Alexis Lafrenière has dominated everywhere he played for a few years now. The young man no longer needs a presentation in the hockey world and his performances at the World Championship have just confirmed his first place for the next NHL draft.
Hugo Lafrenière, Alexis' father, described his son as a cool, steadfast guy, a creature on the ice: "It looks like Alexis has no blood in his veins. I don't know how to explain this. It is not normal. When he steps up on the ice, he puts on his superhero cape and nothing can stop him."
A week ago, the forward was writhing in pain from a knee injury after a collision with the Russian goaltender. Eight days later, he became a world junior champion, member of the all-star team, best forward in the competition and the tournament's most valuable player.
These are exceptional achievements for any hockey player and even more impressive for an 18-year-old player inconvenienced by an injury and waiting to be drafted. His 10 points in five games gave him an average of two points per game. Only three other players have accomplished the feat since 2000, namely John Tavares, Taylor Hall and Jesse Puljujarvi.
The game of comparisons is therefore set in motion. Will Lafrenière become the next Connor McDavid? Or the successor to Sidney Crosby? Absolutely not. Alexis will be the first Alexis Lafrenière, a unique player. He is powerful, rushing like a bull towards the opposing net, with a mad talent in forecheck and his own way of crushing his opponents on the board to recover pucks, a rare quality for a sniper. He is very fast and has an incredible ability to escape his pursuers by playing a mixture of north-south and east-west play. In addition, he is very precise. Whether it's his shot or his passing game, his precision is surgical enough to make the majority of NHL players jealous even if he hasn't played a single game in the Bettman circuit yet.
