Alex Laferriere is one of the most promising young players on the Kings roster and that makes him extremely important. For Los Angeles to have a successful season next year, Laferriere must be the valuable piece they need.
During the 2025 season, the young prospect improved drastically in his second year, going from 23 points to 42 points. The nearly doubled production allowed Laferriere to become a dependable player on the second line.
Last season, Laferriere had 44 points, which is only a two-point jump from his sophomore year. Despite this not being a giant point increase similar to 2025, it doesn’t tell the full story. Laferriere still made tons of improvement as a player, whether the point total shows that.
This past season, Laferriere recorded a 69.84 IPP, which is more than 10% from the previous two years. Laferriere’s on-ice performance generated the most offensive output in his career, making his presence more valuable than before.
Aside from on-ice production, Laferriere became more a physical force and provided valuable checking for the Kings. Laferriere dished out 255 hits in 2026, which is more than double his 124 total in 2025.
Improvements in offensive production and physicality will fluently transition Laferriere with a new system for the upcoming year. Recently hired head coach Peter Laviolette prides his teams on forechecking and an attack-first offense.
Laferriere recorded a 456 ICF last season and has improved in this category every season of his career. Combine Laferriere consistently taking more shots with a high-tempo offense, and it is likely the number of shots will increase even more.
Along with the increase in shots, it is likely that Laferriere will see increased minutes with the new system as well. Since Coach Laviolette tends to give minutes to players that take more shots and deliver more hits, Laferriere should see more ice time.
Every year Laferriere received more minutes, which led to improvement. Now Laferriere will see even more minutes in a system that will let his skills continue to marinate. A coach’s structure that resembles Laferriere’s playing style and lets him play more is a strong indication of another leap for Laferriere.
As important as it is for Laferriere to grow individually, his improvement should also help Los Angeles as well. The Kings have already experienced improvement when Laferriere took the leap as a player.
Back in 2025 when Laferriere was more involved in the offense, the Kings moved up in the standings. Los Angeles advanced from the seventh-highest point total up to the fourth-highest point total in the Western Conference.
With Laferriere expected to make a leap similar to the one he had in 2025, the Kings as a whole would improve. Therefore, Laferriere’s improvement directly translates into how much of a jump the Kings have next season.
Los Angeles is looking for improvement not only from Laferriere, but improvement as an entire team. The Kings, similar to Laferriere, are ready to get better and take the next step into greatness.