Most underrated player in the NHL?

[RR44]

I'll continue beating this drum. There are legit people that think Alexis Lafreniere is anywhere from a worse bust than Yakupov to not an NHL player. Meanwhile he's been the third best forward on the Rangers 5 on 5 and arguably overall. And the Rangers are a contender for the Presidents' Trophy. His haters are absolutely clueless. Dude doesn't get great numbers because he doesn't get PP1 time. And yes I'll admit even with PP1 time his stats would likely not be on par with other 1st overalls. But people think he's an all time bust and a terrible player are clueless.

Lafreniere will end up being one of those 1st overall picks who didn't live up to the expectations of being a #1 however will end up reinventing himself and carve out a pretty good career. He can become a dependable two-way forward who gets you 25g and 55-60pts and kill penalties.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Lafreniere will end up being one of those 1st overall picks who didn't live up to the expectations of being a #1 however will end up reinventing himself and carve out a pretty good career. He can become a dependable two-way forward who gets you 25g and 55-60pts and kill penalties.

I agree with everything except for the points. He's already on pace for 50, getting virtually no PP1 time and he just turned 22. I think he can be a 70-80 point player with more experience and PP1 time. That's fine, not every 1st overall is going to be Crosby or McDavid.

 

[leetch99]

Without reading any of the previous answers.....Vincent Trocheck . Rangers would be no where near where they are without that guy . He is one solid prototype NHL player .

 

[McVespa99]

RNH

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Clayton Keller. He is the Coyotes.

 

[Aladyyn]

Feels like one season of horrible on-ice goaltending made everyone forget how good this guy is

 

[HolyHagelin]

I feel like a lot of the best players in Central division never get shine (outside the Avs)

Robert Thomas
Filip Forsberg
Roman Josi
Clayton Keller
Mark Scheifele
Josh Morrissey
Jason Robertson
Miro Heiskanen
Kirill Kaprizov

Every single day, every single one of those gets mentioned as being a beast on these boards.

Carter Verhaeghe
Ryan Lindgren
Matt Roy
Brandon Hagel
Yegor Sharangovich
Dylan Demelo

Lindgren is if anything overrated.

 

[Craig Ludwig]

Lafreniere will end up being one of those 1st overall picks who didn't live up to the expectations of being a #1 however will end up reinventing himself and carve out a pretty good career. He can become a dependable two-way forward who gets you 25g and 55-60pts and kill penalties.

Half the #1 overalls in the last 10 years will be exactly like this, good/great players. Slafkovsky, Power, Dahlin, Hischier, Ekblad, oh and Yakupov. It's not every year where 1st overall is a guaranteed home run.

 

[Goose]

LA's Trevor Moore, 25 goals (leading the team) only 2 on the PP. Seems like he's not talked about much outside LA.

Holy crap I thought he was an up and down to the minors guy, he never seemed to find his groove with Toronto, that’s amazing.

It feels awkward to call a 1st Overall pick underrated.

It does but it’s kind of true after he spent years being crapped on as a bust and a waste of 1OA. Would love to see him get a cup.

 

[Kingfan1967]

Holy crap I thought he was an up and down to the minors guy, he never seemed to find his groove with Toronto, that’s amazing.



It does but it’s kind of true after he spent years being crapped on as a bust and a waste of 1OA. Would love to see him get a cup.

Moore is 2nd/3rd liner, 18 minutes a game, 2nd PP unit player in LA.

 

[Xirik]

Curtis Lazar isn't flashy or really that high skilled but He Puts everything out on the ice and will do anything to help the team win. He May not be a star but he's a player that any team with Stanley Cup Asperations wants on their team.

 

[OTB]

Who are some of the most underrated players in the NHL right now?

I think that currently the most underrated player is Barzal

HOM to Danault (I'll vote for him as long as he plays) and from the Habs, I'd say it's Armia (he was mid at best for years, but seeing Time in the AHL truly kicked him in the ass and plays what is probably his best hockey right now)

Armia underrated is funny

 

[Liga]

Barkov is properly rated. Everyone knows he's a f***ing rock.

Barkov isn't best Finns.

 

[LAKings88]

Kopitar still

 

[Jared Dunn]

LA's Trevor Moore, 25 goals (leading the team) only 2 on the PP. Seems like he's not talked about much outside LA.

