Alexis Lafreniere facing suspension for “abuse of an official.”

A bogus penalty?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Alexis Lafreniere facing suspension for “abuse of an official.”
Joel Marklund/Bildbyran/Zuma

The projected first overall pick at the 2020 National Hockey League Entry Draft appears to have landed himself in some hot water, but I must admit that the video evidence in this situation is not very compelling. 

According to multiple reports top NHL prospect Alexis Lafreniere was assessed a penalty today for "abuse of an official" during a recent game in which he played for the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The penalty is a significant one because it carries with it an automatic one game suspension, something that would be an obvious blemish on the young man's record, although a blemish that would be highly unlikely to have any impact at all on where he ends up being drafted next summer. 

The issue in this case is that although Alexis Lafreniere clearly did become involved in an altercation during the game, the video replays that we have been able to see do not appear to show any abuse of an official anywhere. It is of course a possibility that Lafreniere said or did something that was not picked up on camera that led to the penalty, however that is nothing but pure speculation at this time. The talented 18 year old forward did manage to have himself quite the game in spite of the controversy however, picking up a pair of goals as well as an assist for his 10th game of the season with 3 or more points. 

Here's the video in question.


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