Since he accidentally scored in his own net in Game 1 of the Eastern Final between the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers, Alexis Lafrenière has been hungry.
The Saint-Eustache native is everywhere on the ice and scores breathtaking goals.
“That goal in his net, it sure bothered him,” said Lafrenière’s agent, Olivier Fortier, in an interview on TVA Sports on Thursday. It stung his pride a little. It’s certain that he would bounce back.”
We finally see the “Lafrenière of his junior years”, rejoiced Fortier, who knows very well his client’s progress in the National League has not been a long, quiet river.
“It was difficult the first year,” he said. Ice time and production were not there. I kept telling him: “If you ever get through this, you will have created a shell for yourself, something that would not have happened if you had arrived in the league with everything, everything cooked in your mouth.” With hindsight, we know that he will become a better hockey player and that will put him in a position, we hope, to win a Stanley Cup one day.
The next season will be very important for Lafrenière and his agent, since number 13 will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2025.
“A contract extension could happen between now and then,” recalled Fortier. Alexis, one of his qualities is that he is not distracted by much. Some players worry about contracts and may call us every day to find out what’s going on. In Alexis’ case, he has fun playing hockey and he wants to do that as long as possible.
Watch the full interview in the video above.
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