2020 NHL Entry Draft: Profiles. Alexis Lafrenière

Kicking off the beginning entry of my first round draft profiles I could only begin with one.

The universally desired Alexis Lafrenière.

Not since 2016 – when Austin Matthews was taken first overall by the Toronto Mapleleafs – has there been such a bona fide selection to have their name called before any of the others. The kid has been a loud blip on everybody’s radar since the age of 16, the first 16 year old to score 40 goals in the QMJHL, becoming the youngest player to captain Team Canada’s U18 team and that doesn’t begin to cover his phenomenal 112 points in 52 game draft year total.

He does not fulfill the desired shooting-side criteria that the Ducks will have on their agenda this draft but he ticks all of the other boxes and then some.

Blessed with pure puck-skill, he can make seasoned defenders who may think they have superior advantage or sufficient angle – look completely silly.

He is the almost perfect blend of goal-hungry puck-hound around the net and silky smooth play-maker with hands so soft he can make the deftest touch at speed to move around a defender or loose his check on the rush.

Those soft hands also work well in controlling bouncing or mid-air pucks; I have seen plays where he juggles an errant puck near a defender then swats it by him all in the same motion to create a break.

Then there is his hockey smarts and vision – you don’t equal Sidney Crosbys 16 year old goal scoring mark by riding someone else’s coat-tails. Lafreniere can recognize and play the percentages on a play – he is a goaltenders worst nightmare because he knows exactly when to pass or when to take the shot, when to fake a shot or when to fake the pass.

Combine all of that with the aforementioned pure puck-skill and you also have a forward that can head-man a pass from his own zone by almost any means possible

What makes him the real deal is quite possibly how rounded his game is. There have been many a top draft prospect from years past that had all of the tools to break a game open offensively but were weak defensively. That vision and hockey-smarts is not just used for offense. Lafreniere has immense hustle and compete; I have seen more than a few plays where he diffuses a would be high scoring chance by getting the inside angle on a partial break using his speed and body. Oh yeah, he isn’t afraid to throw his body around either – as quoted by Corey Pronman.

He’s not afraid to hit guys, to engage early in a battle and he rides the legality line at times in terms of how he uses his body.
- Corey Pronman, The Athletic.

Sounds like a prototypical Ducks pick to me!

But in all seriousness – I don’t mean to get your hopes up; like the Jack Hughes sweepstakes last year, there is a slim chance the Ducks will win that first overall pick. Before the trade deadline it was looking very very good that they were a solid top three chance but then they went on that mini run, winning five of their last nine games. Now they sit with the fifth best chance of getting in the top three and an 8.5% chance of getting the first overall. It does not mean they have no shot whatsoever, but Detroit has twice as good odds.

Were the Ducks to be awarded their first ever first overall selection it would be a no-brainer to take Lafreniere – with a late birthday he would already be turning 19 this year and so could join the Ducks or Gulls as soon as the season after; and with Zegras making his debut in the upcoming fall – they could also afford to be patient with him.

Imagine this for a top line?

Lafreniere – Zegras – Terry

If the lottery balls fall in the Ducks favour – that could happen as soon as 2022….