NHL Rookie Alex Laferriere Got Into A Fight In His First Game And His Family Had The Best Reaction

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There are obviously plenty of nerves that come with playing in an NHL game for the first time, and Los Angeles Kings rookie Alex Laferriere was probably grappling with them during his debut on Wednesday night. He’s still in search of his first point in the league, but he did manage to get into his first fight much to the delight of some family members in attendance.

The New Jersey native was selected in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft and spent a couple of seasons honing his skills as a right winger at Harvard. It looked like there was a chance he’d be starting the season with the Ontario Reign (L.A.’s AHL affiliate), but he ended up making the final roster after the Kings called him up a couple of days before their season opener against the Avalanche.

Laferriere was on the ice in the middle of the second period with his squad down by a couple of goals, and tempers started to flair after the Avalanche took exception to Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois sticking his leg out to trip Fredrik Olofsson after the Colorado forward danced away from an attempted check.

A scrum quickly formed at center ice, and while it seemed like the situation was on the verge of being diffused without any punches being thrown, things escalated when Laferriere and Logan O’Connor dropped the gloves and started trading blows.

Neither player managed to land a solid punch during the fight, but Laferriere eventually got the upper hand and brought it to an end by forcefully throwing O’Connor down onto the ice before the camera cut to a shot of the former’s family celebrating his Welcome To The NHL Moment.

The fight resulted in the 21-year-old heading to the penalty box for a second time (he’d been hit with a hooking call in the first period), and he definitely earned those five minutes.