NFT: NHL Preseason: NY Rangers @ NJ Devils - 7:00 PM on MSG

Although expectations aren't high for the Rangers this season, it will be fun to see the young guns play and develop.

And Staal already looks like shit. On the ice for both Devils goals (along with Pionk)

He has zero worries about making the team because of his contract.

At this point, he is no more than a third pairing dman, but I would not put much stock in preseason.

He was a slug last season.

But Andersson might be the greatest player to ever play the game and Chytil will be a close second.

of the Anderson shorty.

When you can effortlessly go top shelf short side as a lefty from the right side you have skill.


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players surprised. Hayes looked very....motivated. I can't say that I thought that in previous years. DeAngelo looked better than I thought he would, but I'm still skittish if he makes the team. This guy Meskanen I would like to see more of. Gettinger is a big dude. Don't know if he's any good or not, but he's a big dude. The goalies did OK. Andersson with the two goals and PK time looks like he could be a keeper.

In comment 14082528 BrettNYG10 said:

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But Andersson might be the greatest player to ever play the game and Chytil will be a close second.

Lmao

I know he hasn't looked great, but if for no other reason than to see if something can be salvaged from that lousy Stepan trade, he should make the team out of camp. Whether he stays for long is up to him, but the team is going to be garbage this year anyway, so what do they have to lose?

I'm not that high on D'Angelo, but I'd like to see him play.

Andersson flashed more skill last night relative to what I expected reading about him. Seems like a lot of people wanted Mittelstadt over him at the time.

In comment 14083207 BrettNYG10 said:

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I'm not that high on D'Angelo, but I'd like to see him play. Andersson flashed more skill last night relative to what I expected reading about him. Seems like a lot of people wanted Mittelstadt over him at the time.

I don't know anyone who questioned Andersson's skill, maybe his attitude (which I love, but some people don't) or if he'll wind u0 an NHL center.

Mittlestadt, who I like a lot too, was firmly in the likely to be an NHL C projection.

I would have definitely taken Andersson though of the two, but I think both will be good.

I've read (from other Ranger fans) that Mittlestadt has real first line center potential and a much higher ceiling while Andersson is far more likely to be a middle six guy.

I don't really watch the prospects, so I don't have a real view.

In comment 14083239 BrettNYG10 said:

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I've read (from other Ranger fans) that Mittlestadt has real first line center potential and a much higher ceiling while Andersson is far more likely to be a middle six guy. I don't really watch the prospects, so I don't have a real view.

Well Andersson's MO is a gritty, two-way player, team captain guy, but I never questioned his skill. Only if he will remain at C, when I didn't really doubt if Mittlestadt would.

I've seen a lot of both players.

Andersson has smooth hands and a good shot, good speed, and he's a max effort guy.

Andersson is someone other teams will hate playing against. Which I find the be the highest compliment you can pay to a hockey player. No one likes playing against skilled sandpaper, think Brad Marchand but better size and not a dick whose going to lick someone (as far as we know).

So MVP this year. I'm ready.

Selke and Art Ross.

Would that be a first?

But I'm haunted by the notion that Andersson will end up with a career like another high Rangers pick: Manny Malhotra, who was also slotted as a middle 6 center, strong defender, future captain type. Malhotra played forever and had a nice career, but he wasn't what you envision from a #6 pick.

In comment 14083486 pjcas18 said:

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Selke and Art Ross. Would that be a first?

Yes - a Selke winner has never won the Art Ross. Fedorov won the Selke and Hart in 1994 but finished second in scoring, Sakic won the Hart and Art Ross but finished second in Selke voting in 2001.

I didn't need to look this up on Wikipedia, obviously.

In comment 14083500 BrettNYG10 said:

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In comment 14083486 pjcas18 said: Quote: Selke and Art Ross. Would that be a first? Yes - a Selke winner has never won the Art Ross. Fedorov won the Selke and Hart in 1994 but finished second in scoring, Sakic won the Hart and Art Ross but finished second in Selke voting in 2001. I didn't need to look this up on Wikipedia, obviously.

Of course not. Who would?

In comment 14083493 Greg from LI said:

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But I'm haunted by the notion that Andersson will end up with a career like another high Rangers pick: Manny Malhotra, who was also slotted as a middle 6 center, strong defender, future captain type. Malhotra played forever and had a nice career, but he wasn't what you envision from a #6 pick.

Clark said that he thought both Andersson and Mittlestadt were comparable skill wise, but Andersson's leadership gave him the edge.

I recall Muckler saying that Malhotra was going to be a third liner during his rookie year (or maybe after).

It does seem like Andersson has a higher ceiling than Malhotra ever did from what I've read.

was being scouted/drafted was way before my time of paying attention.

but I don't think he was ever supposed to be a good offensive player or definitely not a great one.

I think sometimes people hear "good two-way player" and think great we get a defensive guy or 3rd liner. But one of the best players of this era I have seen is Patrice Bergeron and I'm as amazed as his defensive zone play as I am with his offense.

