{"id":83317,"date":"2020-10-06T23:57:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T20:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/alexis-lafreniere-has-ex-rangers-coach-drooling\/"},"modified":"2020-10-06T23:57:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T20:57:06","slug":"alexis-lafreniere-has-ex-rangers-coach-drooling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/alexis-lafreniere-has-ex-rangers-coach-drooling\/","title":{"rendered":"#Alexis Lafreniere has ex-Rangers coach drooling"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Alexis Lafreniere has ex-Rangers coach drooling<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Only those who have operated in the cauldron of New York truly know what it takes to make it here. That is why it is instructive to pay attention to Tom Renney\u2019s take on Alexis Lafreniere, whom the former coach of the Rangers grew to know and app<\/a>reciate over the last three years in his position as CEO of Hockey Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves hockey, he loves winning, he enjoys people and he has zero issues being in the limelight,\u201d Renney, who oversaw four Canadian national teams that included the presumptive first-overall pick of the Rangers in Tuesday\u2019s draft, told The Post. \u201cFrom his hockey ability to his personality, he\u2019s almost made for New York. It\u2019s a really good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rangers have previously selected 309 forwards since the 1969 inception of the universal draft. Steve Vickers, selected 10th overall in 1971, is the only one to win the Calder Trophy. Not one has been selected to an NHL first All-Star team. Lafreniere, who separated himself from an unusually strong draft class, could be a trend-buster.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a player, he\u2019s the kind of guy who might not dazzle you individually the way that Connor McDavid does, but he\u2019s extremely efficient, and all of a sudden there he is with two or three points and you realize that all five guys on the ice look good because of this kid,\u201d said Renney, who was behind the bench for the Blueshirts\u2019 immedia<\/a>te cap-era revival. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of player he is.<\/p>\n

\"Alexis
Alexis Lafreniere<\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe makes his teammates better. Connor is a great, great player, and Alexis is not Connor McDavid, I\u2019m not saying that. But when Alexis is on the ice, four other guys are going to touch the puck and pick up debris that he creates. That\u2019s part of his personality. He wants to be a leader and he believes making his teammates better is an important part of leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lafreniere, who will turn 19 on Sunday, recorded a QMJHL-leading 112 points (35-57) last season. The Rangers won\u2019t want to unnecessarily push him and add to the burden that accompanies the celebrity of being a first-overall selection, but he should compete for a top-six spot right out of the hopper. If Chris Kreider moves to the right and Artemi Panarin skates with either Ryan Strome (if signed) or Filip Chytil, Lafreniere conceivably could skate on a line with Mika Zibanejad. But that\u2019s at least three months away.<\/p>\n

Renney first encountered Lafreniere when the winger played for Team Canada\u2019s Under-17 team in 2017. Only 16, Lafreniere posted six points (3-3) in six game<\/a>s, and was one point off the team lead shared by Xavier Parent, Ryan Suzuki and Dylan Cozens. Draft eligibles Dylan Holloway and Justin Barron, who might interest the Rangers at 22nd overall, were also on that squad.<\/p>\n