Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière

[Filthy Dangles]

Because he has no separation speed and he's constantly being cut off by defenders skating into the offensive zone. He's often late to pucks in the corners, effectively ending a possession. He can definitely get quicker. Kakko did.

And how many players do? A lot that do aren'teven star players (Kreider) and there's plenty of star players who can't striaght up beat people with skating ability.

Kakko might have gotten stronger and definitely mroe confident, I don't think he got faster or really a better skater. He's still not fast or a great puck carrier but he can dance in the offensive zone, off the cycle. He has good edges and puck protection skills.

Lafreniere shows glimpses of being able to carry the puck, sometimes he shows that 'linear crossover' skating with the puck through the neutral zone, but then he'll panic or make a dumb play in the offensive zone like a drop pass that accomplished nothing.

With him it's more confidence and just not reading and reacting at nhl speed right now than it is hindering by skating.

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

I don't see a lack of skating ability hindering Lafreniere and it's never gonne be a big asset for him.

I'm not sure why the skating narraitve is so common or what improvements people expect. You can refine or improve minor things, but you don't transform average skaters into great ones.

he will never kreider skating speed but then again that was never expected of him. he still has to work on it though to at least be decent at it.

he might have to work on reacting better at receiving passes. if this was street basketball and he was on a 2 on 1 he would get nailed in the back of the head or the side of his face from a crisp pass.

also he also has to learn when to time his cheats.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

And how many players do? A lot that do aren'teven star players (Kreider) and there's plenty of star players who can't striaght up beat people with skating ability.

Kakko might have gotten stronger and definitely mroe confident, I don't think he got faster or really a better skater. He's still not fast or a great puck carrier but he can dance in the offensive zone, off the cycle. He has good edges and puck protection skills.

Lafreniere shows glimpses of being able to carry the puck, sometimes he shows that 'linear crossover' skating with the puck through the neutral zone, but then he'll panic or make a dumb play in the offensive zone like a drop pass that accomplished nothing.

With him it's more confidence and just not reading and reacting at nhl speed right now than it is hindering by skating.

Maybe if he were a step or two quicker he'd have more confidence.

 

[bhamill]

I’ve seen this before and don’t agree with it. Kakko didn’t really get faster, he got more assertive /decisive with his movements. He lacks a lot of the hesitation he had. He’s willing to risk being out of position to cut off a puck carrier.

Laf is faster than Kakko. He just doesn’t have the same edges that Kakko does.
Laf does need to get a little more explosive and not be able to be caught on a 1-0

Exactly. It's uncertainty/hesitation that makes him look slow at times. That'll fade with a rise in confidence.

 

[Profet]

Kravtsov is a beautiful skater. I openly wept the first time I saw him on the Garden ice. Couldn't even make out the name or number it was so blurry. All I saw was a halo of light shining upon him as he effortlessly glided up and down the ice.

Heart rate checks out.

 

[mas0764]

What the f*** was this....

Confidence is completely drained and he wouldn't pull the trigger.

 

[Shesty31]

My observations:

-Dude needs to hit the weight room or something. It’s real easy to outmuscle him.
-You see some glimpses of a guy that has some tools that could be molded into something special. But you rarely see those glimpses and it will take a lot of work to put that together.
-As some others have said, his skating needs work.
-His shot is hit best asset IMO. Wish he would use it more.
-The ship has sailed for him being “generational” if some considered him that. First line scorer is his peak IMO and I’m praying he hits it. But right now when I look at the kid line I feel like Chytl and Kakko are a step above him and they mostly carry the line with their ability to posses the puck/board play.


Not trying to be too negative here. Just my observations so far. Hope things change.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

those 17 goals from last season. other than that fancy beauty vs det all of them could have been scored the same exact way by anyone. even hands of stone copp (i still wish he was here) could of done the same shit.

laffy < or = to:
ryan donato 2.0
sonny milano pre-capitals

change my mind

Tend to agree, good middle six guy

 

[LOFIN]

-The ship has sailed for him being “generational” if some considered him that.

I'm pretty damn sure no-one has ever thought of that about Lafreniere. At least not anyone credible, or anyone seriously.

 

[Shesty31]

I'm pretty damn sure no-one has ever thought of that about Lafreniere. At least not anyone credible, or anyone seriously.

There was some serious hype back when he was going into the draft. But ya probably a step below that?

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I don't see a lack of skating ability hindering Lafreniere and it's never gonne be a big asset for him.

I'm not sure why the skating narraitve is so common or what improvements people expect. You can refine or improve minor things, but you don't transform average skaters into great ones.

you also don't need to be a GREAT skater to be a top scorer in this league.

 

[DanielBrassard]

you also don't need to be a GREAT skater to be a top scorer in this league.

you don't have to be, but clearly it's hindering Lafreniere to some degree. I don't think it's skating alone that's caused him to struggle but it's something that is affecting him negatively.

 

[bhamill]

Confidence is completely drained and he wouldn't pull the trigger.

Nah. Lost control of the puck. Regained it at a bad angle held onto it and circled back up and still shot. Confidence issues may have had him gripping the stick a little tight and caused his to lose control though.

 

[CLW]

Nah. Lost control of the puck. Regained it at a bad angle held onto it and circled back up and still shot. Confidence issues may have had him gripping the stick a little tight and caused his to lose control though.

This is the reason the kids need lots of minutes and to play in all situations. They need reps to get past this "oh shit I have a chance what should I do" thought process and get into the flow of the game and their instincts. They need to be in that exact situation again and again and again and again until they don't even think about it just execute what comes naturally to them right there and then. That's what Hughes etc was allowed to do. That's why the kids need more time, it's not about "points" or "winning games" that some people seem to think it is.

