Kings Select Alex Laferriere (Round 3, Pick 83

The LA Kings have selected forward Alex Laferriere with the 83rd overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft!

The Vitals

Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
DOB: 10/28/01
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 180
Hometown: Chatham, New Jersey
NHL Central Scouting Final Ranking: 61 (North American skaters)
NHL Central Scouting Midterm Ranking: 68
TSN/Craig Button’s Final Ranking: 101
The Athletic/Corey Pronman’s Final Ranking: Unranked
The Athletic/Scott Wheelers’s Final Rankings: 75
McKeen’s Final Ranking: 62
Stats (Des Moines – USHL): 42 GP, 19-26=45

What The Experts Said

Via Scott Wheeler (subscribe to The Athletic here)
Laferriere’s season kind of existed in three parts. He got off to a torrid start in his first full USHL season, with a seven-shot showing on a scoreless opening night and 15 points in the seven games that followed, he hit a lull through the middle third of the season (including a lacklustre World Jr. A Challenge) where I began to worry about his pace of play, and then he was outstanding for the last month of the season, racking up a further 19 points in 13 games before the cancellation. The result was a point per game pace of 1.07, good for fifth among the USHL’s first-year draft eligibles, behind the Steel’s trio and Gushchin. He did it while playing on a Des Moines team that second-last in the eight-team Western Conference and 12th in the 16-team league in goals for. Laferriere’s game isn’t dissimilar to that of other recent Harvard recruits, almost all of whom have exceeded expectations. He’s not an explosive skater, so he relies on playing at his own pace and dictating with control to wait for his moments to thread a pass or slide into a hole for a shot. Laferriere’s late birthday and good but not great production could mean he’s no more than a late-round pick, but his flashes were legitimate, I saw him manufacture offence on his own throughout an entire game, and if he can pick up a step in college he could emerge from the other side as a dominant NCAA playmaker.

Via ESPN’s Chris Peters
Laferriere makes a lot of smart plays, and he created offense at an especially high rate for the USHL. He led the Des Moines Buccaneers in scoring and can be involved at both ends of the ice.

From Dobber Prospects
Alex Laferriere, not to be confused with Alexis Lafrenière, is a dangerous player off the rush. He gains the line and creates room for himself to make plays. Alex is a true dual-threat scorer and likes to play a real power game, even at a modest 6-feet-even and 179 pounds. Think a scoring forward with some grit, not the second coming of Cam Neely.

What His Coach Said – Peter Mannino, Des Moines (USHL), via Des Moines Register

He can shoot to score and really has a good sense for playmaking and finding plays and making players around him better. But his stick is really, really crafty and special…There’s still a lot of growth. There’s still so much growth to him physically, which is even more exciting. He put in a big summer here, and I know he’s put weight on since last year and every year. He’s filling in those areas of potential, and I think that’s helped him.

The LA Kings Day 2 Draft Show is now live!