I was a bit pissed that we took Kravtsov over Wahlstrom the night of the draft - but it looks like the Rangers had a bit of sensibility on this one.
It's tougher with hockey, I just don't know nearly as much about the prospects as I do in football. So, even at the time, I didn't really fly off the handle or go crazy over it. Just seemed like Wahlstrom would have been the better pick... obviously after seeing Kravtsov a little bit in the Juniors and seeing what he's done this year, I'm totally on board with the pick. He's impressive.
Really liked the K'Andre Miller pick too.
Lemieux has been a nice addition. He's an easy guy to pull for.
Vesey has been disappointing. He's alright, but he's not lived up to any of the hype.
Mika is obviously our best player - he's a keeper. He's going post a ~75 point season. This has been his best season by far. Guy is just 25 years old. I want him here for the next wave and actually feel bad for him right now because you can tell it's been a tough year with all the losing.
I was hoping for a bigger step for Buch this year, too. His year hasn't been bad... but he hasn't really taken a step forward from last year .
DeAngelo has played pretty well. I like what he brings and think he can develop into a nice 2nd pairing guy.
Flashes with Chytl. Need to see more from Lias.
Not sure what we're going to do with Hank. He's sort of getting into Eli territory.
I'd like to see what Shestyorkin can do if we can get him over here.
24-4 with a 1.11 GAA for SKA - 10 shutouts.
It's the KHL, so it is what it is - but St. Petersburg is a premier team over there, so this wasn't totally under the radar.
Wish we could get Shattenkirk off the books. Same with Staal. Both guys are eating a lot of cap and aren't worth it.
Shattenkirk is eating up more cap than anyone outside of Hank. No good.
Sorry... super long post. Haven't been on many NYR threads this year, but that's kind of where I'm at.
I do like David Quinn... but I'm not really clear on what Gorton's vision or plan is right now. I guess we'll see.
And yes, I was also pissed that we took Kravtsov over Wahlstrom, but it appears that Krav was the right pick. He seems way more versatile than the talented goal-scorer Wahlstrom. Kravtsov looks like he could be a superstar in the NHL.
We're set at goalie.
I haven't studied the upcoming Draft at all, but it seems like it's a two-player draft (Hughes and Kakko).
And it seems like Chytil and Lias have both suffered from sophomore slumps
It's all relative. Other teams have these players and more
We need to snag top 5 picks in at least two drafts and nail them - future superstars. What we have currently are a lot of really quality role players that will want to get paid soon enough. We need franchise superstars.
draft is considered as good as last year (2018) by many scouts which was considered average to slightly above average. 2016 was above average (awesome top 2 rounds) and 2017 is considered below average, 2018 and 2019 in between the two.
Much, much more than Hughes and Kakko, but strong top 2.
Shestyorkin had a stout defense in front of him (lots of clips) but he is way agile and quick, moreso than Henrik ever has been, Giacomin-cat-like, for those who go back that far, and his glove hand can be out of this world.
It seems to me Henrik has been in Eli nether world for a couple of years and like his counterpart across the river has the franchise over a cap- and trade constrained barrel. NY, NY.
Buch strikes me as really young still, Vesey less so but not yet mature: they came to the Rangers as young, promising but complementary pieces. In short order they've been asked to take on much larger roles. This may never suit their maturity or skills level, but some take longer than other to grow into the responsibility of carrying a team, something inconceivable for them two years ago.
Defense is a problem, expensive players not playing to the level of their salaries. How does Quinn weather this transition?
I was initially skeptical about Quinn, but he has impressed me with his handling of the young players and the consistency of his message. I know someone who has worked with him, someone who had a long career in the NHL. He said that Quinn is an excellent motivator.
Does anyone have info on the kid, Jake Elmer the Rangers signed... Â
a few days ago? Jake Elmer - NYR news - ( New Window )
Just based on reading about him, he sounds like a poor man's Brendan Lemieux. Plus, it seems like he really benefitted from having been on a line with Dylan Cozens.
Actually, I've read that while SKA St Petersburg is a powerhouse team, it's a very offense-oriented team that frequently gambles to score, forcing Shestyorkin to stop a lot of very dangerous scoring chances.
