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Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part II

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GAGLine said:
Because Ottawa sucks and has no one better to give the minutes to.
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Stützle got less minutes than Lafreniere did at start of the season and played his way up the lineup, Lafreniere hasn’t done that, don’t think anything supports the claim that Lafreniere would’ve produced more if he played for Sens.
 
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OKR said:
Stützle got less minutes than Lafreniere did at start of the season and played his way up the lineup, Lafreniere hasn’t done that, don’t think anything supports the claim that Lafreniere would’ve produced more if he played for Sens.
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It’s a lot easier to play your way up the lineup when you’re competing against guys like tierney, or batherson.
Beating our kreider or Panarin for a lw spot is a lot harder and I don’t think stutzles play would’ve gotten him on the third.
that being said, I still think quinn should ignore the concept of “earning his way up” and move kreider down to the third. Give Chytil and gauthier/hopefully vk a veteran presence and someone to help make sure they don’t “get lost on the bench”.
Laf would then be passing to Mika which probably would do wonders for his overall game, because he’d have far more time and space.
 
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IDvsEGO said:
It’s a lot easier to play your way up the lineup when you’re competing against guys like tierney, or batherson.
Beating our kreider or Panarin for a lw spot is a lot harder and I don’t think stutzles play would’ve gotten him on the third.
that being said, I still think quinn should ignore the concept of “earning his way up” and move kreider down to the third. Give Chytil and gauthier/hopefully vk a veteran presence and someone to help make sure they don’t “get lost on the bench”.
Laf would then be passing to Mika which probably would do wonders for his overall game, because he’d have far more time and space.
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Yeah but the fact that Stützle did far more with less minutes at start of the season is the reason why he currently gets to play more, Lafreniere minutes are going down, so he clearly hasn’t used those minutes right cause otherwise he would still keep getting atleast the same amount of TOI, plus Lafreniere had more talented linemates to play with as well.

I do agree with you on the fact that Quinn should let him play more, but he just doesn’t deserve it, took Kakko a while to get into PP and he has been lot better than Laf.
 
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True Blue said:
I see absolutely nothing that stifles creativity here.
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If you don't think a system that encourages responsibility away from the puck over individual creativity isn't stifling to young players offense then I guess that's like your opinion. I just happen to disagree.

Kakko has stepped his two way play up considerably and should have been used with the EN in which case I feel he would have scored considering he was one of our best players in that game and had 6 shots. He also wasn't used in OT. Neither was Laf.

Laf is going through the same thing Kakko did last year. It is 100% stifling his offensive game. Is it a bad thing? Not necessarily, but it took Chytil how long to get to the point where he is trusted to use his skill.

People like to get caught up on draft position and production of young players. Look at Hughes, he's always noticeable on the offensive side and miserable on the other side. But had the Rangers gotten him he would be in Kakko and Laf's shoes rn.
 
ThirdEye said:
Laf seems like a guy that would be the first to admit that he hasn't really deserved a ton more ice time
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I agree. And that's what is going to make his so good. I have a really good feeling about Laf. He has the right attitude to ride out this struggle and emerge on top.
 
He wasn’t particularly dynamic tonight, but look at the plays he made after he scored.

He carried the puck more than he has in 10 games. He threw a few dangles. Almost got a few extra points on odd-man rushes. Made a great back check play after his giveaway. And as bad as the giveaway was (it was gross), I’ll take it, because he was trying to play with some creativity.

We keep trying to peg his struggles on conditioning, skating, hockey IQ, etc, when confidence is clearly 95% of the issue.
 
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I've noticed in games that we have had pretty much in the bag late, he starts to open up and challenge dmen. You see those flashes. Really think he's been playing it safe and reserved and structured to give the team the best chance at winning. He knows his role this season and is more than happy letting the stars do their thing while he learns the systems and isn't a liability if it gives the team a better chance to win.
 
