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

[TopChedder]

I bet Laf easily beats “career high 36A Matthews” next season or the season after. Like 40A or more. Heck even Taylor Hall has better playmaking and vision than Matthews.

Wrong again.

You just need to stop lol

I do respect how much you believe in yourself though, even with how ridiculous you sound.

 

[TopChedder]

Haven't read the whole thread but 2 things :

• The poster claiming Matthews is not a elite passer.. wrong. I'm a Habs fan & hate the Leafs but the guy is elite in pretty much every possible category. Obviously, he's a shooter but his passing is above average, borderline elite, not below or average.

• Back to Laf, I'm just happy he hasn't been drafted by us, I can only imagine the pressure he'd get if that happened in MTL. I'm still not worried for him, he'll be a great NHLer

Solid take on both.

I do think Laf may not be as good as the hype, but no way he is anything less than a top line solid player.

 

[TopChedder]

Honestly it's just silly. I'm not a leafs fan by any means, but Auston Matthews is elite in every sense of the word. I cringe every time he's on the ice because it always seems like there is going to be a quality scoring opportunity. Watching the Sens last 3 games against the leafs when that top line is out there it's like a power play for the leafs every time.

Agreed.

I also think that will be Stutzle going forward. He is going to be sooooo good!

Laf will also be fine. He may not reach the hype levels he had coming in, but like I said before he will be a top line solid player.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

I honestly don't understand why Quinn is still coaching in the NHL

 

[Nabrules]

Actually, no, I don't. I'm sure you can find some outlier opinions (children can post here), but nobody who follows prospects thought that.

I saw dozens of people say it all throughout last year. Just cause u didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen

 

[blindpass]

I saw dozens of people say it all throughout last year. Just cause u didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen

Yeah, there will always be someone who has a dumb hot take. Why is it worth mentioning?

The consensus did not think Lafreniere was the best prospect since McDavid. No knowledgeable observer of the sport thought that.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Yeah, there will always be someone who has a dumb hot take. Why is it worth mentioning?

The consensus did not think Lafreniere was the best prospect since McDavid. No knowledgeable observer of the sport thought that.

Wasn't the consensus, but there was certainly a vocal portion of people on HF who thought he was. They used the CHL awards he won along with his WJC performance to justify it.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Wasn't the consensus, but there was certainly a vocal portion of people on HF who thought he was. They used the CHL awards he won along with his WJC performance to justify it.

I remember saying that he would get 60 points his rookie year. I really thought that his game was that mature and translatable. I’m absolutely shocked he didn’t come straight into the league and be a very productive player

 

[ijuka]

I bet Laf easily beats “career high 36A Matthews” next season or the season after. Like 40A or more. Heck even Taylor Hall has better playmaking and vision than Matthews.

It's not a vision issue, Matthews just is a shoot-first player and he definitely should be. If he was focused on passing plays instead of shooting when he gets the opportunity, I'm sure his assists would be higher. But he's interested in being as offensively impactful as possible, not padding his assist numbers.

 

[Samsquanch]

I remember saying that he would get 60 points his rookie year. I really thought that his game was that mature and translatable. I’m absolutely shocked he didn’t come straight into the league and be a very productive player

Same here, I wouldnt have believed it if you gave me his current stat line 2 months ago.

I still take Laf on the Sens over Hughes, Kakko, Kokta, Hischier, Patrick, Dach. Just a gut feeling.

But not ahead of Matthews, Dahlin, Svech, Tkachuk (near priceless value to the Sens), Petterson. And not his fellow draft mate Stuetzle either. The gap between them was always pure speculation due to the leagues they played in - it was like comparing apples to dragon fruit.

My take on his lackluster debut - offensively Laf is a pass first winger with excellent vision, but only average speed and agility. He has good hands, but an average shot compared to the NHLs top shooters. And hes getting fewer touches on the puck and less time to react and make plays than hes ever dealt with before. So his game will have to adapt before he can hit star status.

 

[c_mak]

Lafeniere looked more like a more finished product as a prospect. The fact that he went to the Rangers, who would be able to surround him with good players seemed to trend predictions towards him having a very good start to his NHL career. That coupled with a great WJC performance and a dominant junior final year also helped that narrative. He was the consensus number one.
As a Sens fan I was disappointed with the 3,5 lottery picks because I wanted them to get number 1 and 2 (little greedy but we put up with Melnyk so you gotta dream big).
I am also old enough to have lived through the Daigle debacle and remember vividly the late John Ferguson wanting to draft Kariya. My point here is I lived though and bought into the Daigle hype.
The hype surrounding Lafreniere was also magnified because he was the first product or result of how the whole sale changes quebec minor hockey system made These changes were aimed at producing better players. Lafreniere was/is seen to be the culmination of those changes.
That is lots of levels of hype for a player that is not doing so well.
I think he will just need more time than originally predicted. He will be good, but I see more Johnathon Drouin or Johnathon Huberdeau in his game which is good but not great

 

[Arthur Morgan]

It's not a vision issue, Matthews just is a shoot-first player and he definitely should be. If he was focused on passing plays instead of shooting when he gets the opportunity, I'm sure his assists would be higher. But he's interested in being as offensively impactful as possible, not padding his assist numbers.

Matthews will shoot or pass depending on the situation. he has awesome playmaking skills too. wouldnt say hes a shooting first type of guy anymore. he's fairly well rounded now.

