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Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière

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Look at THIS mofo...

...and then look at the castrated, forced to defer, brow beaten, benched, stripped of all confidence version the Rangers organization made of him.

You know, I think Canadiens fans were on to something when they said we didn't deserve the pick. Rangers didn't. This kid would be an absolute stud anywhere else.
 
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GENESISPuck94 said:


Look at THIS mofo...

...and then look at the castrated, forced to defer, brow beaten, benched, stripped of all confidence version the Rangers organization made of him.

You know, I think Canadiens fans were on to something when they said we didn't deserve the pick. Rangers didn't. This kid would be an absolute stud anywhere else.
Click to expand...


www.thesportster.com

Top 20 Great Junior Players Who Failed In The NHL

Whether they were first round busts or late-round gambles these guys just couldn't equal their junior success at the senior-most level of competition.
www.thesportster.com www.thesportster.com

I certainly wouldn't call Laf a failure, but I'm sure the full list of stud junior players that were a sack of shit in the NHL is bigger than this list. Laf is absolutely an NHL player, but as of now, an average one.

But, I guess junior elite player equals nhl elite player, and their organizations failing them was the reason that they didn't amount to anything.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hope for the best, but expect the worst I guess.
 
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GENESISPuck94 said:


Look at THIS mofo...

...and then look at the castrated, forced to defer, brow beaten, benched, stripped of all confidence version the Rangers organization made of him.

You know, I think Canadiens fans were on to something when they said we didn't deserve the pick. Rangers didn't. This kid would be an absolute stud anywhere else.
Click to expand...


I don’t know where the stickhandling has gone.

We should let him wear #11, or make him switch to #22. #13 is so ugly, it’s bad juju.
 
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Its crazy to watch that video, its like a completely different player. What the hell.

The stickhandling and confidence in beating players one on one has almost disappeared
 
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HockeyBasedNYC said:
Its crazy to watch that video, its like a completely different player. What the hell.

The stickhandling and confidence in beating players one on one has almost disappeared
Click to expand...
It's just way way harder to do that sort of stuff against NHL players. They're so much faster in the NHL and skating is the weakest part of Laf's game. He probably thought he was going to be that player when entering the NHL, and then when he realized none of that worked as well, lost a bit of confidence.

He has that same finishing touch in the video. We've seen it. He can roof a backhand as well as anyone. But the modern NHL is all about creating for yourself with break-neck speed. Look at someone like Jack Hughes. He's smaller and less physical than Laf, but my goodness can that twerp skate.


But I also think there is a mental block here as well. Laf may not be fast in this league, but he's still highly skilled and should play with more authority and less deference to his teammates. I fully think Laf needs a sports psychologist (or a better one if he's already seeing one) to remember that he is "the guy" and should be a leader on this team.

I still think he'll be a fine top 6 player by the time he is like... 23 or so. But a star? Maybe, maybe not.
 
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Forget about his draft position. Give him some time. He will get there.

Look at JT Miller. Came in to the league and struggled a bit. Then he stepped up a level where he leveled off for some years then progressed to yet a new level again. He was probably 26-27 when he started being a PPG and greater guy.
 
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Laf does need to get quicker, faster skating, more agile, and quicker with his decisions. And a lot of that does come from confidence. Probably never have a player as good as Hughes sadly but you can still have a first liner.

We still need 1-2 studs though. I’d tank again.
 
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Before he can become Lafreniere at the pro level he has to be Lafresgue. He will learn the lessons and improve. Development doesn't stop when he comes off the ice. He's smart enough to know to adapt his game. If he can't be a speed demon at this level, then become something else. Here has enough tools in the box.
 
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The Crypto Guy said:
Don't really think it's fair to label the Buch trade as the worst of all time. Blais had a catastrophic injury by a dirtbag player and will likely now never live up to what he could have been, which is a good 3rd line physical player.
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True, but his point production won’t even be 1/4 of buchnevich. It’s definitely up there in the worst trades for us.
 
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The Crypto Guy said:
Don't really think it's fair to label the Buch trade as the worst of all time. Blais had a catastrophic injury by a dirtbag player and will likely now never live up to what he could have been, which is a good 3rd line physical player.
Click to expand...

