Future Watch Special Edition: Alexis Lafreniere headed to Broadway – Alexis Lafreniere isn’t a new name for collectors. Upper Deck has done a great job of including him in pre-NHL sets. Everyone in Canada knows him and now hockey fans in the United States are starting to hear his name.
The New York Rangers got the lucky ping pong ball in last night’s second stage of the NHL Draft Lottery, and, Upper Deck got a great team to market around. Being selected by an Original Six team with a rabid fanbase is good for everyone (unless your team is in the Metropolitan Division, then you might feel differently).
This French Canadian has been destined to be the top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft for a few years. He’s distanced himself from the competition with stellar play for the Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL. In 173 career games, he scored 114 goals and tallied 183 assists for 297 points. That’s a 1.72 PPG average in the regular season, while he counted 1.50 PPG in the postseason.
“My vision and offensive play can create chances for me and my teammates, and I feel that my leadership is really big,” Lafreniere stated.
The 2019-20 season was mind-blowing for this phenom. I counted 12 accomplishments between his play for Rimouski and internationally. The three big ones are CHL Player of the Year (for the second straight season), taking a gold medal in the 2020 World Junior Championship and being named the tournament’s MVP (after counting 10 points in five games). He plays like a much older player even against elite competition.
Lafreniere has elite vision, close to elite skating skills, a pro release on his shot and he will lay a hit, play on the penalty kill and dominate the power play at times. He has it all, and he’s going to get better. At 6’1″ and 195 pounds, he can handle the rigors of an NHL season. And he is going to get to play with Artemi Panarin, the Rangers’ biggest star.
“Panarin is my favorite player on the Rangers,” Lafreniere revealed. “He’s exciting to watch.”
Lafreniere won’t get to wear #11, which is hanging in the MSG rafters in tribute to Mark Messier; the good news, though, is a new number will also create new excitement for this young player. Young collectors will look at him as the future of the league and Sidney Crosby as an older player, now that he’s 33.
Don’t compare this left wing to Crosby or Connor McDavid. That’s not fair. He does have the ability to get 90-100 points in a season, but that will take time.
Collectors will love this guy. He has flash, he’s something special on the ice but he’s down to earth off the ice.
The 2020 NHL Draft was supposed to be in Montreal but now that’s not going to happen. It’s likely to be some kind of virtual draft (exact format to be announced). Lafreniere talked about this in a very mature way.
“It was disappointing that it won’t be in Montreal and it’s going to be different,” he said. “We’ll see how it’s going to be but for sure I’ll be with my family and close friends.”
Lafreniere will be a franchise player for the New York Rangers along with second overall pick last year, Kaapo Kakko, which means collectors will have Blueshirts cards in their collections. It’s almost unavoidable.
Future Watch Special Edition: Alexis Lafreniere headed to Broadway – Card Gallery
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