 

[bhamill]

This is the reason the kids need lots of minutes and to play in all situations. They need reps to get past this "oh shit I have a chance what should I do" thought process and get into the flow of the game and their instincts. They need to be in that exact situation again and again and again and again until they don't even think about it just execute what comes naturally to them right there and then. That's what Hughes etc was allowed to do. That's why the kids need more time, it's not about "points" or "winning games" that some people seem to think it is.

Agreed.

 

[Mugless]

Great job by Laf on the game-winner last night. We've talked about Laf's skating quite a bit. I've never played one second of ice hockey in my life, just been a fan these many years. Not familiar with the technical aspects of skating and how you improve. Genuinely curious to know what you guys think of Laf's skating in this clip? Rarely do you get this much open ice. Does he just need to get stronger? Are there technique things you can see that he can work on?:

 

[bl02]

Great job by Laf on the game-winner last night. We've talked about Laf's skating quite a bit. I've never played one second of ice hockey in my life, just been a fan these many years. Not familiar with the technical aspects of skating and how you improve. Genuinely curious to know what you guys think of Laf's skating in this clip? Rarely do you get this much open ice. Does he just need to get stronger? Are there technique things you can see that he can work on?:

That was a pretty nice pass on the 2 on 1 with Zibby btw.

 

[LORDE]

I think Valley & Hank touched on it during the post game but it's not JUST his skating... it's his determination & decision making.

Now 3 on 3 it's a little easier to know where the D is & what to do, BUT he did grab that loose puck & turn on the burners immediately.

That forces the D to back up... that creates space for himself & for Zbad & separates them from back-checkers (again easier in a 3-man game).

Once that speed turns on... it's a sure 2-1

But as Valley pointed out he hit their blue line w/speed... in the past he would slow down... which is wrong wrong WRONG

W/speed the D MUST respect that & back in, but in trying to take the pass away, he's then unable to cover Zbad.

Once that pass gets through it's gonna be a prime chance... great save but Laff doesn't just give up on the play. HE stops & heads to the front & is rewarded.,

I've been hard on Laff (in my eyes, rightfully so). I have been BECAUSE this is what I wanted & NEEDED to see from him.

 

[bhamill]

I think Valley & Hank touched on it during the post game but it's not JUST his skating... it's his determination & decision making.

Now 3 on 3 it's a little easier to know where the D is & what to do, BUT he did grab that loose puck & turn on the burners immediately.

That forces the D to back up... that creates space for himself & for Zbad & separates them from back-checkers (again easier in a 3-man game).

Once that speed turns on... it's a sure 2-1

But as Valley pointed out he hit their blue line w/speed... in the past he would slow down... which is wrong wrong WRONG

W/speed the D MUST respect that & back in, but in trying to take the pass away, he's then unable to cover Zbad.

Once that pass gets through it's gonna be a prime chance... great save but Laff doesn't just give up on the play. HE stops & heads to the front & is rewarded.,

I've been hard on Laff (in my eyes, rightfully so). I have been BECAUSE this is what I wanted & NEEDED to see from him.

Good post, bud.
There's a difference between being slow, and not using your speed correctly. He has speed, not blazing, but he isn't slow.
He actually did slow down halfway between the blue line and the circle, but it was the right decision, at that point the D, Zardorev I think, made the decision to take the "shooter," it drew the D in and Laf was still not too deep to make that pass across to Mika. He used his speed correctly there and knew when to come off the pedal where in the past he might have done it a stride or two too early.

 

[Jim Ramsay]

He looked much quicker and more dangerous last night than I can recall in a very long time. Maybe something clicked for him during the time off? Happy he got the OT winner

keep it goin....

 

[LORDE]

Good post, bud.
There's a difference between being slow, and not using your speed correctly. He has speed, not blazing, but he isn't slow.
He actually did slow down halfway between the blue line and the circle, but it was the right decision, at that point the D, Zardorev I think, made the decision to take the "shooter," it drew the D in and Laf was still not too deep to make that pass across to Mika. He used his speed correctly there and knew when to come off the pedal where in the past he might have done it a stride or two too early.

Exactly... once you hit the blue line & the D is at the top of the circles... sure... slow down, do whatever you want, but if you slow BEFORE gaining the zone you're throwing a prime chance away.

He used to do that all the time & I would lose my mind. A lot of NYR do that, so he's not alone sadly.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I like how he took off with speed up the ice with no hesitation and once he found he couldnt drive to the net on a breakaway he pulled the d close (with his skates in the wrong direction) to make that nice feed to Mika.

He also had that one timer off the pass late in the third that almost won the game too. A lot less thinking and a lot more doing in his game, and thats what confidence looks like.

The kid line should be treated like the first line here on out. Start them in the game against the Nucks.

 

[Rangers in 7]

Now that my ban is over this thread has been pretty quiet

Almost like the more ice time he’s been given and the more chances to succeed we are seeing a different player……

I don’t need to mention all of you in here but just know I’m talking about you

 

[ReddestRum]

Now that my ban is over this thread has been pretty quiet

Almost like the more ice time he’s been given and the more chances to succeed we are seeing a different player……

I don’t need to mention all of you in here but just know I’m talking about you

Jesus Christ, you again. He's got less ice time than his numbers when he was getting more several weeks ago, obviously. It's not his ice time, it's the people around him. He's got 6 points since he's put up 0's when riding the top lines. He's playing much better, but he's being propped up by the guys around him that have been absolutely phenomenal the last week or so.

This thread is pretty quiet because I'm sure people don't want to be like the main boards where you say something one night and then you've put your foot in your mouth the next when the narrative goes against what you've been peddling. Pump your breaks a little bit and hold your "I told you so's..." so you can save a little face later while you see how the rest of the season plays out.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I figured he would be around 45-50 points before this season. If he gets hot he still has an outside chance at that.