laf has elite hands and hockey iq, he just hasn't put it all together at this level yet. you see signs of it all the time with him though, and prior to the nhl it was dominant with it. he's had the couple highlight reel goals but there's also been a lot of examples of him carrying the puck walking guys and quick moves in tight areas down low.
a lot of what he does best gets overlooked because it hasn't directly led to points yet, but he's a top 2 passer on the team, and personally i think he's got the best awareness. he probably got robbed of at least 15 points last year with setup passes to someone....usually chytil...who invented a way to not score. it's there though....he's fantastic at reading the play and using deception to create lanes that results in far less turnovers than a guy like panarin. also watch him receive passes...no matter how hard, off target, or handcuffed he almost always controls pucks, and quickly where he's ready to make the next play. he hasn't built up his confidence at the nhl level yet obviously, and he's still got to add some explosiveness to really break out, but the skills are there for him to do so. a lot of people overlook them because the results they want aren't there, but he's not far from being really good. he also needs to get his shot back, he has a nasty shot but needs to work on getting it off faster and again, confidence.
mackinnon should be an example for him, not comparing them, but mackinnon's true breakout came after he fully committed to his diet and off ice/offseason work which included leaning out a lot. laf would help himself a lot leaning out and putting in more offseason work in general. huberdeau is probably a closer comparison, esp w/ timeline, for the player he can be. laf is more suited physically and mentally for playoff hockey though. giving up on him would be insane....look at when mika began to play to his potential, or a guy like tage thompson. it doesn't always happen right away.
