Alexis Lafreniere has taken a major step forward in his fourth season, and it has benefited the Rangers greatly.
The New York Rangers have benefited from the success of many players this year, and forward Alexis Lafreniere is one of them.
Following a tremendous juniors career in the QMJHL with the Rimouski Oceanic, recording 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists) in 52 games in his final season, Lafreniere was the clear favorite to go first overall.
The Rangers won the lottery in 2020 to make that consensus's first overall choice theirs, selecting Lafreniere via Zoom.
The former first-overall pick did not come flying out of the gates when he began his NHL career like many fans had hoped.
In Lafreniere's first season, he recorded 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 56 games, failing to register any Calder votes.
The native of French Canada, Lafreniere is not the first of his francophone hockey mates to suffer a build-up to a letdown -- until he finally found his quality level of play.
Jean Beliveau -- considered by many to be the greatest centerman of all-time -- was the first.
After starring on the Junior level with the Quebec Citadelles, "Le Gros Bill" ignored the Canadiens and signed on with the Quebec Senior League's Quebec Aces. Beliveau finally signed with the Habs but turned out to be a fabulous flub. Finally, coach Toe Blake suggested that the slumping Big Jean play a more physical game. As his penalty minutes climbed to new heights so did his point totals until Beliveau reached the very highest level in his profession.
A similar scenario was followed by Guy Lafleur who followed Beliveau's trail to the Stanley Cup by flubbing out in the first few years of his Montreal career. Finally someone told Guy to eschew the helmet.
Out went the head protector and in came one of the most productive stickhandlers in hockey annals.
Like the other young talents Lafreniere needed time to develop -- en route to stardome.
In his sophomore and third NHL seasons, the Lafreniere failed to reach the 40-point mark, posting 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in his sophomore season and 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in his junior season.
Flashforward to now, with seven regular season games remaining, Lafreniere has gone well over his career-high in points with 54 already.
The 22-year-old has surpassed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career, with 26 markers to go along with his career-high 28 assists.
A big attribution to the success of the Rangers has been the play of Lafreniere's line, which consists of Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin on the wings with Vincent Trocheck down the middle
According to MoneyPuck.com, with 100 minutes minimum of ice time, that line leads the entire league in Goals For, with 49.
In a true testament to his excel in play, Lafreniere recorded his first-career hat trick on Saturday, March 30th, against the Arizona Coyotes.
He also added two assists to make it a five-point night, succeeding his single-game high in points by two.
Lafreniere recorded two three-point outings this season, in Toronto against the Maple Leafs and once at home against the Minnesota Wild.
Since March 1st, Lafreniere has scored eight goals and added eight assists for 16 points in 14 games.
Undoubtedly, Lafreniere has taken major strides this season and his uprising is one of the many factors that have the Rangers where they are in the standings.
It will benefit the Blueshirts greatly if Lafreniere can bring his elevated game with him into the playoffs.