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Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière

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mas0764 said:
At this point, their record with Andersson, Chytil, Howden, Kravtsov, Kakko and Lafreniere is an unmitigated disaster.

And someone needs to be fired for it.
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Five of those six were rushed into the league. The one who wasn't rushed is a head case. When it became obvious that they weren't ready for the NHL...they were stuck in the bottom six and often put on a line together so that they could be benched for half the game. We rush offensive players rather than letting them dominate their current level before moving up. Doing that means they don't get the developmental minutes that they need. They don't get the experience on the PP and the PK that they need. They don't get enough reps on things like faceoffs that they need. Etc.

I don't need anyone to by fired for it, but after repeating the pattern five times in as many years now, I'd sure like for SOMEONE in that front office to learn from it.
 
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no one loves seeing laf benched but it needs to be put in perspective...its one game. hes been solid since his promo but not lighting the world on fire...thats a big role. it comes with expectations and gallant is putting them on laf - nothing wrong with that. trust me people are far more hurt about it on here than laf is. its not one mistake n hes yanked, its when hes not engaged and on pucks and moving his feet for long stretches. the bar is being raised for him for a reason
 
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2014nyr said:
no one loves seeing laf benched but it needs to be put in perspective...its one game. hes been solid since his promo but not lighting the world on fire...thats a big role. it comes with expectations and gallant is putting them on laf - nothing wrong with that. trust me people are far more hurt about it on here than laf is. its not one mistake n hes yanked, its when hes not engaged and on pucks and moving his feet for long stretches. the bar is being raised for him for a reason
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It also happened two weeks ago in Minnesota...for Ryan Reaves. And plenty more before that.

I trust that the coach has a feel on how to best motivate each player, but when it isn't getting results year after year across multiple top skilled forward prospects, something is rotten.
 
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Laf and kakko should both benefit from some good playoff experience this year. I think Laf I’m particular has his best 18 games in front of him to finish the season. Playing Laf would give us a better chance to come back in these games, that’s the big thing for me. I really don’t think he’s gotten down on himself after any of these benchings.
 
smoneil said:
Five of those six were rushed into the league. The one who wasn't rushed is a head case. When it became obvious that they weren't ready for the NHL...they were stuck in the bottom six and often put on a line together so that they could be benched for half the game. We rush offensive players rather than letting them dominate their current level before moving up. Doing that means they don't get the developmental minutes that they need. They don't get the experience on the PP and the PK that they need. They don't get enough reps on things like faceoffs that they need. Etc.

I don't need anyone to by fired for it, but after repeating the pattern five times in as many years now, I'd sure like for SOMEONE in that front office to learn from it.
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Laf and Kakko were both seen as NHL ready during their draft year. It's very rare that you get a top 2 pick like Byfield, not play in the NHL. Byfield was seen as a project, Laf and Kakko were seen as a NHL ready. Your post is compelling but is missing this context. Maybe Covid through everything out of whack, but besides that they weren't rushed into the NHL.
 
SnowblindNYR said:
I will call bullshit on @EdJovanovski though and call him out. Seems to be rooting for Lafreniere to fail so that he can tell us he told us so that his guy is better.
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This is so random I haven’t even posted in the past several pages 😂 I definitely don’t want him to fail, do you see me posting things nearly as negative about Laf that people post about Kravtsov? Some call Kravtsov a POS, baby, saying they hope he rots his entire career in Russia and never amounts to anything. People express legit hatred of the kid, I never take it that far. Maybe with Georgiev LOL, but not Laf.
 
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EdJovanovski said:
This is so random I haven’t even posted in the past several pages 😂 I definitely don’t want him to fail, do you see me posting things nearly as negative about Laf that people post about Kravtsov? Some call Kravtsov a POS, baby, saying they hope he rots his entire career in Russia and never amounts to anything. People express legit hatred of the kid, I never take it that far. Maybe with Georgiev LOL, but not Laf.
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You're liking posts hating on the kid, same thing. Also, I don't agree with the Kravtsov hate and hope he has a good career with the Rangers but he quit on the team. Laf hasn't lived up to expectations but it's not a character thing.
 
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HatTrick Swayze said:
It also happened two weeks ago in Minnesota...for Ryan Reaves. And plenty more before that.

