Alexis Lafrenière

Alexis Lafrenière (, born October 11, 2001) is a Canadian major junior ice hockey player and captain of the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Selected first overall by the Rimouski Océanic 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 New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

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

Playing career
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.

Following the shortened 2019–20 QMJHL season, Lafrenière was considered the consensus first overall pick for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft having led the league in scoring with 112 points. He was eventually drafted first overall by the New York Rangers on October 6, becoming their first ever first overall pick in the entry draft era.

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

In December 2018, Lafrenière was named to Team Canada's 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship 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. Canada was later eliminated by Team Finland in the quarterfinals.

In December 2019, he was named to Team Canada's 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships roster. After a 4-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 goalie Amir Miftakhov on a chance in the second period.

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 at the Université de Montréal. Alexis was also a talented baseball shortstop in his youth before deciding to focus on hockey. Despite being a Montreal Canadiens fan growing up, Lafrenière's favorite player was Patrick Kane.