N.Y. Rangers select Lafreniere with No. 1 pick in NHL draft
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.”
Lafreniere was the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked North American skater. The 6-foot-1 left wing becomes the first Canadian to go No. 1 since Connor McDavid was chosen by Edmonton in 2015. From suburban Montreal, he 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.
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 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.
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.
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 non-playoff teams to win the draft lottery after being swept in three games by Carolina in the preliminary round in August.
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.