F Alexis Lafreniere (2020, 1st, NYR) part 4

[Rangerfan4life90]

He will be fine. However will be a teir below McDavid/Eichel/Matthews I include Eichel even though he was a 2nd overall because I feel he would be first during most drafts.

But who knows, he could turn a switch next year and go god mode.

He was projected to be around an Auston Matthews tier (albeit, maybe slightly less).

 

[TopChedder]

He was projected to be around an Auston Matthews tier (albeit, maybe slightly less).

He could but I still wouldn't bet on it fully.

If he does become even better than projected he would only be bested by McDavid and that would be a damn good player lol

 

[blindpass]

He was projected to be around an Auston Matthews tier (albeit, maybe slightly less).

No, he really wasn't. I'm sure you can find someone who said it, but you won't find many credible scouts that said that and it wasn't the consensus.

 

[TopChedder]

No, he really wasn't. I'm sure you can find someone who said it, but you won't find many credible scouts that said that and it wasn't the consensus.

Agreed.

Apparently he was projected to be Matthew's level or just below but not quite McDavid/Eichel level.

I literally don't remember reading that.

The above poster said.

 

[Peasy]

I don't recall any major scouting person/organization say laf was in the Matthews/eichel tier of prospect. I really don't know where this notion has come from. He and Hughes were always compared to one another. And Hughes was never considered Matthews tier either.

 

[Speyer]

I don't recall any major scouting person/organization say laf was in the Matthews/eichel tier of prospect. I really don't know where this notion has come from. He and Hughes were always compared to one another. And Hughes was never considered Matthews tier either.

I think his hype was bigger before his draft season. Especially in his draft -1 season there was talk about him being in the Matthews/Eichel tier even though such narratives are sometimes created more through media or social media than through actual scouting opinions. Then while he still improved his stats and play in his draft season his development curve didn't seem to go as steep as before. Maybe the lack of Playoffs last year contributed to that as well though.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

He was projected to be around an Auston Matthews tier (albeit, maybe slightly less).

And people in this thread told me nobody thought he was on Matthews tier....

Clearly people did and still do think somehow he's a Matthews tier prospect. I distinctly remember a thread where I had a bunch of fans of varying backgrounds that were in the lottery (Sens, Wings, even Habs) calling me an idiot for thinking he was a Hall level prospect compared to a Matthews one, and that Laf's CHL accomplishments made up for the fact that he hadn't played against men.

 

[Hfbsux]

And people in this thread told me nobody thought he was on Matthews tier....

Clearly people did and still do think somehow he's a Matthews tier prospect. I distinctly remember a thread where I had a bunch of fans of varying backgrounds that were in the lottery (Sens, Wings, even Habs) calling me an idiot for thinking he was a Hall level prospect compared to a Matthews one, and that Laf's CHL accomplishments made up for the fact that he hadn't played against men.

Nobody knows on what level he will be.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Nobody knows on what level he will be.

He certainly won't be anywhere close to Matthews tier, unless you can present evidence otherwise.

He doesn't have near the IQ, puck skill, and lacks any of the special traits Matthews does.

 

[Hfbsux]

He certainly won't be anywhere close to Matthews tier, unless you can present evidence .

You want me to present you evidence on how he won’t be as good as Matthews in the future?

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

You want me to present you evidence on how he won’t be as good as Matthews in the future?

What makes you think he will?

 

[ponder]

It’s easy to go through the main HFBoards Laf threads (especially threads 2 and 3 on the prospect board), and see what people thought of him. I’d say most didn’t have him as a Matthews tier prospect, but some did.

Personally, I had him a tier below Matthews: F Alexis Lafreniere (2020, 1st, NYR) part 3

Had him on the same tier as guys who, on draft day, looked like good 1st overall picks, but not outstanding ones - Stamkos, Hall, MacKinnon. I’m a bit down on him since then, but only a bit, I still think he’s going to be a star winger with a very well rounded game. I can certainly see him having a Hall-or-better level career.

I’ll also remind people that Stamkos got off to a very similar start:

• 0 points, -3 in his first 7 games
• 4 points, -8 in his first 17 games
• 14 points, -11 in his first 41 games

Then Stammer got more and more comfortable/adjusted, and started killing it. Finished the season with 32 points in his final 38 games, and in his 2nd year put up 51 goals, 95 points.

Laf is off to a poor start, but I wouldn’t read too much into that re: his career potential.

 

[Hfbsux]

What makes you think he will?

If he does, it will be because of a combo of size, grit, physicality, skills, competitiveness and IQ which he has shown so far. I never said he was gonna be btw. The point I’m trying to make is, it’s too early to talk in absolute.

 

[peconcan]

Send him and Kakko both down to light it up together and gain confidence and tank for another top 3 pick

 

[Hisch13r]

Send him and Kakko both down to light it up together and gain confidence and tank for another top 3 pick

Laf is NHL or QMJHL. He needs to stay up. The confidence thing is also so overblown. They’ll be fine

 

[APVJ]

Still just a single point. Yikes!

 

[DrSense]

Keep in mind that the Rangers are a bit of a hot mess right now trying to figure out their lines and how to score in general. Lafrenierre has the same number of goals after 14 games as Zibanejad does, and Z-bad has had loads more ice time, in particular Powerplay. A reminder that Z-bad scored 40 goals last year.

If you're playing on the 3rd or 4th line of a team struggling to score in general, your stats will be bad. The post on Stamkos' first 40 games, or even Joe Thornton's rookie year are good ones to keep in mind. Be patient here.

Whether he ends up being a 50 point player, or an 80 point player remains to be seen. But people do need to relax on jumping all over his stat line, as Laf will not be a bust.

 

[Legend123]

Still just a single point. Yikes!

I would consider it an anomaly for now.

 

[Legend123]

Send him and Kakko both down to light it up together and gain confidence and tank for another top 3 pick

They don't need to send them down to tank. They already are

 

[sasha barkov]

1 point in 14 games ... heading towards bust territory ... Ouch !

 

[pld459666]

1 point in 14 games ... heading towards bust territory ... Ouch !

Hysterical.

Comedic genius

 

[voxel]

He certainly won't be anywhere close to Matthews tier, unless you can present evidence otherwise.

He doesn't have near the IQ, puck skill, and lacks any of the special traits Matthews does.

And what's so special about Matthews outside his size and shot? He's a big winger with an elite shot but his playmaking/passing are just average for the NHL.

Laf could easily surpass Matthews' career high of 36A.

 

[UnSandvich]

I'm sure it's been said already, but last season Kakko looked kinda awful. This season, especially over the past 6-7 games, he's been the Rangers best forward.

In contrast, even though he's not scored, Lafreniere's looked like at worst a 3rd liner. As a rookie. After not playing an actual game of hockey in about 10 months. I'm disappointed in his season so far, but not particularly concerned. You can see the pieces in place.

 

[Peasy]

And what's so special about Matthews outside his size and shot? He's a big winger with an elite shot but his playmaking/passing are just average for the NHL.

Laf could easily surpass Matthews' career high of 36A.

 

[voxel]

Mea Culpa. I do think he would make for a better winger than C.