F Alexis Lafreniere (2020, 1st, NYR) part 3

[OKR]

How can anyone say that is not a hit to the head is beyond me. Not extremely bad or anything but suspendable absolutely, he saw in what position he was, he had the time to just bodycheck him safely to but decided to try to blow him up with a huge hit and unfortunately caught head first.

The diving i also think didn’t happen, as someone who has had history with head injuries, when you get your bell rung you don’t stand up right away even if it’s not anything serious.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Maybe one day the NHL will be more serious about that kind of contact. With everything we know now about hits to the head (and everything we still don't know), it should already be enforced. Every contact over the neck should be suspension worthy, even if players have their head down.

CHL put more emphasis on it because they are teenagers and for most of them it will be over after their junior career but even you get paid millions, health should be the main focus.

I can’t see a scenario where any head contact is a suspension. What’s to stop a player from always skating with his head down, knowing he’s immune to physical contact then?

 

[93LEAFS]

I can’t see a scenario where any head contact is a suspension. What’s to stop a player from always skating with his head down, knowing he’s immune to physical contact then?

The fear of long-term damage from concussions?

 

[greasysnapper]

I can’t see a scenario where any head contact is a suspension. What’s to stop a player from always skating with his head down, knowing he’s immune to physical contact then?

You get hit in the head buddy? lol.

Maybe the fact no one wants to get conked in the head and wind up with major health problems.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

The fear of long-term damage from concussions?

More like the fear of lawsuits

 

[nbwingsfan]

You get hit in the head buddy? lol.

Maybe the fact no one wants to get conked in the head and wind up with major health problems.

Except in this scenario, players won’t be hitting him knowing they’ll automatically be suspended if they hit him

 

[nbwingsfan]

The fear of long-term damage from concussions?

As already stated, in this scenario no one will be hitting him knowing they’ll have an automatic suspension if they do.

 

[Rock Paper Sissons]

I know lafreniere is going to be a real good nhl player. You ask how do I know?
Simple:
Any Canadian hockey player with a girls name always seeks to do well.

Sidney, Carey and now Alexis.
Lol

 

[aigledefeu]

I know lafreniere is going to be a real good nhl player. You ask how do I know?
Simple:
Any Canadian hockey player with a girls name always seeks to do well.

Sidney, Carey and now Alexis.
Lol

I don’t know where do you live, but in Québec this is defenitly not a girl name and I assume it is not in Russia too.

 

[Tube Skates]

I don’t know where do you live, but in Québec this is defenitly not a girl name and I assume it is not in Russia too.

I don’t know what’s worse him for writing it or you for biting on it

 

[MBH]

I'm still waiting for slow-boat McKeen's to finish its Lafreniere profile (WTF, McKeen's?).

So, what makes Lafreniere head and shoulders above Byfield and the rest.

I'll be honest, I see a guy 10-months older than Byfield. Whose stats aren't really any better despite the Q's reputation as being easiest to score in. And centers seem to be worth more than wingers (and Detroit NEEDS a center).

If Detroit gets #1, describe the reasons Lafreniere is the guy you have to draft.

 

[Balthazar]

I'm still waiting for slow-boat McKeen's to finish its Lafreniere profile (WTF, McKeen's?).

So, what makes Lafreniere head and shoulders above Byfield and the rest.

I'll be honest, I see a guy 10-months older than Byfield. Whose stats aren't really any better despite the Q's reputation as being easiest to score in. And centers seem to be worth more than wingers (and Detroit NEEDS a center).

If Detroit gets #1, describe the reasons Lafreniere is the guy you have to draft.

You're a few years late. OHL has higher scoring now.

As for your question, Lafreniere is the better player to the point that it outweighs position biais and age difference. That's why Detroit (or anyone else) will pick him first if they win the lottery.

 

[Barry Amsterdam]

I'm still waiting for slow-boat McKeen's to finish its Lafreniere profile (WTF, McKeen's?).

So, what makes Lafreniere head and shoulders above Byfield and the rest.

I'll be honest, I see a guy 10-months older than Byfield. Whose stats aren't really any better despite the Q's reputation as being easiest to score in. And centers seem to be worth more than wingers (and Detroit NEEDS a center).

If Detroit gets #1, describe the reasons Lafreniere is the guy you have to draft.