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MysticLeviathan said:
the issue is that line more often than not gets f***ing smith and hayek. they almost never get fox, who would help their abysmal transition game out a ton.
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Fox would help but the kids up front need to learn how to carry the pack as well. None of them are very good distributors so far.
 
he was better yesterday but his skating leaves a lot to be desired from a first overall... haven't watched Nico much tbh but Laf might be poorest skater in recent memory for a no 1. He's average to slightly better for the league in general probably, but when he's gassed, his stride gets choppy and seems like he gets very little power. It's definitely a combo of conditioning and skating, but this is why he still doesn't really pass an eye test for me.
 
dangsLITE said:
he was better yesterday but his skating leaves a lot to be desired from a first overall... haven't watched Nico much tbh but Laf might be poorest skater in recent memory for a no 1. He's average to slightly better for the league in general probably, but when he's gassed, his stride gets choppy and seems like he gets very little power. It's definitely a combo of conditioning and skating, but this is why he still doesn't really pass an eye test for me.
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I really think this has to do more with a lack of knowing where to be on the ice.

Look at how Kakko’s skating changed between this year and last. Part of it is overall improvement, but to me it’s mostly the fact that he’s just more comfortable and positionally sound on the ice.

I fully expect skating to be a strength of Laf’s down the line. He was an excellent skater among his peers, it’s just not his calling card like a Hughes, McDavid, MacK, etc.
 
ColonialsHockey10 said:
I really think this has to do more with a lack of knowing where to be on the ice.

Look at how Kakko’s skating changed between this year and last. Part of it is overall improvement, but to me it’s mostly the fact that he’s just more comfortable and positionally sound on the ice.

I fully expect skating to be a strength of Laf’s down the line. He was an excellent skater among his peers, it’s just not his calling card like a Hughes, McDavid, MacK, etc.
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I don't necessarily think he's a bad skater but that his form deteriorates pretty significantly, moreso than many other players, when he gets fatigued. I'm sure he'll improve, but it's definitely a limitation that is impacting his game right now.
 
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dangsLITE said:
I don't necessarily think he's a bad skater but that his form deteriorates pretty significantly, moreso than many other players, when he gets fatigued. I'm sure he'll improve, but it's definitely a limitation that is impacting his game right now.
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Exactly, because he’s chasing the play way more than he needs to. Once he starts commanding the puck and getting more comfortable, I think you’ll see his skating look noticeably better.

There was a 2 on 1 at the end of yesterday’s game with him and Chytil. The speed he showed to turn that into an odd man rush was excellent.
 
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dangsLITE said:
he was better yesterday but his skating leaves a lot to be desired from a first overall... haven't watched Nico much tbh but Laf might be poorest skater in recent memory for a no 1. He's average to slightly better for the league in general probably, but when he's gassed, his stride gets choppy and seems like he gets very little power. It's definitely a combo of conditioning and skating, but this is why he still doesn't really pass an eye test for me.
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whats your vision? might explain why the eye test is failing

just an FYI when every player is gassed their stride gets shitty
 
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dangsLITE said:
I don't necessarily think he's a bad skater but that his form deteriorates pretty significantly, moreso than many other players, when he gets fatigued. I'm sure he'll improve, but it's definitely a limitation that is impacting his game right now.
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There is some truth to this for sure. We saw it a lot with Kakko last season too. These are very young kids.

There is a lot that goes into being a pro and managing your shifts is a big part of it. We heard from Panarin before the season started talking about how he wanted to work on conserving energy during a shift. The process never ends.

But I saw Laf with a better motor and pace last night, especially earlier in the game hunting down pucks and wouldnt you know it resulted in a goal. Its something a lot of us were wanting from him.

To me thats a kid learning the system and how to play the pro game and becoming comfortable enough to begin playing on instinct rather than thinking. Some feel this is the coach killing their creativity. To me its about playing the game the right way and building the proper foundation, getting into proper habits that become second nature.

And that is what you want from all your players, because when the pressure kicks in you have the ability to play in pressure situations, ie the playoffs, when it really counts.
 
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Clown Fiesta said:
If you don't think a system that encourages responsibility away from the puck over individual creativity isn't stifling to young players offense then I guess that's like your opinion. I just happen to disagree.

Kakko has stepped his two way play up considerably and should have been used with the EN in which case I feel he would have scored considering he was one of our best players in that game and had 6 shots. He also wasn't used in OT. Neither was Laf.

Laf is going through the same thing Kakko did last year. It is 100% stifling his offensive game. Is it a bad thing? Not necessarily, but it took Chytil how long to get to the point where he is trusted to use his skill.

People like to get caught up on draft position and production of young players. Look at Hughes, he's always noticeable on the offensive side and miserable on the other side. But had the Rangers gotten him he would be in Kakko and Laf's shoes rn.
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I'd rather have a team.filled with mark stones than a team filled with Patrick laine's.
 
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