Alexis Lafrenière set an NHL record in 2021-22, a record that no one would have expected him to set when he was drafted first overall by the New York Rangers in 2020. This past season, he became the first player drafted first overall to go his first two seasons in the NHL without a power play goal.
Okay, that may not be a record that the young left-wing wanted, but it’s more a reflection of his playing time. The simple fact is Lafrenière has yet to see first unit power play time in two seasons, something that no other first overall pick has had to contend with.
The history
Since the NHL Amateur and Entry Draft expanded to 84 picks in 1969, there had been 51 first overall picks and before Lafrenière, the only players to go goal-less on the power play for two seasons have been goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Rick DiPietro.
Even the ten defensemen selected first overall have scored on the power play in their first two seasons. In fact, the only defenseman who didn’t score with the man advantage in his rookie season was Boston’s Gord Kluzak (1982 #1 pick) and he made up for it with five power-play goals in his second season. Bryan Berard (Ottawa’s #1 pick, 1995) of the Islanders led the way with 17 goals in his rookie season.
As for forwards, only three didn’t score a power-play goal in their rookie seasons. Owen Nolan (1990 #1) of the Nordiques and Joe Thornton (1997 #1) of the Bruins didn’t score, but Nolan made up for it with 17 power-play goals his sophomore season and Thornton notched seven PP goals his second season. Brian Lawton is widely regarded as one of the biggest draft busts, but even he scored once in his second season.
As for the other first overall picks regarded as failures, Patrik Stefan (1999 #1) of the Atlanta Thrashers scored one power play goal his rookie season and none in his second and only nine in his NHL career. Ottawa’s Alexandre Daigle (1993 #1) notched eight power-play goals in his first two seasons. Edmonton’s Nail Yakupov (2012 #1) potted six power-play goals his freshman year.
Who scored the most power play goals in his rookie year? Of course, Alex Ovechkin leads the way with 21 PP goals as a rookie. That’s ten more than Mario Lemieux scored as a rookie.
What does it mean?
What it means is that there is no doubt that if Alexis Lafrenière had been drafted by practically any other NHL team, he would have many more than the 31 goals he scored in his first two seasons. In fact, he was second on the team in even-strength goals in both of his NHL campaigns. Chris Kreider has 32 even-strength goals in the same time, just one more than the young Ranger.
While no one is claiming that Lafrenière is a draft bust, the common consensus is that he has not lived up to the promise that he showed in junior hockey. That’s nonsense. He just had the bad timing to be drafted by a team with two of the best left-wings in the NHL ahead of him, both power play specialists.
Lafrenière averaged 1:11 minutes per game on the power play with a second unit that barely had time to set up. He had 93 minutes of power play time all season. Compare that to Chris Kreider with 240 minutes and Artemi Panarin with 224 minutes. Players on the first unit had many more offensive zone starts compared to the second unit (Kreider 146/Lafrenière 47).
Something to watch
One of the great storylines for the Rangers this season will be what they do with Lafrenière. He could end up playing the off-wing on the right side of Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He could end up on the off-wing with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. Or he could be part of a reconstituted “Kids Line” with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.
Unfortunately for Lafrenière, what he probably won’t be getting is more power play time. The first unit remains intact, with Trocheck most likely replacing Ryan Strome. With the Ranger’s power play clicking at a 25.2% success rate (4th overall), it would be foolish to mess with success and if we have learned anything, Gerard Gallant would be the last to do that.
It’s worth mentioning that Alexis Lafrenière turns 21 on October 11. Folks, that’s very, very young. Considering his offensive output despite very little power play time, Lafrenière has been far from a disappointment. While he might have been an offensive powerhouse playing for another team, Ranger fans should count their blessings. He’s been very, very good and will only get better.
So, the next time someone says that the Rangers should have drafted Tim Stützle, Lucas Raymond, Seth Jarvis, or even Quinton Byfield instead, you know what to tell them.