"As if things couldn't get worse for the New York Rangers, now they have family members of Rangers coaches attempting to dunk on their own players. Michael Ciaccio, brother of current Rangers Prospect and Development Coach (and former Rangers NHL Skills and Development Coach) Mark Ciaccio, replied to a a post on Twitter stating Alexis Lafreniere is not a top-six player. Funny enough, his brother Mark actually coached Lafreniere during his first few seasons."
"This is Mark Ciaccio's brother, commenting on a current #NYR player (Lafreniere). Another bad look for the Rangers. Mark is the current Prospect Skills and Development Coach. He was the NHL Skills and Development Coach, but got shifted to prospects after being inept in his job.- David Shapiro (@blueseatblogs.com) 2026-01-15T22:08:34.709Z So not only is the brother of a current coach trying to dunk on a current player, his attempt was so bad that he wound up dunking on his brother instead."
"Ciaccio has had little to no success in actually developing NHL talent, and some of Lafreniere's stagnation at the NHL level is on Mark. So Michael attempting to call out Lafreniere's lack of development is actually calling out his brother's inability to teach."
Michael Ciaccio publicly replied on Twitter that Alexis Lafrenière is not a top-six player. Michael is the brother of Mark Ciaccio, the Rangers' Prospect Skills and Development Coach who previously served as the NHL Skills and Development Coach. Mark coached Lafrenière during his first few NHL seasons. Michael's public criticism is portrayed as backfiring because it effectively criticizes his brother's coaching. The Rangers moved Mark from NHL-level coaching to prospect development amid perceptions of ineffectiveness. Lafrenière's NHL stagnation is attributed in part to Mark's limited success in developing NHL talent.
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