I trust that the coach has a feel on how to best motivate each player, but when it isn't getting results year after year across multiple top skilled forward prospects, something is rotten.
Click to expand...

ive always had the opinion if its there itll come. im very much of the mind any perceived organizational issues w forwards are more drafting/circumstantial or coincidental than any internal issues. were not used to nice things and are quick to panic. i see laf still needing more physical development he has to commit to than coaching. coaches can for sure impact confidence but i dont see laf getting a short leash...its not one mistake and done. and he goes back next game. his confidence will really take off if he gets to a point physically he can control play on the puck the way he did in juniors. that means his legs need to get stronger - his skating has improved but he needs more power to play on the puck more. big summer for him tho will likely take a few years
 
SnowblindNYR said:
Laf and Kakko were both seen as NHL ready during their draft year. It's very rare that you get a top 2 pick like Byfield, not play in the NHL. Byfield was seen as a project, Laf and Kakko were seen as a NHL ready. Your post is compelling but is missing this context. Maybe Covid through everything out of whack, but besides that they weren't rushed into the NHL.
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How they were seen and how they played are two very different things. Being "not NHL ready" means being a danger to yourself and others. None of the kids mentioned were really in that category (maybe Lias). If they were brought into a bottom barrel team that had nobody else, and played them top line minutes, on both special teams, etc, then they would have developed. But this team had a top six that was always going to keep the kids locked out. They were "NHL ready" but not good enough to supplant the top six that we had. So instead of getting those minutes and those reps, they got garbage time and had their confidence shot. These are kids who went from dominating to being buried in the third period because they were a detriment to their team. Overnight, as 18/19 year olds. The front office bought into the idea that all top picks need to play in the NHL right away. Give them their 9 games, sure, but 9 games would have been MORE than enough to tell the story on all of those young forwards. If they aren't going to get the time, send them to where they WILL get those reps, and send them to a team where they won't have their confidence destroyed.

They were 100% rushed. People always wonder why the D we have do well and the forwards don't. The D almost never get rushed. The high end forwards almost always do.
 
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SnowblindNYR said:
Laf and Kakko were both seen as NHL ready during their draft year. It's very rare that you get a top 2 pick like Byfield, not play in the NHL. Byfield was seen as a project, Laf and Kakko were seen as a NHL ready. Your post is compelling but is missing this context. Maybe Covid through everything out of whack, but besides that they weren't rushed into the NHL.
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Actually they were rushed to the NHL. Just because they were "seen as NHL ready" doesn't mean they were. Those are two different things. One is a perception and the other is a reality. They were not ready. End of story. The perception is irrelevant. Because those people who thought that were obviously wrong. And it's not just in hindsight. There were people who wanted them to take their time developing. The hype surrounding both prior to their respective drafts was ridiculous. Neither were "sure things", neither were "generational talents" or "generational prospects" or whatever other gibberish and hype people fallaciously associated with them. That's on the pundits, the fans, the scouts, the journos and whomever else. People who, in general, don't actually care about the future of these kids, they just care if they can get it right, or fantasize about what could be, or hope they get that one in 1,000 player that can hit the ice first thing as a superstar.

There were some very real concerns about both that were wholly ignored because of all the hype. It drowned out the reality of their condition. Same thing has happened to a ton of other prospects throughout the years. And they just get discarded eventually, forgotten, careers ruined because of premature excitement and expectations. Largely because it's a media-centric paradigm of instant gratification. Hype gets hits, hype makes money, hype draws fans in, hype does a bunch of things that benefit pretty much everyone except the 18 year old kid in question. That's the "context", make no mistake about it. People can tell themselves whatever they want. But the clear and obvious answer is, neither was ready. So the question becomes, why did everyone think they were? And why did everyone push them and pressure them to succeed so young, when they weren't actually ready? Byfield was "seen" as a project and thus treated as a project. Which means it's not about where the player actually is in his development, it's not about what the kid could actually handle, it's not about his actual ability or flaws or any of the stuff that actually matters. It's about "perception", it's about "narrative", it's about "money". And so often, that money corrupts situations and throws kids who aren't ready into deep water before they can actually swim.

That's the reality of the situation. Not the delusion that created the situation.
 
They weren’t rushed. There hasn’t been a single #1 overall forward who didn’t play in the first year possible for 30 years and the one was Lindros who was holding out for a trade. #2 has been like 75% play over the last 20 years. They were treated just like most of their peers but once again we’re going to act like they should have been handled different and everyone is different
 
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Rangers in 7 said:
You’re right, laf will never get better

It’s just a fluke that Hughes went from like .4 points a game to now averaging over a point

That definitely can not happen to laf
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Hughes is playing at a 93 pt pace. What has Laf shown to bet on him being that good? Hope I'm wrong.

Hughes has elite skating btw that Laf doesn't.
 
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