The jury is officially in: Alexis Lafreniere is a complete bust

[The Crypto Guy]

Honestly, probably a good comparison which sucks as a Ranger fan

[mod]

They don’t even remotely play the same type of game. Let alone Pouliot never even matching Lafs points totals from when he was 21 year old.

Then again, you are the poster who thought the jury was out and he busted already. Womp.

 

[Iwishihadaspacebar]

It would have been interesting to see how he would have progressed if on a bad team and given all the opportunities of a 1st line winger.

There is a lesson to learn though, don't pick wingers as the 1OA pick.

Slafkovsky, Lafreniere , Yakupov, Hall, Kane, Ovi, Nash

The wingers taken 1OA since 2000. Not a 1st line winger taken 1OA since 2007.

Compare wingers to Cs and it is like chalk and cheese. The only 2 Cs since 2000 who are 2nd line are RNH and Hischier. Even the Ds of Power, Dahlin, Ekblad and Johnson aren't anywhere near as hit or miss as wingers.

 

[King'sPawn]

OK so then enlighten me. Why are you and I currently having this conversation on a thread with the topic of him being a bust. 39 pages in nevertheless? Lol. Seems to me I'm not the only one with this opinion.

He's a bust so far relative to his draft expectations. He can be a serviceable second liner and still carry that torch

Forum threads and posts aren't the best source for determining the quality of a topic. These same boards have 50 save of the year threads every year, and throw out "AINEC" like candy on Halloween - so just because we're discussing an overused term doesn't mean it's applicable.

He's playing in the NHL and he's holding his own. He's not setting the world on fire, so, sure, you can say that's a disappointment for a first overall pick. But I agree that calling him a bust is simply a lazy classification and doesn't apply here.

 

[pekka55]

Has to suck thinking a guy who keeps getting better every year has now magically stopped getting better and wont be better than putting up 1st line ES numbers with no real PP time. Or you’re just trolling very poorly.

Wow, dude might score 50 points this year. For a first overall pick that's a bit underwhelming, but you do you.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I hope you won't disappear, when he goes MIA for the next 6 games.

You must not know my posts well.

I believe in my ability to prove my point and be more convincing than the other side. I don’t need to resort to that.

What about you?

 

[Voight]

It would have been interesting to see how he would have progressed if on a bad team and given all the opportunities of a 1st line winger.

There is a lesson to learn though, don't pick wingers as the 1OA pick.

Slafkovsky, Lafreniere , Yakupov, Hall, Kane, Ovi, Nash

The wingers taken 1OA since 2000. Not a 1st line winger taken 1OA since 2007.

Compare wingers to Cs and it is like chalk and cheese. The only 2 Cs since 2000 who are 2nd line are RNH and Hischier. Even the Ds of Power, Dahlin, Ekblad and Johnson aren't anywhere near as hit or miss as wingers.

Meh, I don't think he would've been that much better. Just doesn't have it.

He was overhyped and dominated juniors (like many before), some feel for the trap and thought he was going to be a star.

 

[Machinehead]

Benoit Pouliot 2.0

Joke's on you, Captain Taco is a local hero.

 

[2014nyr]

Meh, I don't think he would've been that much better. Just doesn't have it.

He was overhyped and dominated juniors (like many before), some feel for the trap and thought he was going to be a star.

pretty pointless convo because people are going to think what they want to think and most people only watch box scores but he very much has it. he just turned 22, but in today's world where people religiously obsess over finding reasons to criticize others, the reality of how young he is goes out the window. instead of people being rational and recognizing just how young that is, having any broader knowledge of where many great players were at his age, applying any context to their expectations, or having any true awareness of the person or the game they play...people just draw wildly uninformed conclusions because it makes them happy to think someone else failed.

the people who know, know. the people who actually watch him play know the numbers should be significantly higher than they are as it is know. the people who actually know all the things that aren't in a box score he adds to the team now and what it says about his future know. the people who have the ability to apply logic and context know.

the rest are just living in an echo chamber seeking affirmation of delusions.

 

[Frank Drebin]

It would have been interesting to see how he would have progressed if on a bad team and given all the opportunities of a 1st line winger.

There is a lesson to learn though, don't pick wingers as the 1OA pick.

Slafkovsky, Lafreniere , Yakupov, Hall, Kane, Ovi, Nash

The wingers taken 1OA since 2000. Not a 1st line winger taken 1OA since 2007.

Compare wingers to Cs and it is like chalk and cheese. The only 2 Cs since 2000 who are 2nd line are RNH and Hischier. Even the Ds of Power, Dahlin, Ekblad and Johnson aren't anywhere near as hit or miss as wingers.

