Surprising statement involving Alexis Lafrenière and Juraj Slafkovsky

PUBLICATION

Elias Edmonson
August 29, 2023 (8:35 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Over the past few days, the excellent Corey Pronman from The Athletic released a very interesting ranking involving the top players aged 23 and under who have already been drafted by an NHL team.

In this list, one can notably find 11 members of the Canadiens among the 168 players evaluated, namely Cole Caufield (11th), Juraj Slafkovsky (19th), David Reinbacher (25th), Kirby Dach (47th), Kaiden Guhle (51st), Alex Newhook (89th), Justin Barron (123rd), Lane Hutson (127th), Owen Beck (136th), Joshua Roy (146th) and Sean Farrell (162nd).

At first glance, Lane Hutson's position is quite surprising, as he is ranked 127th, behind his teammate Justin Barron. However, it's still very interesting to note that eleven players from the Tricolore are present in this list, and it's certainly very promising for the team's future.

Moreover, the first overall pick in 2022, Juraj Slafkovsky, ranks ahead of Alexis Lafrenière, who comes in at 29th place. It's still very early to make comparisons between the two forwards, but one thing is certain, they both have immense potential and are set to have a fantastic NHL career, even if they faced some challenges in their early days in the NHL.

Despite Corey Pronman's evaluation, Tony Marinaro made a rather surprising statement on BPM Sports radio, mentioning that, in his opinion, the Saint-Eustache native will have a better career than the Canadiens' left-winger.

"For me, if a better career is defined in terms of points, I trust Alexis Lafrenière who scored 80, 105, and 112 points with the Rimouski Océanic in junior ranks. I'm not saying this to belittle Slafkovsky, as I think he will become an excellent all-around player in the NHL." - Tony Marinaro

Do you agree with Tony Marinaro on this?

Although Juraj Slafkovsky had a rookie season full of obstacles, collecting only 10 points in 40 games, the forward was only 18 years old last season. He is far from reaching his full potential, and even if many fans had high expectations of the Slovak, it's essential to remain patient and give him time to progress.

As for Lafrenière, the Quebecer still seems to struggle to establish himself as a top forward, three years after being selected first overall by the New York Rangers. The left-winger has amassed a meager total of 91 points (47 goals and 44 assists) in 216 games since his arrival in the NHL.