Rangers select forward Lafreniere with No. 1 pick
The New York Rangers selected Canadian forward Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft on Tuesday night.
Lafreniere wasthe NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked 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 NHLestablished the universal draft in 1969. The Rangers bucked the odds by jumping ahead of the NHL’s seven non-playoff 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.
The Los Angeles Kings then selected Ontario Hockey League center Quinton Byfield with the second pick. The 6-foot-4 Byfield, whose father moved to Canada from Jamaica, became the highest drafted Black player.
The Ottawa Senators were next and chose top-ranked international forward Tim Stuetzle, who played professionally in his native Germany last year, with their first of three first-round selections.
The Detroit Red Wings, who were bumped to the fourth spot despite finishing with the league’s worst record, drafted Swedish forward Lucas Raymond. A little over an hour before the draft, the Red Wings announced general manager Steve Yzerman had to self-isolate in overseeing the draft separate from his staff after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
The draft was held remotely, with teams making selections from their home cities. Commissioner Gary Bettman introduced each team making a first-round selection from a podium at the NHLNetwork studios in New Jersey.
The two-day event was originally scheduled to be held in Montreal in June, but it was pushed back like the rest of the NHLcalendar due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The league paused its season in mid-March before resuming in August by going directly to the postseason, which ended last week with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second Stanley Cup title by defeating the Dallas Stars in six games.
The lengthy delay ended a long wait for Lafreniere, who had been looking forward to taking the stage and hearing his name announced in his hometown. He instead settled for being with his parents and sister at their home a half-hour outside of Montreal.
Upon hearing Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton announce the selection, Lafreniere rose from his living room chair, handed his sister his sport coat and the pulled on a Rangers hat and No. 20 jersey.