Alexis Lafrenière has never visited New York before. Even before his first steps in the streets of Manhattan or his first skates at Madison Square Garden in the uniform of the Rangers, he has already received a welcome worthy of a big star in the wake of his selection as first class at the draft.
For the occasion, the mythical Empire State Building was illuminated last night in the colors of the Rangers, namely blue, white and red. On the Twitter account of the famous 5th Avenue building, Lafrenière’s choice was highlighted by even writing his last name with the grave accent on the “e”.
• Read also: Rangers choose Alexis Lafrenière
The Rangers also had a nice touch for the Rimouski Oceanic prodigy by capturing in French on the front page of their website: “Bienvenue à Broadway”.
“It was an unreal feeling,” Lafrenière said during a video conference. The Rangers are a large organization. It is an honor. When I heard my name, I thought it was special. We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. ”
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The Rangers followed logic in drafting Lafrenière in first place. General Manager Jeff Gorton said the following little sentence: “From the Rimouski Oceanic, Alexis Lafrenière. “
It was the end of a suspense that wasn’t real. With this virtual draft, Lafrenière lived this magical day at his family residence in Saint-Eustache. After the announcement of the choice, he hugged his father, Hugo, his mother, Nathalie and his younger sister Lori-Jane.
Lafrenière did not have to climb the platform of the Bell Center, as was the original plan, to meet the members of his new team. However, he respected an old tradition by donning the Ranger uniform in addition to wearing their caps.
“I received the Rangers jersey today [hier], Lafrenière explained. It was a nice surprise. It is a first class organization. It is a huge honor. It’s a beautiful day for me. When you are young, you dream of getting rescued. It’s amazing to start in the first row. “
In 1970, it was Gilbert Perreault in Buffalo. In 2020, it was Lafrenière’s turn to hear his name first in an NHL Draft. In the past 50 years, only eight Quebecers have achieved this feat.
The Océanic winger became the first since goaltender Marc-André Fleury in 2003 with the Pittsburgh Penguins to experience that feeling.
“It means a lot,” said Lafrenière. Quebec hockey is well represented. When I can represent Quebec, I find it pleasant. Once again, it is a great honor. “
Rangers GM Gorton will add another offensive threat to his roster, which already includes Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Ryan Strome and Kaapo Kakko.
“Alexis is a complete player,” noted Gorton. He has talent, skills and he’s fast. But on top of that, he works very hard, he’s tough and he does everything to help his team win. We believe he has all the tools to be successful. “
If he was looking to keep the mystery alive, the Rangers GM admitted that Lafrenière’s name has been on the top of his list for a long time.
photo-source position-absolute"> Photo Simon Hastegård / BILDBYRÅN
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“After the Junior World Championship, it was clear that he would be the first choice,” he replied. Several teams would say the same thing. We had him at the top for a long time and we never changed that. “
After Lafrenière, the Los Angeles Kings trusted center Quinton Byfield with the second pick. The Kings thus preferred it to the German Tim Stützle.
“We did our homework,” said Kings president Luc Robitaille. We have always loved Byfield, a big center. He plays on 200 feet. He skates faster than Kopitar, but he looks like him. Kopitar will serve as his teacher. Byfield will help us win in the future. “
Byfield, a 6’4 ”, 215lb center, had 82 points (32 goals, 50 assists) in 45 games with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL.
Rank – Team – Player – Position – Nationality
1 – New York Rangers – Alexis Lafrenière – Left winger – Canada
2 – Kings de Los Angeles – Quinton Byfield – Centre – Canada
3 – Ottawa Senators 1 – Tim Stuetzle – Left winger – Germany
4 – Detroit Red Wings – Lucas Raymond – Left winger – Sweden
5 – Ottawa Senators – Jake Sanderson – Defenseman – United States
6 – Ducks d’Anaheim – Jamie Drysdale – Défenseur – Canada
7 – New Jersey Devils – Alexander Holtz – Right Winger – Sweden
8 – Buffalo Sabers – Jack Quinn – Right Winger – Canada
9 – Minnesota Wild – Marc Rossi – Center – Austria
10 – Jets de Winnipeg – Cole Perfetti – Center – Canada
11 – Nashville Predators – Yaroslav Askarov – goalie – Russia
12 – Florida Panthers – Anton Lundell – Center – Finland
13 – Hurricanes de la Caroline – Seth Jarvis – Center – Canada
14 – Oilers d’Edmonton – Dylan Holloway – Centre – Canada
15 – Toronto Maple Leafs – Rodion Amirov – Left Winger – Russia
16 – Montreal Canadiens – Kaiden Guhle – Defender – Canada
17 – Chicago Blackhawks – Lukas Reichel – Left winger – Germany
18 – Devils du New Jersey 2– Dawson Mercer – Centre – Canada
19 – Rangers of New York 3 – Braden Schneider – Defender – Canada
20 – Devils du New Jersey 4 – Shakir Mukhamadullin – Defender – Russia
21 – Columbus Blue Jackets – Yegor Chinakhov – Right winger – Russia
22 – Capitals de Washington – Hendrix Lapierre – Centre – Canada
23 – Philadelphia Flyers – Tyson Foerster – Right Winger – Canada
24 – Flames de Calgary – Connor Zary – Centre – Canada
25 – Colorado Avalanche – Justin Barron – Defender – Canada
26 – St. Louis Blues – Jake Neighbors – Left Winger – Canada
27 – Ducks d’Anaheim 5 – Jacob Perreault – Right winger – Canada
28 – Ottawa Senators 6 – Ridly Greig – Centre – Canada
29 – Vegas Golden Knights – Brendan Brisson – Center – United States
30 – Dallas Stars – Mavrik Bourque – Center – Canada
31 – San Jose Sharks – Ozzy Wiesblatt – Right winger – Canada
Notes
1 Obtained from the San Jose Sharks in the transaction involving Erik Karlsson
2 Obtained from the Arizona Coyotes in the Taylor Hall transaction
3 Obtained from the Calgary Flames during the draft.
4 Obtained from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the deal involving Blake Coleman
5 Obtained from the Boston Bruins in the deal involving Ondrej Kase
6 Obtained from the New York Islanders in the transaction involving Jean-Gabriel Pageau
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