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Alexis Lafreniere, like many other exceptional-status CHL players, came into his draft year with high expectations and a lot of pressure. To say his start was rough would be an understatement. It didn’t help matters that he lost part of his draft season to the COVID-19 pandemic (though the loss of playing time for Lafreniere was not as significant as it would be for OHL or WHL players in the 2021 draft class) and kicked off his NHL career in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Talk of Lafreniere being a bust was popular, particularly given that he didn’t crack 40 points in any of his first NHL seasons.
But perception from teammates remained good, with talk of how Lafreniere was great in the room and a hard worker with a good attitude. And last season that hard work really started to tangibly pay off, culminating in a 57-point (and 28-goal) season and a seven-year extension with an average annual value of $7.45 million. So is Lafreniere still the best option for first overall in 2020?
Well, not exactly! With the benefit of hindsight, most of us probably would draft Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle first overall instead. Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond is also an appealing option. For that, the Lafreniere pick gets knocked down a little. But far less than many people would’ve had it a year or two ago.