Rangers take Lafreniere as No. 1 pick
Canadian was NHL Central Scouting’s top North American skater
The New York Rangers selected Canadian forward Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft on Tuesday night.
Lafreniere was the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s topranked North American skater. He becomes the first Canadian to go No. 1 since Connor Mcdavid was chosen by Edmonton in 2015.
From suburban Montreal, the 6-foot-1 playmaking left wing was the first to earn both Canadian Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League MVP honors in consecutive seasons since Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby in 2004 and ‘05, when he also played for the Oceanic.
Lafreniere joins a young, developing Rangers team that features one of his favorite players, Hart Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin. The Rangers also have up-and-coming youngsters such as Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, and defenseman Adam Fox, who finished fourth in the rookie of the year voting this season.
New York landed the No. 1 pick for the first time since the NHL established the universal draft in 1969. The Rangers bucked the odds by jumping ahead of the NHL’S seven nonplayoff teams to win the draft lottery after being swept in three games by Carolina in the preliminary round in August.
They became the first NHL team to select first following a postseason appearance since the then-minnesota North Stars in 1983, who acquired the No. 1 selection in a trade with Pittsburgh. Alexis Lafreniere wanted to take the stage at Montreal’s Bell Centre near his home and hear his name announced at the
NHL draft.
The playmaking forward had to settle for being selected first overall by the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
“Obviously, it’s different, and we didn’t expect that a couple of months ago,” Lafreniere said. “Growing up, you’re dreaming of being drafted. And for me today, it’s amazing to go first. I’m really honored.”
In a sign of the unusual nature of this year’s remote draft amid the coronavirus pandemic, Lafreniere spoke by video call from a bedroom in his home. Rather than walking up on stage and having a team official provide his new jersey, Lafreniere stood up from a living room chair when his name was announced, handed his sport jacket to his sister and pulled on a Rangers hat and No. 20 Rangers jersey, handed to him by his father.
“Today, I woke up and I was really excited and I just got ready for the pick,” he said. “I’m
just a little speechless.”
Lafreniere scored 35 goals and led the QMJHL with 77 assists and 112 points last season. He became the first Quebec-born player to be selected
first since Pittsburgh chose goalie Marc-andre Fleury in 2003, and the first skater from the province to go first since 1998, when Tampa Bay drafted Vincent Lecavalier.