The Edmonton Oilers selected winger Tommy Lafrenière from the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League with their first pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on Saturday.
Lafrenière scored 23 goals and 56 points over 68 games in his first full WHL season in 2024-25. Born in St. Sauveur, Quebec, Lafrenière played four seasons at the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Based on pre-draft rankings, this pick looks like a bit of a reach for the Oilers at 83rd overall. Lafrenière is described as a high floor, low ceiling prospect, praised by scouts for his hockey sense and responsbile game.

Where Tommy Lafrenière was ranked coming into the draft:

Scouting Reports on 83rd overall pick Tommy Lafrenière:

“Kamloops Blazers forward Tommy Lafrenière has turned heads quite often this season. A Central Division NHL scout told Daily Faceoff, ‘Think of a smaller Nick Suzuki.’
Lafrenière played his minor hockey for Yale Hockey Academy, where he was named the U18 Prep Co-MVP after tallying 27 goals and 58 points in 30 games during the 2023-24 season. Lafrenière saw nine games of action with Kamloops during the 2023-24 campaign, picking up four points.
Now in the WHL full-time, he’s continuing to produce at a high level, but he remains under the radar. Lafrenière notched 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points in 68 games this season with the Blazers, finishing second among WHL rookies. He trailed only 2027 projected first overall pick Landon Dupont. He was listed as the 86th top North American skater in the NHL Central Scouting’s midseason list.” – Daily Faceoff
“The ceiling is low, but the certainty is high. Lafrenière plays an intelligent, disciplined, responsible game, allowing him to pester carriers and win battles all over the ice.
Lafrenière is a quick-witted two-way forward who uses his intelligence to be a pesky play disruptor. A smart player with strong timing, he stays on top of the play, surveying and jumping on vulnerable pucks. While not always physical on the puck, Lafrenière is adept at using deception to surprise carriers and strip pucks off them. He finished fourth on Kamloops in scoring in his first year there, though his minus-33 was second lowest on the team. However, this was a weaker team, and everyone on the roster was well into the negative.” – Dobber Hockey
“Lafrenière wins pucks with speed, contact details, and, if all else fails, sheer effort. He never stops battling and engaging, especially on the forecheck, and racks up the retrievals. Then, he passes high and crashes the net for the rebound. There’s a lot of timing to his actions, seemingly always moving into open space just as the puck arrives. When not battling or crashing the net, Lafrenière flashes some transition and playmaking ability.” – Elite Prospects