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.
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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.
Pronman is very much taken with Perreault, the Boston College star who also helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship. He emphasized how intelligent a player the forward is, and is highly impressed with Perreault’s skill level.
“His puck play is so good, full of highlight reels and doing things other forwards can’t, that I think he can be a top-six winger despite the skating.”
What sets Othmann apart, according to Pronman, is his compete level. And he projects Othmann to be a middle-six forward in the NHL.
“He is a highly skilled forward, but it’s the physicality and edge in his game that makes him so appealing,” Pronman wrote. “He’s a physical and competitive forward who can frustrate opponents.”
The middle-of-the-pack ranking of the Rangers was unchanged from a year ago when Pronman also listed them 15th in the under-22 pipeline. Clearly the 2024 NHL Draft didn’t help here too much since the Rangers only had four picks and Pronman handed them a C+ grade for their selections.
