Marner Enthusiast
Rejoint: avr. 2019
Messages: 4,396
Mentions "j'aime": 996
I know we just made a post a couple of weeks ago about him but I can’t help than to feel frustrated to see that Lafreniere has still not improved. We can’t blame the team anymore since they are playing well, plus there are multiple forwards from Lafreniere’s draft class who are outperforming him such as Raymond, Lundell, Jarvis, Stutzle and Mercer. So what exactly isn’t working for him at this point? I will give my personal observations below.
The Numbers: This is the one aspect in which Lafreniere does not look out of place in. Only 5 points through 18 games, but the underlying numbers are decent. He has the second highest on ice expected goals for per 60 amongst Rangers forwards, while his shooting selection and pass generation suggest he is nearly as efficient as some of the top playmaking wingers today. If we were to look at these, it would suggest that he’s on verge of breaking out, but it still hasn’t happened.
Marner - 0.66 iXG/60 + 0.73 xA/60
Kane - 0.66 iXG/60 + 0.82 xA/60
Huberdeau - 0.69 iXG/60 + 0.68 xA
Lafreniere - 0.75 iXG/60 + 0.62 xA
Marchand - 0.76 iXG/60 + 0.73 xA
Kaprizov - 0.76 iXG/60 + 0.61 xA
The Eye Test: This is probably most concerning observation of Lafreniere so far in his career. When he’s on the ice, he looks out of place, there is a clear gap between him and his opponents in ability. Though he hasn’t been able to accomplish anything consistently, his forecheck is probably the least worrisome of his abilities. He isn’t fast, but I’ve seen his plenty of times use his physicality and deceptiveness to retrieve the puck. Some nights he looks slow and out of gas, but I think he’s shown he’s got enough natural ability in this aspect. What really concerns me is he hasn’t shown any ability to facilitate plays with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. Other than getting shots off in obvious goal scoring areas, he hasn’t been able to hold onto it and dictate the play. He looks completely lost when he gets it and will either defer it or dump it into a corner. At this point, it almost seems like he is scared of making a bad decision, he doesn’t want to turn it over or make an incorrect play that costs his team a scoring chance.
I have to admit, I don’t like that Gallant is always benching him, but the team is playing well and are looking to contend for the Cup, so you can’t have someone on the roster who’s not ready to play. I don’t want to call him a bust yet, but I think it’s getting to a point in which NYR should explore loaning him to Hartford or Europe to work on his game, maybe even trade him for a similar level prospect, cuz he’s not good enough for a roster spot on their team right now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a first overall pick look so petrified to receive the puck.
What’d y’all think?