Was there something in his play/production prior to his injury that made it seem like he was going to be a 3rd line stud? Not to say injuries don't change a person (and ACL tears these days by athletes are hardly catastrophic), but it doesn't look like much changed in production pre/post injury?
 
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Peltz said:
It's just way way harder to do that sort of stuff against NHL players. They're so much faster in the NHL and skating is the weakest part of Laf's game. He probably thought he was going to be that player when entering the NHL, and then when he realized none of that worked as well, lost a bit of confidence.

He has that same finishing touch in the video. We've seen it. He can roof a backhand as well as anyone. But the modern NHL is all about creating for yourself with break-neck speed. Look at someone like Jack Hughes. He's smaller and less physical than Laf, but my goodness can that twerp skate.


But I also think there is a mental block here as well. Laf may not be fast in this league, but he's still highly skilled and should play with more authority and less deference to his teammates. I fully think Laf needs a sports psychologist (or a better one if he's already seeing one) to remember that he is "the guy" and should be a leader on this team.

I still think he'll be a fine top 6 player by the time he is like... 23 or so. But a star? Maybe, maybe not.
Click to expand...
John Tavares is average speed and probably the best comparable for Laf's skating strength. That doesn't stop him from being a PPG player.
 
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bhamill said:
Well, its pretty much foregone that Buch would have been allowed to walk during the summer, unless he suddenly transformed into a 2C. We would have had him instead of Copp et al for our playoff run. Who knows how that would have gone differently. We can all have our opinions on how bad of a trade it was, but everything else is just us pulling scenarios out of our asses. Hahaha.
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The better move if there were no offers on the table that met his value was to sign him to a similar deal he signed in St Louis and trade him during the season or the next offseason, if the team identified him as a necessary cap casualty.

A player signed long term like that would be worth a lot in a trade. Skjei returned a 1st and netted us Schneider.

Blais has yet to score a goal as a Ranger. It is easily one of the 10 most lopsided trades in Rangers history and will only look worse as Buch continues to get better
 
HockeyBasedNYC said:
Its crazy to watch that video, its like a completely different player. What the hell.

The stickhandling and confidence in beating players one on one has almost disappeared
Click to expand...
His biggest issue is a lack of confidence to make plays like that, because if they fail he will be stapled to the bench or demoted. He hasn’t been given any breathing room. We have forced him to come in and play a simple game and he’s fine at it, but he’s not given rope to be creative out there or at least the atmosphere has been created where if he does and he turns it over he may not play. That’s the biggest issue with the kid. Sure he’s not the fastest player either but you don’t need to be fast to dangle
 
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jerseyjinx94 said:
His biggest issue is a lack of confidence to make plays like that, because if they fail he will be stapled to the bench or demoted. He hasn’t been given any breathing room. We have forced him to come in and play a simple game and he’s fine at it, but he’s not given rope to be creative out there or at least the atmosphere has been created where if he does and he turns it over he may not play. That’s the biggest issue with the kid. Sure he’s not the fastest player either but you don’t need to be fast to dangle
Click to expand...

Bingo.
 
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GENESISPuck94 said:


Look at THIS mofo...

...and then look at the castrated, forced to defer, brow beaten, benched, stripped of all confidence version the Rangers organization made of him.

You know, I think Canadiens fans were on to something when they said we didn't deserve the pick. Rangers didn't. This kid would be an absolute stud anywhere else.
Click to expand...

If you watch the video closely, it really seems like Laf is coasting on being physically more mature than his peers. He certainly has good hands in the video, but he doesn't seem overly shifty or quick in his skating. In hindsight this was a real weakness in his game that scouts either missed or ignored, probably because they salivated on him just being much more physically stronger than everyone.

Watch Connor Bedard videos. I can easily point to a host of skills that kid has. He's quick, shifty, got an explosive first step, amazing hands, and an amazing shot. Laf from the the junior video I can only really point out good hands and strength. And his hands seemed to be really good partly because of his ability to use his body and his reach, not because they were overly quick.

When you get to the NHL level, your edge in physical strength gets nullified. And for Laf, what does that leave him with?
 
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Yeah, everyone always says "Laf has so much talent, you can see it!!"

Can you? Have you seen it in the NHL aside from the one highlight reel goal he pulled off last year?

What I see is him being unable to showcase his talent against better competition. What worked in juniors is a turnover in the NHL for him
 
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