In the limited reading I had done on him previously I actually had read quite the opposite as far as the quality of defense in front of him. I had read that SKA had pretty low end defense with high quality forwards. They gave up a lot of odd man rushes and forced Shestyorkin to make plenty of big saves. If that really is the case then the transition to his NHL team shouldn't take nearly as much adjustment.
from BSBanter: his contributions relative to his team (scoring challenged) and how his draft position last year stands in retrospect, with a mention of Buch in points contribution
Actually, I've read that while SKA St Petersburg is a powerhouse team, it's a very offense-oriented team that frequently gambles to score, forcing Shestyorkin to stop a lot of very dangerous scoring chances.
That is a veteran team (SKA St Petersburg). Datsyuk and Yakupov play for them, plus more older players. They absolutely have stout D.
But when you have a 1.11 GAA and a 95% save percentage with 10 shutouts I don't care how good your D are, you are playing good hockey.
the argument against Shestyorkin (that speaks to the stout D) is the other goalie Magnus Helberg (a 27 year old non-prospect - ex-Ranger) has a 1.3 GAA and 94% save percentage with 8 shutouts - with more starts than Shestyorkin.
for Shestyorkin, the Islanders goalie prospect, Ilya Sorokin, is often linked to/compared with Shestyorkin. Both good Russian goalie prospects in the KHL drafted by NY NHL teams, about 4 months apart in age.
Sorokin put up a 1.16 GAA and a 94.5 save percent, and 11 shut outs for CSKA Moscow this year. His backup on CSKA put up similar numbers.
CSKA Moscow and SKA St Petersburg are the only KHL teams to allow under 118 goals this season (CSKA gave up 75, SKA gave up 80), league average is about 160 goals against.
I've only seen him (Shestyorkin) play in the WJC three years ago (?), I've seen only a handful of KHL games.
And I think he's a fantastic goalie. He should come to the NHL. Goalie is a position that really needs some new blood. I like Vasilevsky, Carter Hart is a phenom, and Binnington (who is 25) is off to a great start, but there is a lack of good young goalies IMO.
It seems like pretty often now goalies debut at an older age or at least they becomes starters older, so Shestyorkin at 23 or whatever he is, is on a good path IMO.
Shestyorkin and his agent calibrate these things, but the King on his throne against all comers, likely the case, has to be a factor.
I've not seen any full KHL games with Igor in net, only isolated clips, and they are impressive, as one would expect in replay highlights. But the snap quickness of his glove hand in snatching pucks out of the air, in close range, is about as good as I've ever seen. In a post yesterday I compared him to Giacomin, but he is faster and quicker in his net coverage as he slides across the crease. He is the antithesis of the big, bulky netminders that have become almost standard issue.
interview snippets with Kreider from last summer, and the State of Henrik
Quote:
And it’s certainly admirable the way he’s taking his lumps because he wants to be part of the solution, knowing he can’t win consistently with this roster in front of him but hoping to help impart leadership and lessons as his team tries to figure it out during a drastic rebuild.
I just wonder what it’s going to look like going forward, what it will look like during the last two years of Lundqvist’s contract, when his team gets even younger – when maybe a playoff spot, but certainly not much more than that, can be in the Rangers’ sights.
And I just wonder how much of the job will be his given the way Georgiev has played and given that super-prospect Igor Shersterkin should land on North American soil, with an entry-level contract, by next training camp.
Carp can be a bit of a curmudgeon but ultimately it's a good read. Can't say I've been watching much since the trade deadline though. Brutal hockey right now. Buchnevich has been good lately though, happy to see that. Kreider has fallen off his scoring pace
It's tougher with hockey, I just don't know nearly as much about the prospects as I do in football.
Well you don't know much about football prospects either so that's not a good sign.
Let me re-phrase that....
I don't even get to really watch the hockey prospects at all, so I can't put an incorrect opinion out there about them the same way I can with CFB players that I've at least seen play outside of YouTube. :)
He's a US teen, on the USNDTP with Jack Hughes and he's scoring goals in chunks.
He's close to breaking Auston Matthews single season goal scoring record for the US NTDP and he's already passed Phil Kessel for the career goals lead.
Problem is he's 5' 7".
Hughes broke Clayton Keller's single season assist record and in the past few weeks Hughes passed Kane, Eichel, Kessel, and Mathews as the overall career leader in points for the USNTDP.
