Alexis Lafreniere, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, won the Canadian Hockey League Top Draft Prospect of the Year Award on Friday.
It is the fourth award for the Rimouski left wing, No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, this season. He won the Jean Beliveau Trophy as the leading scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for Rimouski with 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists), the Paul Dumont Trophy as QMJHL personality of the year, and the Michel Briere Trophy as the QMJHL's most valuable player.
The CHL cancelled the remainder of its regular-season and the playoffs and Memorial Cup on March 23 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
"The fact he played three full seasons in the QMJHL is going to help him (to possibly transition to the NHL in 2020-21)," JF Damphousse of NHL Central Scouting told NHL Draft Class podcast. "He has the experience, he's physically mature and he's going to have a pretty good frame (6-foot-1, 193 pounds) when the season starts next season. … I wouldn't say the transition (to the NHL) will be easy because anytime you go from junior to pro, there's an adjustment to make. But he's a mature kid, has a strong work ethic and I think he understands what it takes to get to the next level."
Lafreniere was named most valuable player at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship after he scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) in five games to help Canada win the tournament. The 18-year-old also is a finalist for the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award (to be announced June 10) given to the most valuable player and could be the third QMJHL player to be selected No. 1 in the draft in eight years, joining Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (2013, Halifax) and New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (2017, Halifax).
The 2020 draft was scheduled for June 26-27 at Bell Centre in Montreal but was postponed March 25, as was the NHL Scouting Combine (June 1-6, Buffalo) and the NHL Awards (June 18, Las Vegas) because of the virus.
The other two other finalists for the award were Sudbury center Quinton Byfield, No. 2 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, and Prince Albert defenseman Kaiden Guhle (No. 8 in final ranking).
