Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part III

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Previous thread - Player Discussion - Alexis Lafrenière: Part II

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[FireGerardGallant]

I know his productions and play has been a bit disappointing so far but through 15 games last year he had 1 goal and thats it. After that he was scoring at a near half ppg basis the rest of the season. Also with Blais out I'd like to see him with Kreider and Mika again, didn't work too well first time but maybe like Kakko with Panarin they shoulda rode through it.

 

[duhmetreE]

In his limited games in the NHL... I honestly don't like him coming down the left wall... or even playing off the left wall on the PP... have little to no confidence in it.

Feels like he traps himself

 

[mas0764]

Feel like he’s starting to flash.

 

[Gr8CornHolio]

I know his productions and play has been a bit disappointing so far but through 15 games last year he had 1 goal and thats it. After that he was scoring at a near half ppg basis the rest of the season. Also with Blais out I'd like to see him with Kreider and Mika again, didn't work too well first time but maybe like Kakko with Panarin they shoulda rode through it.

this has been tried, as much as I like the idea would almost rather put chytil on wing with them give that a shot and see where it goes.

though don’t mind the chytil laf gauthier combo

 

[Crease]

It’s like he skipped his prime and went straight to late stage Brad Richards.

 

[Whoot Whoot]

he's really shown so little but still a kid so we will wait

 

[NickyFotiu]

he's really shown so little but still a kid so we will wait

Needs time to mature.

 

[BroadwayHustle]

He tried to do more tonight, which is a good sign but he needs to get stronger. You can see he is trying to outmuscle people and just losing the puck.

 

[Peltz]

He tried to do more tonight, which is a good sign but he needs to get stronger. You can see he is trying to outmuscle people and just losing the puck.

Yea, I just think his issues all stem from not having a mature physiology yet. I don't think we're going to see what Laf is really capable of until he has another season of training camp under his belt. He's a year behind Kakko and it shows.

 

[FireGerardGallant]

this has been tried, as much as I like the idea would almost rather put chytil on wing with them give that a shot and see where it goes.

though don’t mind the chytil laf gauthier combo

Although it was limited sample size and the eye test didn't 100% support it Laf Mika Kreider actually had good results together analytically.
However, that being said I like what I saw from the 3rd line today, well see where it goes from here

 

[huerter]

There was a play where the puck was in the neutral zone and instead of making a strong play on the puck he tried to do a one handed chip passed the Montreal player and it got picked off. That is some junior nonsense that doesn't fly at this level. He has a lot of bad habits but I'm just citing this particular moment cause it was the grossest. I wish fans stopped worrying about points and tap in goals and started basing his readiness on the details.

 

[ThirdEye]

Sucks that the momentum he seemed to have created last season didn't really carry over. He's not a complete liability out there but I wouldn't rely on him for much right now and just hope that over the course of the season he slowly improves on his deficiencies.

 

[duhmetreE]

He's only played 72 games.

It will get better. IMO I already see the signs of life

 

[Quinnisinoverhishead]

It's going to be a trying year for Laffy. The expectations for him prior to draft day were unreasonable.
This kid has character. He is going to be a stud... eventually.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

He just needs to find his game at this level.

He had the one 2 on 1 where he tried to make a pass when he shoudlve shot, hes got a great wrister. Use it. That would've been the type of goal to get him going too, off the rush, one on one in open space.

However, after that he was firing every chance he got. Was good to see him have the puck on his stick a little more and start getting it on net. Maybe something clicked there. We will see.

He's got great hockey sense and was oozing confidence as a junior player. He is very skilled but at this level he cant get away with much of it yet because he needs to get a better understanding of the pace of the NHL game and when and where he can pull off certain moves. Its an enormous jump from the Q.

But I have a lot of trust in Gallant and putting these kids in the right positions to succeed. We are seeing it with Kakko. Gallant showed a lot of trust with Kakko keeping him with bread. Kakko appreciated that instead of being bumped around and its showing. GG will pull the right strings with Laf.

 

[Levitate]

I don't think he's quite playing at NHL "pace" yet, which is maybe concerning and maybe not, hard to say. He tries to do some stuff like passes and things that just seem like he wasn't aware of how fast things were moving on the ice and they fail miserably. Maybe it's good in that talented players can often catch up in that area, maybe it's bad that the 1OA is struggling a bit with that, maybe it's an artifact from being too deferential to vets on his line and watching the play too much instead of engaging and it will come quickly if he's engaging more

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I still think Laf is in a "processing" phase and not playing with instinct. He's absorbing the play around him and reacting instead of just playing loose.

We saw it with Kakko his first year and Laf is just about ending a full season of games at this point.

The one thing I will say is Laf is doing a lot of good things away from the puck, similar to how Kakko developed. Maybe not nearly as many takeaways and pure defensive prowess, but he is finishing a good amount of checks and is better positionally which will benefit his game down the road and allow Gallant to trust him in his system.

But as everyone points out its his pace that needs to pick up. I see him realizing this at times, so its something he understands he needs to improve.

Let's not forget through the first 15 games of last season he had 1 point and was -8. He got hot and got 6 points in the next 6 games, had another lull and then had 8 points in the teams final 12 games - all of them 5 on 5. We saw him kinda find his game a little and be a lot more active at the end of the year. I expect another clip like that soon.

It takes time to even out the ebbs and flows as a young player.

 

[Gospel of Prospal]

If Laf played and looked more like Gauthier, I'd be more optimistic

 

[will1066]

We're in the midst of a Kakko explosion. So if Laf needs this year to marinate a little more, get up to NHL pace, grow a little more physically and get even fitter, then explode in his Year 3, so be it. The long-term will be worth the wait.

 

[duhmetreE]

If Laf played and looked more like Gauthier, I'd be more optimistic

This is Gauthiers age 24 season.... That's 5 seasons away for Laf.

Laf is showing signs of life. There's little things he's doing in a game now. It will begin to snowball.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

This is Gauthiers age 24 season.... That's 5 seasons away for Laf.

Laf is showing signs of life. There's little things he's doing in a game now. It will begin to snowball.

They're 4 draft years apart. Lafrenière is 20. Both are October birthdays.

 

[NYRangers0723]

Fans need patience. Kid is still so young

 

[duhmetreE]

They're 4 draft years apart. Lafrenière is 20. Both are October birthdays.

This is Laf's age 20 season.

Counting this young season
age 20. 1
age 21. 2
age 22. 3
age 23. 4
age 24. 5

I'm talking about seasons/games/experience not revolutions around the sun. Comparatively speaking to where GAuthier is now.... if that makes sense

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

This is Laf's age 20 season.

Counting this young season
age 20. 1
age 21. 2
age 22. 3
age 23. 4
age 24. 5

I'm talking about seasons/games/experience not revolutions around the sun. Comparatively speaking to where GAuthier is now.... if that makes sense

So 4 seasons away. Not 5.

Age 21 season is 1 year away
Age 22 season is 2 years away

etc