Lafrienere has been dominant everywhere he’s went. If you can’t tell the gap then I dont know what to tell ya

 

[MBH]

You're a few years late. OHL has higher scoring now.

OK, great. But his stats are still comparable. He's 10 months younger. He's bigger. He's a center.
What makes lafreniere the man?
What kind of upside does he have?
What NHLers does he remind you of?

 

[MBH]

Lafrienere has been dominant everywhere he’s went. If you can’t tell the gap then I dont know what to tell ya

Helpful stuff.
LOL.

 

[Balthazar]

OK, great. But his stats are still comparable. He's 10 months younger. He's bigger. He's a center.
What makes lafreniere the man?
What kind of upside does he have?
What NHLers does he remind you of?

Byfield is bigger but Lafreniere is a lot more physical and uses his body more effectively to protect the puck and win board battles. Upside is superstar winger who can drive his line. It's always tricky to compare with other NHLers and I don't like to do it.

 

[Dominance]

Helpful stuff.
LOL.

So you ask a dumb question, get a straight answer, and respond like this?

Lafreniere is dominant in all areas of the game. The performance in league play and tournaments is non-comparable to this point. There is nothing that suggests Byfield is near Lafreniere’s level right now. Clear enough?

If you want to draft the younger, faster centre first overall, I’m sure you’ll get a good player. But Byfield has questions that Lafreniere just doesn’t, and that’s non-arguable.

 

[MBH]

So you ask a dumb question, get a straight answer, and respond like this?

Lafreniere is dominant in all areas of the game. The performance in league play and tournaments is non-comparable to this point. There is nothing that suggests Byfield is near Lafreniere’s level right now. Clear enough?

If you want to draft the younger, faster centre first overall, I’m sure you’ll get a good player. But Byfield has questions that Lafreniere just doesn’t, and that’s non-arguable.

You probably feel superior calling the question dumb.
Hope your superior knowledge of prospects gets you far in life - but I doubt it makes up for your attitude.

The things that suggest Byfield is near Lafreniere: League production. Nearly a year younger.
Those are arguable.
I'm looking for people's thoughts beyond "Lafrenier is better."
If you aren't capable, scroll by.

 

[Hfbsux]

You probably feel superior calling the question dumb.
Hope your superior knowledge of prospects gets you far in life - but I doubt it makes up for your attitude.

The things that suggest Byfield is near Lafreniere: League production. Nearly a year younger.
Those are arguable.
I'm looking for people's thoughts beyond "Lafrenier is better."
If you aren't capable, scroll by.

I thought people here (including Dominance) were right on the money.

 

[cg98]

You probably feel superior calling the question dumb.
Hope your superior knowledge of prospects gets you far in life - but I doubt it makes up for your attitude.

The things that suggest Byfield is near Lafreniere: League production. Nearly a year younger.
Those are arguable.
I'm looking for people's thoughts beyond "Lafrenier is better."
If you aren't capable, scroll by.

People have been telling you why Lafreniere is better than Byfield. You just refuse to accept their answers.

If you aren’t capable, scroll by.

 

[Genghis Keon]

You probably feel superior calling the question dumb.
Hope your superior knowledge of prospects gets you far in life - but I doubt it makes up for your attitude.

The things that suggest Byfield is near Lafreniere: League production. Nearly a year younger.
Those are arguable.
I'm looking for people's thoughts beyond "Lafrenier is better."
If you aren't capable, scroll by.

In terms of production, one thing to keep in mind is shooting percentage.

Lafreniere is putting up 39-24-60-84 with a 12.2% shooting percentage (24 goals on 197 shots, about 5 shots per game), after shooting 17.8% last year (37 goals on 208 shots, about 3.4 shots per game) and 20.5% the year before (42 goals on 205 shots, about 3.4 shots per game). He's shooting more, but the stats suggest he hasn't been lucky (he's put up high shooting percentages on high numbers in the past, so he's not inherently a low percentage shooter). In the NHL, he could legitimately put up a 12% or higher shooting percentage year after year.