Not saying Andersson would be Bergeron, but I really don't think Marchand is a bad comp, but like Marchand, Andersson may need someone to distribute the puck to him.

I think worst case with Andersson you get someone like Brendan Gallagher (but a much better skater) and best case you get a bigger, less asshole-ish, more skilled Marchand

and had no legs during camp. Didn't do it this summer and looks a hell of a lot better.

High picks and the view (which I'm actually on board with) is that you should be swinging for the fences with elite skill. It's why I liked the Chytil and Kravtsov picks.

Maybe it's misapplied to someone like Andersson (like I said, I don't have a view). I recall when Claude Giroux was drafted in 2006 he was talked about as a low-ceiling, high-floor guy. I think McGuire called him a future third liner.

I doubt the Rangers drafted Andersson thinking he could only be a 3C.

had a pretty nice one-time goal in his first NHL pre-season game last night vs NJ.

Pronman ranks the NHL teams by their under 23-year old cores.

Mostly as expected, top 5:

EDM
BUF
CBJ
TOR
FLA

I might switch BUF and CBJ and not sure I love FLA as much s he does - I think it's top heavy with Barkov and Ekblad, but both great players.

other notables:

BOS #10
NYI #14
MTL #17
NJD #18
NYR #22 (he said a year ago they'd have been dead last)
OTT #24

Malhotra was a guy who was supposed to have 2C upside even though he wasn't a big scorer in juniors. A Dirk Graham type.

might be the hardest sport to project, similar to baseball, but maybe even harder to project than baseball.

You're drafting 17/18 year old kids and trying to see how they'll grow, mature, and develop to play against grown men.

If you look at every draft there are a lot of 1st round picks who never make the NHL. Even in the top 10. Or at least never become established in the NHL.

These stats* below are just starts, not considering quality in any way.

From the 2014 NHL draft, so kids had 4 seasons to make the NHL, there are 7 players with less than 60 NHL games played.

14 with less than 100 (around 40% of the draft class 1st round).

From the 2013 NHL draft, so kids had 5 season to make the NHL, there are also 7 players with less than 60 NHL games played.

10 with less than 100 (one third of the draft class 1st round)

From the 2012 NHL draft, do kids had 6 seasons to make the NHL - dream is pretty much over now, 4 players with less than 60 games played.

7 with less than 100 (around 23% of that draft's 1st round will likely never play 100 games in the league).

From the 2011 NHL draft, do kids had 7 seasons to make the NHL - dream is almost certainly dead now, 6 players with less than 60 games played.

7 with less than 100 (around 23% of that draft's 1st round will likely never play 100 games in the league).


*all stats from hockeydb

What's scary is I just read that Marc Bergevin compared Jack Hughes to Nail Yakupov. WTF?

I see Hughes play and I see Patrick Kane, the Canadiens GM sees Nail Yakupov. Sadly, right now at least, more people agree with me than him.

And who knows, maybe neither is right.

The last time the Rangers had multiple top ten picks in a two year period, they ended up with Pavel Brendl, Jamie Lundmark, and Malhotra.

.

In comment 14083897 BrettNYG10 said:

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.

with any luck you'll get to experience it too.

Lundmark was supposed to be the high floor/lower ceiling guy that was a hedge against the boom or bust potential of Brendl, but neither of them amounted to much of anything.

In fairness, that was a terrible draft. Outside of the Sedins, and Havlat to a much lesser extent, none of the first rounders amounted to much.

from 2012.

there were other contributors later in the draft like Forsberg (still can't believe the Caps traded him), Vasilevsky, and others) that may be the worst top 10 ever.

the best players are the D, Reilly, Trouba, and Dumba.

Outside of Galchenyuk who has his own well documented issues.

no stars though.

DeAngelo also a pleasant surprise, was their best defenseman imo.

Lundqvist gave up 5 goals in a period and a half

Chytil got injured but came back

Kreider-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Vesey-Hayes-Buchnevich
Namestnikov-Chytil-Spooner
Beleskey-Lias-Fast
Holland/Lettieri---still need to see more from Lindqvist and Meskanen

McLeod waived


Skjei-Shattenkirk
Staal (sigh)-McQuaid
Smith-DeAngelo
Claesson/O'Gara

Pionk sent down to Hartford (numbers game)


Lundqvist
Tokarski

.

In comment 14086012 Greg from LI said:

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I would as well, but I actually liked what I saw from Tokarski tonight. Granted he didn't face a lot of shots, but he played well. The one goal against him wasn't even his fault. Gilmour gave the puck away in front of the net.

over DeAngelo and O'Gara.

Pionk looked really good in the world cup, which is a more wide open style game, but I think he's ready to be a consistent NHL contributor, only thing O'Gara offers over him is size, he doesn't have close to the offensive game.

And if DeAneglo beats out Pionk it's a "scholarship" type situation, right now, based on results, Pionk is just a better player.

