Whoot Whoot
Biased Rangers Fan
Had 2-3 brutal passes again tonight
Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière
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The old worst schtick on the internet was using tu instead of to, too, and two. You are now the belt holder.
Chaels Arms
Formerly Lias Andersson
Few minutes left in the third he's carrying the puck up the ice on a 2v2 and got intimidated by having an NHL defenseman 15 feet in front of him, panicked and made a pass that had zero chance of success.
Pulled up in the neutral zone in OT and tried to hit Schneider who was streaking through the middle of the neutral zone and passed it ten feet behind him. Schneider had to peel back and reset.
Called a diver by none other than our own Joe Micheleti.
But none of these things really happened and he had a great game, will surely live up to all pre draft hype because to say otherwise makes me a bad fan.
Pulled up in the neutral zone in OT and tried to hit Schneider who was streaking through the middle of the neutral zone and passed it ten feet behind him. Schneider had to peel back and reset.
Called a diver by none other than our own Joe Micheleti.
But none of these things really happened and he had a great game, will surely live up to all pre draft hype because to say otherwise makes me a bad fan.
Savant
Registered User
- Oct 3, 2013
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Whoot Whoot
Biased Rangers Fan
Get the impression that even Joe M is sick of him
kids running on e in confidence at the moment, tough thing to fix midseason.
going to be interesting with it looking like kreider facing some time off, looking like laf gonna get first crack on that top line. hopefully the ice time and need for him to be a bigger part of this thing wakes him up. if not....its not a pretty picture.
also a chance he gets thrown on pp1 - rangers have used him in that spot before on pp2. more likely will and should be kakko getting that look, possibly chytil. either way, he's going to have ice time thrown at him and its sink or swim.
going to be interesting with it looking like kreider facing some time off, looking like laf gonna get first crack on that top line. hopefully the ice time and need for him to be a bigger part of this thing wakes him up. if not....its not a pretty picture.
also a chance he gets thrown on pp1 - rangers have used him in that spot before on pp2. more likely will and should be kakko getting that look, possibly chytil. either way, he's going to have ice time thrown at him and its sink or swim.
LORDE
I am Lorde, YA YA YA
And we could've had Tarasenko and at least one Cup for Hank
but I digress
Kreider will be out... I'd actually give Laf his serious chance... staple him to the left of Zbad and tell him he's on PP1 until Kreider is back...
Let's see how many games we win and how many plays he makes and how many pts he gets...
Let's go! I'm all in.
I'm calling the bluffs
Scratch him until the playoffs start. Send a real message. He did not get it during his recent scratch.
ReddestRum
Sad even when winning
- Dec 19, 2013
- 4,009
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"He looked good tonight..." with never anything to show for it is going to be the story of his career.
jerseyjinx94
I jinx players.
This is so hyperbolic.
You’re not a bad fan for being frustrated or criticizing a player. Who the heck said that?
jerseyjinx94
I jinx players.
After Kreider went down, Gallant slotted guys all over the place but it looked like he put Laf with Trocheck and Kravtsov and Panarin up with Zibby and Kakko. I think thats a mistake, if he sticks with that lineup. Leave the Panarin line for now, let Kravtsov keep growing, he looks better and better every game.
Hopefully Kreider has a stinger and is back soon but if not, let’s give Laf some real run on the top line and see if he can find his game.
Kakko should be on PP1 if Kreider is out and Trocheck in the net front role. Move Panarin to bumper
Hopefully Kreider has a stinger and is back soon but if not, let’s give Laf some real run on the top line and see if he can find his game.
Kakko should be on PP1 if Kreider is out and Trocheck in the net front role. Move Panarin to bumper
Synergy27
F-A-C-G-C-E
I’m conflicted about what’s becoming ghe trademark Lafreniere smirk. The kid seems awfully unconcerned about what’s happening out there. I might be reading too much into a facial expression but the fact that he doesn’t seem frustrated through all of this might be a good thing, but it’s probably a bad thing.
TopShelfSnipes
Ella Shelton > Ryan Lindgren + it's not even close
Fine with me. I'm generally labeled in the supporter camp because I want to see what he can do and don't think the coaching staff has handled him like a top prospect 1OA who was considered NHL ready from jump.
This would be music to my ears. One of 3 things will happen:
1-He'll step up and show flashes, and make progress in his development
2-He'll suck ass, get pissed, and either work harder to get better, or especially next offseason work harder to get stronger, and we'll see marked improvement by November.
3-He'll suck ass, not particularly care, and generally finish the season like the early part of this season, not come back in great shape next year, and then we'll know and can start planning for him not to be a key cog in the future.
Either way, it beats slow playing him.
LORDE
I am Lorde, YA YA YA
JHS
Registered User
- Oct 11, 2013
- 1,690
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I was at tonight’s game. Guys- it’s not good. Was sitting on the bridge and could see the entire game from above. Laf really has so many issues right now. He’s incredibly slow- like noticeably slower than most skaters out there. Second, I’m not sure what he’s doing but his away from the puck play is horrendous. He floats around the ice without any purpose. And worse than that- part of why he’s so ineffective is he often not in position to receive a pass and he’s rarely getting the puck because he’s not even a viable option most of the time because he’s even with the puck or so stationary that there are always better options to pass to.