Byfield is putting up 38-31-41-72 with a 23.1% shooting percentage (31 goals on 134 shots, about 3.5 shots per game), after shooting 15.9% last year (29 goals on 182 shots, about 2.8 shots per game). He's shooting more this year at a considerably higher clip (and a really high clip in general), which suggests some luck has been involved. There's no way he would shoot anywhere near 23.1% in the NHL year after year.

Rossi is similar to Byfield. He's putting up 39-29-56-85 with a 21.8% shooting percentage (29 goals on 133 shots, about 3.4 shots per game), after shooting 17.6% last year (29 goals on 165 shots, about 3.1 shots per game). Like Byfield, there's no way he would shoot anywhere near 22% in the NHL year after year.

Not saying all their shooting percentages would be equal, but if you normalize each of them at say 15%, here would be their stats for this year:

Laf: 39-30-60-90
Byfield: 38-20-41-61
Rossi: 39-20-56-76

 

[MBH]

People have been telling you why Lafreniere is better than Byfield. You just refuse to accept their answers.

If you aren’t capable, scroll by.

I've seen 2 legit answers and appreciated both.

 

[Just Linda]

You probably feel superior calling the question dumb.
Hope your superior knowledge of prospects gets you far in life - but I doubt it makes up for your attitude.

The things that suggest Byfield is near Lafreniere: League production. Nearly a year younger.
Those are arguable.
I'm looking for people's thoughts beyond "Lafrenier is better."
If you aren't capable, scroll by.

Okay, I'm a Byfield fan. I think Lafreniere isn't as great of a prospect as others on here (above Hishier but far below Matthews for example)

Ignore the numbers.

I took someone to watch both player's games who doesn't follow prospects. He knew the names from WJC and online blogs but didn't know much beyond that. Afterwards we went for coffee with some other guys from the game and started talking about Byfield's size. My friend was convinced Lafreniere was bigger than Byfield by a couple inches. Another comment he made was that Lafreniere should take an age test to prove he's not 22, he believed that Byfield was 17.

Lafreniere has his lumps but (unlike Kakko and Hughes) he plays like a player who's ready to play the pro game. I've seen Lafreniere outstrength 21 year olds on the ice. Byfield though is still soft at times. Byfield is not NHL ready, not even close. Lafreniere is a safe bet at the next level.

 

[newfy]

OK, great. But his stats are still comparable. He's 10 months younger. He's bigger. He's a center.
What makes lafreniere the man?
What kind of upside does he have?
What NHLers does he remind you of?

10 months younger is pretty irrelevant at the top of the draft. The older guys actually usually end up better in the NHL at the high end of the draft. Lafreniere is the man because he does literally everything at a high level. I'm not sure what parts of his game I would consider elite, maybe hockey sense and motor but hes a great all around player in every aspect. Byfield has never really performed at a great level in best on best tourneys.

Byfields WJC was very disappointing whereas Lafreniere was the best player in the tourney as a draft eligible. Their Hlinkas were night and day different as well. A full season worth of games is more important obviously but Byfield has never really grabbed an international tournament by the balls and said I'm willing the team to victory like Lafreniere has multiple times now. Watch the world juniors again, Byfield had no ability to change his game when moved down the line up. It was a situation where if he wasnt scoring he provided literally nothing, he didnt look engaged at times. This is expected at his age even by a prospect his calibre, but hes being compared to an even better prospect. The Canada vs USA game is a good example of what Lafreniere can do. USA is winning, he goes out an throws two huge hits, helps change momentum and goes on to have a signature game where he scores a highlight reel game winner late. He impacts the game in every way imaginable already. Byfield doesnt do that yet, he might get there but Lafreniere is already there.

He has the potential to be a franchise type winger. A comparison I've seen is a winger version of Lecavalier which I dont hate. He couldbe god enough to win some individual hardware in his career but hes not the type that will win a bunch. But hes also a great leader and will play physical to get the team going/captain material

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Lafreniere plays the game at a high level. He makes excellent decisions quickly, and he does it with intensity. He's a high upside pick with lower than average risk as far as I'm concerned.

If I were to compare Byfield to Lafreniere, his larger frame and skating ability makes him more immediately attractive. I think Button compared Byfield to Malkin, and I suppose upside is hard to cap for certain talent levels so I won't throw that comparison out.

Main difference for me is that Lafreniere keeps growing on me when I watch him play, whereas my best impression of Byfield happened to be the very first one.