This year’s IIHF World Junior Championship is on the horizon. The New York Rangers have made the decision to not loan first-overall draft selection Alexis Lafreniere to Team Canada for the tournament.
Lafreniere, who was a standout in the international junior competition last year, will continue to “train locally and focus on his first NHL training camp,” according to Darren Dreger.
Why did the Rangers choose to not loan Lafreniere
The Rangers saw an injury risk that they deemed too great to allow Lafreniere to play in the tournament, a souce told Forever Blueshirts.