Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part III

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Why the f*** would he put Hunt back on 2nd line. This is nuts.
Unless panarin and strome are lobbying for him...

I don't know what the big deal is. Panarin and Strome benefit from a puck hound on their line to open up space. The notion that your 6 most offensively gifted players NEED to be on the top 2 lines is quite archaic. And when the other choices are Goodrowe, Gauthier, or a far-too-green Laf, its just not something to get overly worked up about.

 

[Harbour Dog]

You're barking up the wrong tree, I've made this point often in this thread.

He's played most of the season with Chytil and Gauthier FFS, go ahead and find me worse finishers relative to their chances this season.

Chytil and Gauthier and 3rd and 4th on the team in 5v5 ixGF, and have 4 and 1 respectively, lol. Maybe Lafreniere should have even more assists than I estimated.

 

[SA16]

What is the approximate average shooting percentage for the league?

Wondering, since the Rangers only shoot 7.9% with Lafreniere on the ice. That seems like it should have an overall negative impact on his assist rates.

Generally around 8.9% last I remember.

Honestly though the production isn't the crux of the issue here. He doesn't do much while on the ice. I remember when JT Miller came up he wasn't scoring much but you saw him constantly trying to make plays with the puck and such. And that got him benched and scratched but at least you saw flashes. Have you really seen that many great plays and passes he's made that would make you think he should have a ton of assists? I haven't.

 

[DanielBrassard]

Generally around 8.9% last I remember.

Honestly though the production isn't the crux of the issue here. He doesn't do much while on the ice. I remember when JT Miller came up he wasn't scoring much but you saw him constantly trying to make plays with the puck and such. And that got him benched and scratched but at least you saw flashes. Have you really seen that many great plays and passes he's made that would make you think he should have a ton of assists? I haven't.

Exactly. The production is poor, but the lack of anything that would suggest high end skill is what's really concerning.

 

[Narcissus]

Generally around 8.9% last I remember.

Honestly though the production isn't the crux of the issue here. He doesn't do much while on the ice. I remember when JT Miller came up he wasn't scoring much but you saw him constantly trying to make plays with the puck and such. And that got him benched and scratched but at least you saw flashes. Have you really seen that many great plays and passes he's made that would make you think he should have a ton of assists? I haven't.

He's made a few - maybe like 5-10 - dazzling cross ice passes, some went for assists some amounted to nothing. Which makes me think that the skill is there but for whatever reason he is unable to find himself enough opportunities to make those passes.

I was secretly hoping when Gallant and Lafreniere were on the Covid list that they were sitting in front of their laptops on zoom watching the game together talking through situations, because the kid just doesn't understand where he needs to be on the ice.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Generally around 8.9% last I remember.

Honestly though the production isn't the crux of the issue here. He doesn't do much while on the ice. I remember when JT Miller came up he wasn't scoring much but you saw him constantly trying to make plays with the puck and such. And that got him benched and scratched but at least you saw flashes. Have you really seen that many great plays and passes he's made that would make you think he should have a ton of assists? I haven't.

He definitely doesn't flash his skill enough.

I think the issue is that his style is that of an elite grinder, but his conditioning isn't up to par for that type of game. He can work a bit on his skating, and he will improve with his speed of processing; but primarily, he just isn't able to play at pace yet.

He frequently makes dangerous passes look easy, and he finishes the chances he's supposed to finish. But he wants to outwork guys on the boards and in front of the net; and he's not capable of that right now.

A ton of assists, no. But I think all things being equal, he would have seven or eight. Some because of nice passes that actually get finished, some because Gauthier finally figures out how to get proper shots on nets when he rushes.

 

[Rangers in 7]

He definitely doesn't flash his skill enough.

I think the issue is that his style is that of an elite grinder, but his conditioning isn't up to par for that type of game. He can work a bit on his skating, and he will improve with his speed of processing; but primarily, he just isn't able to play at pace yet.

He frequently makes dangerous passes look easy, and he finishes the chances he's supposed to finish. But he wants to outwork guys on the boards and in front of the net; and he's not capable of that right now.

A ton of assists, no. But I think all things being equal, he would have seven or eight. Some because of nice passes that actually get finished, some because Gauthier finally figures out how to get proper shots on nets when he rushes.

im sticking to the comp of huberdeau

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Exactly. The production is poor, but the lack of anything that would suggest high end skill is what's really concerning.

When the game is moving too quickly for a player, these flashes you're looking for are almost impossible. He was the #1 pick in the draft for goodness sake. I think that would suggest the high end skill is there. Maybe (probably) will start flashing it by the time he's of drinking age if that suits you.

 

[DanielBrassard]

When the game is moving too quickly for a player, these flashes you're looking for are almost impossible. He was the #1 pick in the draft for goodness sake. I think that would suggest the high end skill is there. Maybe (probably) will start flashing it by the time he's of drinking age if that suits you.