And I'm not saying the Rangers won't do this, but I wouldn't keep Andersson around to be the 4th line C and get 8-9 minutes per game.

As I said earlier, the team is going nowhere this season and they need to determine once and for all whether or not DeAngelo has any future here.

In a just world, they would just keep both Pionk and DeAngelo and push Staal out to sea on an ice floe.

In comment 14086355 Greg from LI said:

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As I said earlier, the team is going nowhere this season and they need to determine once and for all whether or not DeAngelo has any future here. In a just world, they would just keep both Pionk and DeAngelo and push Staal out to sea on an ice floe.

Agree, normally though you'd think new coach, no tie to old scholarships. Of course the GM is still here though.

Pionk will benefit more from playing with the NHL team IMO than he would by playing in Hartford, so in a perfect world it would be an open competition. but we know that's not always the case.

I didn't see the Philly game but BSB had good reviews for him.

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I think it�s fair to say DeAngelo has probably been the most noticeable defenseman on the ice in both of these preseason games. (We discussed him at length after the win over the Devils here.) He led all Rangers with 23:54 last night, including a staggering 7:57 on the power play and even 3:05 on the penalty kill. It�s amazing how refreshing it is to see David Quinn actually, you know, looking at young talent and giving them a shot despite mistakes made. DeAngelo had a few giveaways that turned into small fires, but that happens when you have the puck a lot. He had five shots, two takeaways, and three blocks. I thought he was fantastic, and I think he�s taken an enormous step above Neal Pionk for that single open spot I�m projecting to be open.

enough to have the "light bulb" finally come on and focus on hockey. He was drafted highly for a reason and maybe Quinn does give him more of a chance than AV.

who knows?

I haven't see any Rangers pre-season games.

Based on the last time I saw them both play Pionk was much more solid across the board.

I did see the MTL pre-season games and last night saw Max Domi punch an unwilling combatant in Aaron Ekblad (I struggle with the sucker punch label - many in the media are giving it - mainly because Ekblad was jostling with him and saw him nudging him to fight but Ekblad refused to engage), but man that reminded me sort of his father with that quick punch. I think he could get a couple games for it.

Sucker punch or not it doesn't matter IMO, if the other person doesn't drop their gloves or "accept the challenge" you don't fight. It's that simple. Most people who have been slashing you all game or harassing you will drop their gloves (except Claude Lemieux vs Cam Neely).

you be the judge.
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That is 100% a sucker punch and absolutely suspension worthy.

No reason whatsoever to shed the glove there.

Pretty disgusting IMO.

In comment 14086418 bigbluehoya said:

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That is 100% a sucker punch and absolutely suspension worthy. No reason whatsoever to shed the glove there. Pretty disgusting IMO.

agree with all except sucker punch. You have to protect yourself there if you're Ekblad. Domi is squared off with him or at worst he knows Domi is trying to engage him. it's probably semantics but IMO a sucker punch is when the other person isn't looking or if it comes without warning/provocation.

The label doesn�t much matter to me. It�s not good stuff regardless.

Ekblad has a checkered history of head injuries if memory serves...really hate to see this.

In comment 14086442 bigbluehoya said:

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The label doesn�t much matter to me. It�s not good stuff regardless. Ekblad has a checkered history of head injuries if memory serves...really hate to see this.

He cleared concussion protocol and has no broken nose. So now worries on the Ekblad side, I do think when these two teams face each other (which I don't think happens until December) there will be some heavyweights in the lineup. Panthers were pissed.

* no worries

This quote from Drouin is interesting:

Quote:

"The two were arguing with one another," Jonathan Drouin said. "I saw a pretty big slash from Ekblad on Max, and Max just took matters into his own hands. It�s also Ekblad�s fault for not protecting himself."

I think it's fairer to say a player can better attempt to protect themself from a check, but a sucker punch (or, one you don't see coming, whichever) is by nature something one can't protect themself from. I find it interesting a lightweight like Drouin would opine on fighting protocol.

like I said above. Domi did not come out of nowhere. Ekblad and he were jostling/slashing/whatever each other and Domi had enough.

Domi was wrong to engage with someone that didn't drop their gloves and will face the consequences for that, but as a hockey player and a fan I think Ekblad should have seen it coming. And i don't consider it a "sucker punch".

Doesn't make Domi any less wrong, and it's rare for a player liek Ekblad to dish out a slash like that and not be willing to engage especially with the size difference between Ekblad and Domi (the 6'4 Ekblad vs the maybe 5' 9" Domi), so Domi should face some discipline, but Drouin is 100% right.

IMO.

Apparently the league took it kind of lightly too, I don't know if Domi has a history, which they would consider if he did, but not even a regular season game?


Blain Potvin
‏ @Potsy_70
3h3 hours ago

Domi is suspended for the remaining 5 games of the preseason for the Ekblad incident

goal from Kovy, not sure how much he has left, but if this is any indication, quite a bit
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