Alexis Lafreniere is a “budding star” who tops the New York Rangers pipeline of players age 22 and under. That’s the take of NHL prospects expert Corey Pronman, who ranked the Rangers pipeline 15th out of 32 NHL teams for The Athletic heading into the 2024-25 season.
It’s not a surprising opinion, considering Lafreniere was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and is coming off a breakout season when he scored 28 goals, finished with 57 points and excelled in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But it is encouraging still that Pronman projects Lafreniere to be an NHL All-Star and refers to the 22-year-old forward as a “dynamic offensive player with high-end hands and vision.” He added that Lafreniere likely would have exceeded 70 points last season had he received more opportunities on the Rangers power play.
“He competes well and looks a lot like the player he was as a junior,” Pronman wrote. “On any other team with a different power play, he would have scored 70-plus points. He looks like a budding star as a scoring winger.”
Really, the only negative Pronman pointed to is Lafreniere’s “so-so skating.” Pronman rated Lafreniere’s skating as below NHL average, though noted he compensates for it in other ways, including strength and winning puck battles.
Skating issues were a common theme when analyzing the Rangers top prospects and players age 22 or under. Five of the top seven players listed were considered below average skaters at the NHL level. Only Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider (who’s 22) and 2024 top pick E.J. Emery (who’s 18) rated as above NHL average in skating.
Pronman noted that 2023 first-rounder Gabe Perreault lacked “footspeed” and said of 2021 first-round pick Brennan Othmann that “His skating isn’t the best.” Skating issues were also raised about Rangers forwards Will Cuylle and Matt Rempe.
Rangers can ‘supplement their roster’ with 22-and-under pipeline
That said, Pronman largely praised the Rangers and their top-7 players 22 and under: (in order) Lafreniere, Schneider, Perreault, Othmann, Cuylle, Emery and Rempe.
“This isn’t the deepest system, but for where the Rangers are in their contention cycle, it can help supplement their roster,” he wrote.