Look at the best center in those drafts though.

2022 - Wright, Cooley
2020 - Byfield, Stutzle
2012 - Galchenyuk, Grigorenko
2010 - Seguin, Johansen
2007 - Turris, Gagner,
2004 - Malkin, Olez
2002 - essentially N/A

Its about a 50/50 in saying the winger was still the correct choice

Damn, what a dud that 2002 class was. Arguably worse than 1999.

 

[LemonSauceD]

[mod]

They don’t even remotely play the same type of game. Let alone Pouliot never even matching Lafs points totals from when he was 21 year old.

Then again, you are the poster who thought the jury was out and he busted already. Womp.

Honestly after your mega debacle in that Johnson/Petgrave thread, I’d take any rhetoric that comes from you with a grain of salt.

 

[Dust]

It would have been interesting to see how he would have progressed if on a bad team and given all the opportunities of a 1st line winger.

There is a lesson to learn though, don't pick wingers as the 1OA pick.

Slafkovsky, Lafreniere , Yakupov, Hall, Kane, Ovi, Nash

The wingers taken 1OA since 2000. Not a 1st line winger taken 1OA since 2007.

Compare wingers to Cs and it is like chalk and cheese. The only 2 Cs since 2000 who are 2nd line are RNH and Hischier. Even the Ds of Power, Dahlin, Ekblad and Johnson aren't anywhere near as hit or miss as wingers.

I'd still consider Hall a 1st line winger for most of his years. Injuries slowed him down more than ability.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Has to suck getting the first overall and thinking you just got a game changer and then finding out he's a 40-50 point player.

And truthfully riding the coattails of a guy third in league scoring to get there, at that.

 

[hawksrule]

He’s a middle-sixer, not a bust, and not an all-star. It’s what he does in the playoffs that will define him beyond that.

 

[NotWendell]

I'm not sure about bust, but JAG fits.

 

[Frank Drebin]

If he does score 60 points, at the pace he's currently going, about 52 of those points would be at even strength.

52 even strength points last year would have placed you in the top 30 in scoring.

There are certainly arguments against him, but if we're going to use production to say he's a bust, we have to ask ourselves what we realistically expect him to produce in the position he's in.

Can we ask realistically why he's not in a better position to produce offensively after 3+ seasons?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Can we ask realistically why he's not in a better position to produce offensively after 3+ seasons?

Are you talking about why isn't he getting PP1 minutes? ES he showed the coaching staff why he deserves those top 6 minutes which he's getting.

But why he isn't on the #1 PP unit and getting those juicy points?...because we have the #1 PP in the league with Panarin , Kreider, Trocheck, Mika, and Fox on it. You don't change a winning formula.

 

[DialUp]

Laf is stapled to the best line the current number one team rolls out night after night. He is inexpensive, young, has a bit of bite. He was not good his first few years. He is doing his part this year.

What ifs, and whatever in regards to Stutzle OK, but Ranger fans can't complain with his year over year progression.

 

[BB88]

Laf is stapled to the best line the current number one team rolls out night after night. He is inexpensive, young, has a bit of bite. He was not good his first few years. He is doing his part this year.

What ifs, and whatever in regards to Stutzle OK, but Ranger fans can't complain with his year over year progression.

He’s still on pace for 51 points, while playing with superior players next to him..


How can that last sentence hold together?

 

[DialUp]

He’s still on pace for 51 points, while playing with superior players next to him..


How can that last sentence hold together?

No one gives a shit. He is playing better, full stop. Rangers are 25-9-1.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

The only hope is that he has a career trajectory similar to MacKinnon who was a 50-60pts guy for his first few years and then exploded into a top-tier player. If the Rangers get lucky, he could settle into a 70-point winger, which is still decent.

 

[robsenz]

Underachieved to his draft status, Still putting up respectable numbers, not a bust, but he's also not going to randomly show up scoring near a PPG rate anytime.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Mey he reminds me kotkaneimi. Has talent but hasn't been putting it together, may be part of his environment.

 

[yeaher]

He'd be a Kadri level player for Colorado

 

[CDJ]

I mean he’s on a 50 point pace at 22 and has gotten better each year. It’s not lighting the world on fire but he’s still a good hockey player and there is still room/time for further growth

 

[ElLeetch]

Can we ask realistically why he's not in a better position to produce offensively after 3+ seasons?

Because Panarin, Zib, Trocheck, Fox, and Kreider make one of the most deadly power play units in all of hockey.

They take up a lot of the prime minutes.