Last training camp, Alex Laferriere was a big surprise to make the Los Angeles Kings roster right from the start of the season. He would end up playing 81 games and had 23 points while averaging 13:13 time on ice.
This training camp is a little different because he is not going to surprise anyone and is coming in with very big expectations. He has already started out being on that top line alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe and is excited about the opportunity.
"It's really exciting," Laferriere said. "You know you want to be on the ice as much as possible and those guys play a lot of minutes. So anytime you're on the ice with them, good things are going to happen."
Alex Laferriere focused this offseason on getting the puck on net more for the Los Angeles Kings
The forward was also asked after practice what he had been working on this offseason and he mentioned that his shot has been his primary focus. "A thing I focused on a lot was not getting blocked so just kind of getting a faster release and just trying to hit the net a little bit more."
Certainly playing on a line with Kopitar and Kempe getting the puck on net and creating more scoring chances would be a positive. Last season, Laferriere had a scoring percentage of only 8.2%, and he was the only player with a shot percentage under 10% among players with 145 or more shots.
He would also have 319 shots but only 46% of them would end up on goal and if he has improved that release, that percentage should only improve this coming season.