I feel like guys have to do it for more than a season under the radar to really be considered underrated. Moore could be having a breakout year or it could be a one off

 

[Bouboumaster]

Armia underrated is funny

Why is it funny?

 

[SensontheRush]

I feel like guys have to do it for more than a season under the radar to really be considered underrated. Moore could be having a breakout year or it could be a one off

?
He's been doing this for three years now.

 

[OTB]

Why is it funny?

Oof, because YOU ask this: Who are some of the most underrated players in the NHL right now?

And you say Joel Armia.. The guy as 16pts** this season. He is completly invisible 9.8 night out of 10. Sorry but saying Armia is underrated is really funny because its a really bad take

 

[majormajor]

I like the Val Nichushkin (elite), Gustav Forsling, and Wyatt Johnston mentions.

I'll throw in Gus Nyquist. He's become a really complete player. Great patience and smarts with the puck. He had shoulder problems at several points earlier in his career and it both hindered his game and led to folks miscasting him as a weak, offense-only player. It's great to see him popping off in Nashville at age 34.

 

[winnipegger]

Kyle Connor is top 10 in goals since he came into the league. I bet you didn't know that!

 

[Jared Dunn]

?
He's been doing this for three years now.

He's been a solid third line forward but he's never broken 20 goals before this year

 

[Blue Shakehead]

Kyle Connor is top 10 in goals since he came into the league. I bet you didn't know that!

Crazy thing is Kyle Connor has been underrated his entire life.

- Not even invited to the US National Development team so he had to goto Youngstown and destroy the USHL from there.
- Snubbed from the US World Junior team. U.S. World Junior roster: Four confusing snubs for USA Hockey
- Dominated college hockey as a freshman and outscored everyone by 25 points, but had the Hobey Baker stolen from him by Jimmy Vesey of all people: How Jimmy Vesey Stole the Hobey

And here he is in the NHL. He's so underrated he can't even win the most underrated player in this thread.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Oof, because YOU ask this: Who are some of the most underrated players in the NHL right now?

And you say Joel Armia.. The guy as 16pts** this season. He is completly invisible 9.8 night out of 10. Sorry but saying Armia is underrated is really funny because its a really bad take

What is a bad take is this post right there man

I said Armia because everyone expected him to be completly ass, and he was for a time, up until St-Louis got tired of that shit and send him to the AHL

Since he came back, he might not put a lot of points (nobody on the Habs have a lot of them other than the first line anyway), but he plays a solid game, solid enough that he's currently on our second line and he's fantastic on the PK

You would know, if you knew anything at all, but it's easier to look at stats, and write bad takes like that

 

[Guadana]

Kucherov is second in PPG after McDavid in McD tenure. 2 stanley cups, most points there, 128 points season. He is the reason why tampa will play in play off this year if they will. And even if they will, McKinnon will win Hart because name, marketing, Makar and Rantanen on the line and a couple of points ahead even if he will have it.

 

[OTB]

What is a bad take is this post right there man

I said Armia because everyone expected him to be completly ass, and he was for a time, up until St-Louis got tired of that shit and send him to the AHL

Since he came back, he might not put a lot of points (nobody on the Habs have a lot of them other than the first line anyway), but he plays a solid game, solid enough that he's currently on our second line and he's fantastic on the PK

You would know, if you knew anything at all, but it's easier to look at stats, and write bad takes like that

Sure! Im a Season ticket holder of the Habs. I go to approx 15-20 games per year. So yeah I just look at stats.. Before making up stuff about what I watch and know about the habs, I'll stick to the facts that he's bad.

You think this guy is underrated when he's making 3.4m and he's not involved in several facets of the game, he's litteraly 558th in the league for Salary/Points but yeah he's underrated.

The only aspect that he's been OK this year is defensively. And that is considering that we are 27th in the league in PK and 26th in GA. It's a team stat that he is fully part of.

The guy is 6'3'' and hes never involved physically, doesnt show up when teamates get crushed. He's a ghost must of the time, he doesnt set the tempo of a game, he's not a momentum changer.

So I imagine that what I see live from the bell center vs what you see sitting in your living room is completely different!