I’m stunned by how ineffective he looks in person. Even in a game with only 10 forwards he really just took shift after shift off and simply rarely has the puck.
If he’s not going to work to get open, skate with a purpose and be somewhat involved in the transition offense I’m not convinced he’s going to be an impactful player for the Rangers anytime soon.
I’m stunned by how ineffective he looks in person. Even in a game with only 10 forwards he really just took shift after shift off and simply rarely has the puck.
If he’s not going to work to get open, skate with a purpose and be somewhat involved in the transition offense I’m not convinced he’s going to be an impactful player for the Rangers anytime soon.
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I can't tell you the number of times I have seen Laf this season have 2, 3, 4, or even 5 strides on a player when he gets the puck at our own blue line, only for the back-checking player to catch up to him before he even reaches the blue line. It's frightening how slow he is out there for a player in his D+3 season.
After Kreider left the game (injury happened on the next shift after a Laf-Chytil-Vesey shift) Laf played 3 shifts with Zib and KK, then OT with Trochek and Schneider
ReddestRum
Sad even when winning
- Dec 19, 2013
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I remember people on this board giving Miller so much shit his first few years here. Didn't so much as get a whiff of leniency in his play as Laf does (and still), and with both of them playing just about the same amount of games, Miller looks three times the offensive player than Laf as a D-man. It's sickening. No one ever said it was the organization's fault that Miller, as a kid D-man, was struggling. It was all him. He worked hard on his game and it now shows. Yet the Laf coddling continues even after his low IQ game tonight. And now you guys are frothing at the mouth for him to replace Kreider on his line and PP1. f*** that. No gimmies for this guy at all.
Like most, I want him to succeed and grow into at least a strong 2nd liner, borderline 1st liner. I am starting to worry. Not panic. Worry. At least with KK's struggles, you saw puck possession and strong defense when his scoring game was lacking. Laf, I figured he'd at least be a physical presence each game, scoresheet or not. He is young, and there is time, but for a 1OA to be this far behind the curve, 3rd line minutes or not, has my attention.
TopShelfSnipes
Ella Shelton > Ryan Lindgren + it's not even close
Assuming the same people defending giving Laf an opportunity are the same as the people who were naysaying Miller is a ridiculous assumption because there's nothing that says there's any overlap between these two groups.
Most fans saw the potential with Miller and were decidedly NOT "giving him shit" and also recognized that it often takes defensemen longer to come into their own than it does forwards.
What I DON'T understand is the desire to slow play Laf and think he's going to turn elite that way. Or the constant desire of some posters in this thread to just habitually shit talk him as if there's no solution other than burying him in the depth chart, but keeping him, because they're scared he turns into Marc Savard after a trade.
The reality is, like any kid, he needs to be used in all situations to see if he has true potential in him, and to be given opportunities to hone his offense instead of being pigeon holed as another ho-hum "two way forward." There's literally no point to that.
If Kreider's out for any length of time, and you give him increased responsibility and communicate that to him, and he shows potential, stick with him.
If he sucks, see if it lights a fire under his ass and he works hard/gets better. Probably will take up to a year to evaluate.
If he sucks and it doesn't light a fire under his ass, that will be readily apparent in a year and the team can move on from him.
Sheltering him and encouraging him to play like a third line grinder does nothing for anyone. If he's a bust, wouldn't you rather know now when he has value, vs. 3 years from now when he's still putting up 35-40 points a season???
Would Miller be the player he's becoming if he was stapled to the third pairing in Ben Harpur/Libor Hajek usage?
Miller and Laf started at the same time so I don't know what first few years means. And he was a revelation from the get go. If he got criticism it was from racists.
Idlerlee
Registered User
- Apr 19, 2013
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I think having some perspective could be helpful. There are about 1.5 million registered hockey players in the world. Presumably the best talent is gathered in the NHL. The NHL houses some 900 players and the absolute best sport facilities available to the game. Out of those numbers, 42 NHL players with more than 20 games this season sit at 1 PPG or higher. If you want to extrapolate for increased scoring you can just move that number over to 1.2 to get into that "handful of players only" echelon.
So out of the entire pool of players and athletes across the professional leagues, amateurs and pros alike, only 42 players in the game have managed to sit at 1 PPG. Scoring was relatively identical in the 90s to what it is today, before it had a big dropoff around the turn of the millenia.
I still think being a PPG player is insanely impressive, especially considering that on average, a NHL team will only have 1 or 2 players that reach that metric over a full season. The sum of all game knowledge, development, money and resources that get piled into the teams over the season, a decade of backyard practice, being driven to and from hockey practice, becoming a professional athlete and giving up parties and a normal life to pursue your dreams, disappointment and failures along the way until you finally make your debut in front of thundering applause. A team full of the best talent the game has to offer doing their absolute best to get the puck in the net facing a team of equally hard working opponents with a skill level that could match your own.
All of that, and still fewer % than you have fingers on your hand will be able to average one point per game. Its still impressive.
Amazing Kreiderman
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- Apr 11, 2011
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Trading a bunch of spare parts and prospects for a guy who would go on to win the Selke and Conn Smythe
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