Alexis Lafrenière

Alexis Lafrenière (; born October 11, 2001) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected first overall by the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2017, he was awarded the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award and was named to the First All-Star team in his rookie season. He was selected first overall by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL entry draft and made his NHL debut with the team in 2021.

Lafrenière has represented Canada internationally at the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, 2019 World Junior Championships, and the 2020 World Junior Championships. As the captain of the Canadian junior team, Lafrenière led them to a gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Playing career

QMJHL

Lafrenière was selected first overall in the 2017 QMJHL entry draft by Rimouski Océanic. In his rookie season, he scored 42 goals, the most goals scored by a rookie since Sidney Crosby in 2004. He was awarded the RDS Cup as QMJHL rookie of the year and was named to the First All-Star team. In 2019 and 2020, he received the cross-Canadian Hockey League's Player of the Year award, winning out over the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) most valuable player candidates in both of those years, becoming only the second player ever (joining Sidney Crosby) as a two-time winner of the award. On October 12, Lafrenière signed an entry-level contract with the Rangers.

On January 14, 2021, Lafrenière made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers, logging one shot on goal in the 4–0 loss to the New York Islanders. On January 28, 2021, Lafrenière scored his first NHL goal in a 3–2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres. He became the first Ranger to score his first career NHL goal in overtime since Mats Zuccarello did on January 5, 2011. Lafrenière also became the youngest player in NHL history to score their first career goal in overtime (19 years, 109 days old). The only other teenage player to do that was Cody Ceci (also 19) in 2013.

On May 7, 2022, Lafrenière scored his first career playoff goal during the Game 4 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins. At 20 years and 208 days, he became the youngest Ranger with a playoff point since Steven Rice (19 years, 322 days) in 1991.

On March 30, 2024, Lafrenière recorded his first NHL career hat trick and five-point game in the Rangers' 8–5 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

On October 25, 2024, Lafrenière signed a seven-year $52.15 million extension with the Rangers.

On March 10, 2026, Lafrenière recorded his second NHL career hat trick in the Rangers' 4–0 win over the Calgary Flames.

International play

Lafrenière was the youngest player selected for Canada under-18 team at the 2018 World U18 Championships at the age of 16. He later captained Canada at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament, despite being the second youngest on the roster. Lafrenière led the tournament with 11 points in five games, helping Canada win gold.

In December 2018, Lafrenière was named to Canada's 2019 World Junior Championships roster. He was the youngest member on the roster and the ninth-youngest forward ever to represent Canada in the World Juniors. He scored his first, and only, goal of the tournament during Canada's 5–1 win over the Czech Republic.

In December 2019, he was named to Canada's 2020 World Junior Championships roster. After a four-point performance in the team's 6–4 win against the United States in the tournament opener, Lafrenière suffered a lower-body injury the following game after colliding with Russian goaltender Amir Miftakhov on a scoring chance in the second period. He missed two games, and came back strong, helping lead Canada to a gold medal. He was named one of the three best players for Canada, tournament MVP, and was named to the media All-Star team. He registered four goals and six assists for 10 points in five games.

Personal life Lafrenière was raised in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, the son of Hugo and Nathalie Lafrenière, a first grade teacher. He has one sister, Lori-Jane, who is three years older than him and plays soccer, and attended the Université de Montréal. Alexis was also a talented baseball shortstop in his youth before deciding to focus on ice hockey. Despite being a Montreal Canadiens fan growing up, Lafrenière's favourite player is longtime Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2017–18 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 60 42 38 80 54 7 4 3 7 12 2018–19 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 61 37 68 105 72 13 9 14 23 14 2019–20 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 52 35 77 112 50 — — — — — 2020–21 New York Rangers NHL 56 12 9 21 8 — — — — — 2021–22 New York Rangers NHL 79 19 12 31 37 20 2 7 9 11 2022–23 New York Rangers NHL 81 16 23 39 33 7 0 0 0 0 2023–24 New York Rangers NHL 82 28 29 57 40 16 8 6 14 6 2024–25 New York Rangers NHL 82 17 28 45 38 — — — — — 2025–26 New York Rangers NHL 82 24 33 57 20 — — — — —NHL totals 462 116 134 250 176 43 10 13 23 17

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2017 Canada Red U17 6 3 3 6 0 2018 Canada U18 5th 5 4 2 6 2 2018 Canada HG18 556112 2019 Canada WJC 6th 5 1 0 1 2 2020 Canada WJC 5 4 6 10 4Junior totals 26 17 17 34 10

Awards and honours

Award Year RefQMJHL QMJHL All-Rookie Team 2018 QMJHL First All-Star Team 2018, 2019, 2020 Rookie of the Year 2018 Michel Bergeron Trophy 2018 Paul Dumont Trophy 2019, 2020 Jean Béliveau Trophy 2020 Michel Brière Memorial Trophy 2020 CHL CHL Player of the Year 2019, 2020 International World Junior Championships tournament MVP 2020 World Junior Championships tournament All-Star Team 2020