EDIT** Sorry forgot for a sec I was in a Lafreniere thread, Laf will be fine. hes not off to the start people thought he was going to have.
I think we got spoiled with players coming right out of the gate for a while being good NHLers and its easy to forgot these are just kids. the more we expect out of them the more pressure is on them.
Not really fair for a kid stepping into the NHL for the first time. Laf will have a great career.
Hell even Joe Thornton only had like 5 points in his first season. no reason to worry.

 

[Anthony5967]

I honestly don't understand why Quinn is still coaching in the NHL

Gorton starting to worry me. They eyed Jack Johnson, the worst d-man in hockey, and thought he would help an already weak defense that bled chances.

 

[2014nyr]

Yeah, there will always be someone who has a dumb hot take. Why is it worth mentioning?

The consensus did not think Lafreniere was the best prospect since McDavid. No knowledgeable observer of the sport thought that.

it seemed like the consensus was he was in that tier down from mcdavid - matthews/eichel/mackinnon etc, somewhere in there. i don't really care where people want to put him, it'll play out, but that was the tier people had him in.

the rush to judgement on him is kinda absurd at this point ..i mean he hadn't played a game since march. who knows what training access he had btw season end and ny arrival. got a makeshift 2 week camp. no preseason. thats a lot to be shortchanged of leading to your nhl debut. a guy like matthews had all of the above in full, played a year of pro, and the world cup leading into his rookie year. the one thing i think could have helped laf, and who knows looking back..but it did feel like his last q year wasn't that much different than the year prior - he was just bored. you could see at the wj's how dominant he was. but the q was a joke to him...and thinking back, being an early b-day - wonder if it would have been better for him to follow matthews lead and go overseas to challenge himself with a higher level of play and maybe keep him more engaged. not that i consider it a major impact on his production, but there are definitely times you'll see flashes of what look like bad habits...a puck will go the other way and he takes a turn like a cargo ship and an unimpressive stride or 2 before you sort of see him realize where he is and pick it up. and if you've watched the rangers, you'd know he realistically should have at least another 2-3 goals and 3-5 assists but thats been the case for a lot of the team to date. point is he has outplayed his stats for sure. its also fair to say he isn't as ready as most expected, and when you look at the bigger picture i don't think its that hard to see likelier reasons than he's a bust as explanations. right now he's not dynamic enough to be the engine of a line and thats been an issue, because no one on the rangers is. but i'd be very confident if the rangers had say a nick backstrom...or any top tier center who would lug the mail and handle a lot of possession to let him find lanes or shots in the slot, people have a very different perception of him right now. i mean you can allow for maybe he's not anything special, but i think all available pre nhl evidence says otherwise, and when you look at the big picture of his situation, he's had a lot going against him. he definitely has some physical developing to do and habits to clean up, but the ability is not in question. personally, i'd like to see him go the mackinnon route and kinda lean out...he doesn't look out of shape by any means, but he doesn't look like most young nhl'ers either...the habits i think will work themselves out - when he finds some success he'll grow more engaged and confident. while he's worn it really well i do think the lack of production is starting to weigh on him and impact his intensity.

 

[nbwingsfan]

I saw dozens of people say it all throughout last year. Just cause u didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen

Ive seen dozens of Leaf fans state Matthews>McDavid over the years too. It's best to look at the consensus for a real opinion rather than paying attention to the lunatics.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I saw dozens of people say it all throughout last year. Just cause u didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen

People watch & write about hockey everywhere.

This site is not some kind of ultimate evidence, in contrast to what many people here think.

What happens here after every WJC is actually the proof that we should not take it too seriously.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Rarely seen, standing there all alone in front of the net for several seconds.

What a defense by Washington.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Great hands in tight.........but man oh man did Carlson look like a dog there.

Edit: Or maybe Sheary, or both.

 

[bigdog16]

I honestly don't understand why Quinn is still coaching in the NHL

Coaching is such an overrated aspect of this league. “This guy should be playing with Player X, and not Player Y” you hear it all the time, people always complain about linemates no matter who plays with who. At the end of the day its the players that need to put up or shut up

 

[AB13]

Coaching is such an overrated aspect of this league. “This guy should be playing with Player X, and not Player Y” you hear it all the time, people always complain about linemates no matter who plays with who. At the end of the day its the players that need to put up or shut up

Coaching is mostly about system and style, less about linemates. A coaches system can affect a players scoring with around 20 points in some cases, I am convinced. In negative systems that encourage dump and chase, risk minimizing hockey, even high end offensive talents will look bad.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Coaching is such an overrated aspect of this league. “This guy should be playing with Player X, and not Player Y” you hear it all the time, people always complain about linemates no matter who plays with who. At the end of the day its the players that need to put up or shut up

After seeing almost every Devils player improve this year mostly due to coaching/ the system suiting their skills over John Hynes's nonsense I think if anything it's underrated. Rangers will fire Quinn and suddenly become a much better team I'm guessing.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Coaching is such an overrated aspect of this league.

Ahahahah. Sorry but that's so off...

Oh and Lafrenière, 2/2 game winning goals?

 

[Mitts]

That was a goal scorers goal by Laf there, very nice.

 

[Wizards27]

He will be fine and a great player. The circumstances entering this season were unique and tough for anyone let alone a 19 year old kid playing in the NHL for the first time. He will improve with experience. Look at Thornton and Stamkos and many other teenagers playing in the league. Not everyone is going to light it up right away. A slow start does not mean anything to what a players ceiling is.