It was a day Alexis Lafreniere had been waiting for all year long. It took a little longer than expected, but we finally know where the young Quebec native will most likely go.
The New York Rangers, who lost in the play-in series to the Carolina Hurricanes, have officially been named the winners of the 2020 NHL Draft lottery. Eight teams had a chance at the coveted junior superstar and were each given a 12.5% chance at landing the Saint-Eustache left-winger.
The New York Rangers, who are sort of in a rebuild/retool phase, had a pretty good season and were expected to make a push at the playoffs. The additions of Jacob Trouba on the blue line and the big free agent signing of Artemi Panarin really helped the Rangers hockey club almost secure a spot before the pandemic hit.
This is the second straight year that the New York Rangers will select in the top three as just last year in Vancouver, B.C., they selected Kappo Kakko with the second overall pick. Kakko didn’t have a bad year, finishing the season with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 66 games played.
Funny enough, if the Rangers draft Alexis Lafreniere, he will team up with a Kakko who he faced in the World Juniors when the Finnish National Team took on Team Canada. Lafreniere finished his last season in Rimouski with 35 goals and 77 assists. He did so for 112 points which he collected in 52 games played.
At the World Juniors this past December, he finished with four goals and six assists for 10 total points in five games played. This helped Team Canada win another gold medal, beating Russia in the final.
He is described as an elite winger, almost at the level of Sidney Crosby, who ironically played with the Oceanic, and Connor McDavid. It is said he will immediately impact the organization that he is selected by. Normally, the first overall pick goes to a team that is usually rebuilding, but now, he has a chance to add skill and goals to a team that’s on the verge of the playoffs.
With the first pick being decided, the rest of the order goes like this: Minnesota will draft at nine, Winnipeg at 10, Nashville at 11, Florida at 12, Carolina at 13, Edmonton at 14 and the 15th pick is a conditional one that was in the Jason Zucker trade between Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
The 2020 NHL Draft is tentatively scheduled for October 9th or 10th and will be entirely virtual, conducted online.