
In 1991, the New York Rangers selected a talented Russian forward named Alexei Kovalev with their 1st round pick. Kovalev would come to the Rangers for the 92-93 season and dazzled Blueshirts fans with his puck-handling abilities. However, Kovalev would frustrate many of the Garden faithful as he would disappear many nights. Kovalev's highest point was raising the 1994 Stanley Cup, which the Rangers could not win without him. The Rangers tried to wait and see if the young Russian could flourish on Broadway. Flashback to November 1998, when the Rangers swapped Kovalev essentially for former Ranger Petr Nedved. What happened? Kovalev did thrive...in Pittsburgh. It's not the place where the team that drafted him wanted him to succeed. The Rangers have a similar situation now as they wait for 2nd overall pick Kaapo Kakko and 2020 top overall pick Alexis Lafrenière to bloom. One of them appears to be doing just that.


We posted the article "Last Laf?" this preseason, wondering how this season will turn out for the Rangers draft pick from the QMJHL. In the season's first game against Buffalo, Alexis Lafrenière responded by tipping in a goalmouth feed from Artemi Panarin. Lafrenière's game that night showed what he can do - even his check that led to a Panarin goal could have been called an "assist." Lafrenière seemed different. He's attacking the puck more, exuding confidence that was missing under coaches David Quinn and Gerard Gallant. Lafrenière has more nights where he is a force, and look no further than Sunday night's win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, where the young Quebec native scored twice and won the game with a slick backhand in the shootout. The 2nd of his two goals came with 14 seconds remaining as Lafrenière deposited a Chris Kreider net-mouth pass to tie the game. Yes, he is finally playing solid minutes on the Rangers' top two lines...FINALLY, but the decision-making has gotten better. On Thursday night vs the Wild, Lafrenière took a feed from Erik Gustafsson and patiently waited for Vincent Trocheck to get open to feed him for an excellent goal. In years past, Lafrenière would roll the puck down the wall, keeping it deep. Lafrenière has had plenty of highlight moments this season - like his ankle-breaking skate up the ice vs a Vancouver defenseman.

Currently, Lafrenière has seven goals, four assists, and 11 points in 14 games this season - just under a point-per-game - and is pacing for a career-best season. His seven goals are almost half of last season and just 12 behind his single season-best 19 in 21-22 in just 14 games. It's significant progress for a young forward who has not broken 40 points in a season. As of now, he 's 3rd on the Rangers in goal scoring, trailing only Chris Kreider (10) and Hart Trophy favorite Artemi Panarin (8). The fact that Lafrenière was on the ice in the game's closing seconds is a testament to the quality of play on the ice. In past seasons, he'd have a seat on the bench watching someone else on the ice. What's different? Lafrenière is shooting the puck more. His 24 shots in 14 games are 1.71 shots/game (up from a career-high 1.66 sh/g last season), but Lafrenière is scoring 29.2% on his shots, which is a good but unsustainable shooting percentage. However, it does mean that he's getting to the dirty areas and getting pucks in the net (see below). What's enabling him to do so? Artemi Panarin and Peter Laviolette. As discussed in an article this summer of players who enjoyed career-best seasons under Laviolette, Lafrenière fits the mold of many players who were at their best under the Rangers' coach. Lafrenière is already on pace to post career-best numbers in shots, goals, and points.



While the Rangers are still looking and waiting patiently for Kaapo Kakko to join his prosperity, Lafrenière has arguably arrived as an impact player. Whether or not, the trends continue to go up for Lafrenière, it's possible the Rangers are finally seeing the player they envisioned at the 2020 NHL Draft.
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