It's incredible how almost every other #1 overall pick for the past 2 decades has somehow stepped produced more than Lafreniere, all the while being under the legal drinking age. Not to mention, he was old for his draft class. I can't really speak to the flashes they may have shown however, I think it's reasonable to say that they all showed more than him as well. Spare me the rationalizations.

 

[ORRFForever]

It's incredible how almost every other #1 overall pick for the past 2 decades has somehow stepped produced more than Lafreniere, all the while being under the legal drinking age. Not to mention, he was old for his draft class. I can't really speak to the flashes they may have shown however, I think it's reasonable to say that they all showed more than him as well. Spare me the rationalizations.

It's hard NOT to be disappointed with Laf but you are not going to trade him and have a Sam Bennett on your hands, so give him every chance to succeed and (hopefully) he will develop into the player people expected.

 

[bbny]

I'd send Lafreniere down tonight.

 

[Rangers in 7]

Am I disappointed, yes. Am I going to say he’s a bust? Hell no

 

[IronBloodedLion]

It's hard NOT to be disappointed with Laf but you are not going to trade him and have a Sam Bennett on your hands, so give him every chance to succeed and (hopefully) he will develop into the player people expected.

The Rangers trading Laf or Kakko and having one of them absolutely tear the league up would be so predictable.

 

[ORRFForever]

Why doesn't he get any assists? Just by being on the ice, you'd think he'd get an assist or two every so often.

Send him to the AHL and let him get his confidence back.

 

[ORRFForever]

Delete

 

[bleedblue94]

He looks like he is constantly "thinking" on the ice with very little reaction. I don't know if this is from coaching nerves into him or a struggle by him to react to the game at the NHL speed right now. I still think his lack of skating explosiveness is an issue.

Either way the kid still can't even buy a beer in the us

 

[haohmaru]

I'd send Lafreniere down tonight.

Send Kakko with him.

 

[Shadowtron]

Yeeeeeah…I’d send him down and hope he finds his game. Hate to say it, but I think we got a fugazi here.

 

[Daves a mess]

The Rangers trading Laf or Kakko and having one of them absolutely tear the league up would be so predictable.

You need to show high end skill to tear up the league. These two guys have showed very little of anything resembling that.
They look like checking line muckers for large swaths of their short careers so far. Its very concerning.

 

[Synergy27]

I’m curious what @Edge or any other insiders are thinking and hearing about Laf and Kakko at this point. We’ve been having this conversation about these kids since day one. They have not looked good except for very rare instances, but we’ve been told that it’s “early” and that the organization itself has no concern whatsoever.

It’s been about a year since I’ve heard from @Edge on this. Is opinion shifting in the room where it matters? Is the new regime similarly unconcerned about another year of underwhelming play and chalking it up to kids needing to grow?

 

[Shadowtron]

The Rangers trading Laf or Kakko and having one of them absolutely tear the league up would be so predictable.

Lol! Nah…predicable is the Rangers getting first and second overall and picking Patrick Stefan and Jamie Lundmark lol!

 

[Whoot Whoot]

Kid looks like he is scared to have the puck on his stick

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

I’m curious what @Edge or any other insiders are thinking and hearing about Laf and Kakko at this point. We’ve been having this conversation about these kids since day one. They have not looked good except for very rare instances, but we’ve been told that it’s “early” and that the organization itself has no concern whatsoever.

It’s been about a year since I’ve heard from @Edge on this. Is opinion shifting in the room where it matters? Is the new regime similarly unconcerned about another year of underwhelming play and chalking it up to kids needing to grow?

It’s still early.

 

[NYR94]

Dude has 8 goals this season but I wouldn't fault you if you thought he had half of that. He is invisible most nights.

 

[mike14]

I’m curious what @Edge or any other insiders are thinking and hearing about Laf and Kakko at this point. We’ve been having this conversation about these kids since day one. They have not looked good except for very rare instances, but we’ve been told that it’s “early” and that the organization itself has no concern whatsoever.

It’s been about a year since I’ve heard from @Edge on this. Is opinion shifting in the room where it matters? Is the new regime similarly unconcerned about another year of underwhelming play and chalking it up to kids needing to grow?

From Edge in this thread back in mid-Dec (page 12)

For what it's worth, the majority of opinions I've encountered or heard of second-hand around the league don't express much concern or confusion. The general feeling being that usage and the way the Rangers are constructed (which is very unique) significantly impacts some of the plateaus that some fans are expecting to see.

To paraphrase what one scout told me, "if these guys are playing 18 minutes on the first line and getting 3 or 4 minutes on the powerplay every game, no one is focused on the flaws and works in progress. But when you don't have that, suddenly it's a lot easier to focus on what you don't have rather than what you do."