will be there training and working on more speed/explosiveness.
