July 21, 2025 by Spencer Pomoty

Finding talent in the middle to later rounds of the amateur draft is essential for Stanley Cup contending teams like Edmonton Oilers, who should be trading away their higher picks to improve the roster each year.

With their third-round pick (83rd overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Oilers selected centre Tommy Lafreniere from the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. Lafreniere was the first WHL player to be selected with the Oilers first pick in the draft since Reid Schaefer (32nd overall) in 2022.

Statistical Profile

Lafreniere was born on January 16, 2007, which means he isn’t old for the class, but he also isn’t young. The 6-foot, 175-pound winger has decent size, but he will need to improve his strength and gain some weight before making the jump to the next level. Ranked No. 57 among North American skaters, Lafreniere finished fourth on the team in goals (24), fourth in assists (32) and fourth in points (56) in 68 games as a WHL rookie in 2024-25. The Blazers were one of just six WHL clubs to miss the playoffs, and had the fourth-fewest goals for in the league last season (206). Putting up 56 points in 68 games is solid production for a draft eligible player with all the context included. Lafreniere also ranked second in goals and third in points among WHL rookies.

Skating

This is an area of strength for one of the Oilers’ newest prospects. Lafreniere has very sound skating mechanics. He has great stride length and excellent use of crossovers all over the ice, constantly stopping and starting instead of gliding. He sits low, but he could be a bit lower, and I think that will come along once he gets stronger. Additionally, he displays strong outside edge use to help in tight and maintain great balance under pressure. The last point I have to add is his ability to accelerate and get to top speed in the first few strides surprised me throughout the season. Overall, I believe there is a great base to work with, and once you give the 18-year-old some time to tweak his mechanics and add more strength to his core and lower-body, there will be enough to be a strong skater at the pro level.

Skills

I wouldn’t define Lafreniere as crafty or extremely dynamic, but he does show some promising moments. The strongest part of the category for the Blazers’ young shot generator, is the ability to connect on plays in tight areas. There are multiple instances where he would use hook or slip passes, or a quick give-and-go to a teammate for a positive result. Another example of his hands in tight being a strength is that he played the goal line role on the power-play for the Blazers (which was one positive for the team at a 25% success rate), multiple of his goals were off of tip shots in the high-danger area or finding a rebound in close. His reception range also stands out. Good players don’t need perfect passes to make a play, and he shows instances of taking a rim pass off the wall and creating something with it. One more strength to note is that his shot mechanics are above average. Lafreniere pulls the top hand down and back, he can shoot it off either foot, but the velocity and placement will still need work in the future. To get to the pro level, Lafreniere will need to continue to work on his in tight scenarios, focusing on the simple passes rather than making the complicated 1-on-1 play, and keep working on the hand-eye for receptions at the next level. These are his strengths already, but continuing to work on what makes you good, and take it up a notch are still important to reach a player’s full potential.

Smarts

The Hornby Island, British Columbia native is excellent at getting lost behind the defence in the offensive zone. He uses the net to separate from opposing players, and never stops moving all over the zone, so it’s hard to keep track of him. He times his routes extremely well, and is open at the right time more often than not. When his teammates need him to support in a battle, he will, but he also trusts them to win battles and not come over bringing extra defenders. The former eighth-round pick in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft has a never-quit motor; he helps in every zone and opens himself up for a pass whenever they need him to be. Another strength I brought up earlier in the skills category is his ability to play in tight. It takes a good processor to consistently make good decisions with puck with limited room to operate. A couple of areas of improvement for Lafreniere are his pre-scanning before battles, or before receptions, and to refine some of the ways he uses his body. He does scan the ice well, but there are times he just races to a puck to be first to it. You need to have a plan with that puck at the next level. Moreover, Lafreniere needs to understand that position is greater than possession, he needs to use his body to seal defenders’ hands off and put himself in a better spot at the start of battles.

Speed

Lafreniere showed his ability to play an east-west style of game as a rookie in the WHL, allowing him to delay time for his teammates, or pushing the defence all the way back and using his outside edges to hit the brakes. He always wants to push the pace when he has the puck, but off puck, he’s great at slowing his game down for timing purposes.

Conclusion

I think Lafreniere was a decent bet to make in the third-round of the draft. If he keeps working on the translatable traits he already has in place, like the in-tight play connecting, give-and-go style, the never-stop motor, and being able to find the soft ice in the offensive zone, he will be able to play at the next level. I project him as a bottom-six forward in the NHL, because of the motor, skating ability, penalty kill potential, the three-zone smarts, and his solid base of play connecting ability. However, I worry about his goal-scoring being translatable, unless he continues to up the shot velocity and work on shot placement. Lafreniere will be an intriguing prospect to follow in his second WHL season with the Blazers, who should also take a step forward.