I'm not sure if the USNTDP plays the same schedule now they did when those other players were there. Now they play NCAA teams, but also USHL and other juniors teams. For example last Friday against the Green Bay Gamblers they US won 12 - 2 or something like that and Caufield had 6 goals and Hughes had 5 assists. Not sure if they were playing USHL teams when Kane and Kessel were there.
I have seen more than one publication flip Kakko over Hughes, and I have no issue with that, both will be good NHL players. I have seen Hughes described as between Eichel and Matthews. I think he's more Eichel, but I'd take that in a heartbeat at 1 and be thrilled if he dropped to #2.
Kakko at 6'2" 190 pounds is more my prototypical player - complete player, but he doesn't have the goal scoring touch that Matthews, McDavid, etc. top picks had. If you want a scorer you take Hughes IMO, if you want a forward who is going to win selkes and provide offense (think Bergeron but a W) maybe you take Kakko.
It's tougher with hockey, I just don't know nearly as much about the prospects as I do in football. So, even at the time, I didn't really fly off the handle or go crazy over it. Just seemed like Wahlstrom would have been the better pick... obviously after seeing Kravtsov a little bit in the Juniors and seeing what he's done this year, I'm totally on board with the pick. He's impressive.
Really liked the K'Andre Miller pick too.
Lemieux has been a nice addition. He's an easy guy to pull for.
Vesey has been disappointing. He's alright, but he's not lived up to any of the hype.
Mika is obviously our best player - he's a keeper. He's going post a ~75 point season. This has been his best season by far. Guy is just 25 years old. I want him here for the next wave and actually feel bad for him right now because you can tell it's been a tough year with all the losing.
I was hoping for a bigger step for Buch this year, too. His year hasn't been bad... but he hasn't really taken a step forward from last year .
DeAngelo has played pretty well. I like what he brings and think he can develop into a nice 2nd pairing guy.
Flashes with Chytl. Need to see more from Lias.
Not sure what we're going to do with Hank. He's sort of getting into Eli territory.
I'd like to see what Shestyorkin can do if we can get him over here.
24-4 with a 1.11 GAA for SKA - 10 shutouts.
It's the KHL, so it is what it is - but St. Petersburg is a premier team over there, so this wasn't totally under the radar.
Wish we could get Shattenkirk off the books. Same with Staal. Both guys are eating a lot of cap and aren't worth it.
Shattenkirk is eating up more cap than anyone outside of Hank. No good.
Sorry... super long post. Haven't been on many NYR threads this year, but that's kind of where I'm at.
I do like David Quinn... but I'm not really clear on what Gorton's vision or plan is right now. I guess we'll see.
We're set at goalie.
I haven't studied the upcoming Draft at all, but it seems like it's a two-player draft (Hughes and Kakko).
And it seems like Chytil and Lias have both suffered from sophomore slumps
We need to snag top 5 picks in at least two drafts and nail them - future superstars. What we have currently are a lot of really quality role players that will want to get paid soon enough. We need franchise superstars.
Much, much more than Hughes and Kakko, but strong top 2.
It seems to me Henrik has been in Eli nether world for a couple of years and like his counterpart across the river has the franchise over a cap- and trade constrained barrel. NY, NY.
Buch strikes me as really young still, Vesey less so but not yet mature: they came to the Rangers as young, promising but complementary pieces. In short order they've been asked to take on much larger roles. This may never suit their maturity or skills level, but some take longer than other to grow into the responsibility of carrying a team, something inconceivable for them two years ago.
Defense is a problem, expensive players not playing to the level of their salaries. How does Quinn weather this transition?
Jake Elmer - NYR news - ( New Window )
Just based on reading about him, he sounds like a poor man's Brendan Lemieux. Plus, it seems like he really benefitted from having been on a line with Dylan Cozens.
Actually, I've read that while SKA St Petersburg is a powerhouse team, it's a very offense-oriented team that frequently gambles to score, forcing Shestyorkin to stop a lot of very dangerous scoring chances.
https://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2019/3/18/18269630/nhl-new-york-rangers-prospects-breaking-down-vitali-kravtsovs-post-draft-season
Quote:
Shestyorkin had a stout defense in front of him
Actually, I've read that while SKA St Petersburg is a powerhouse team, it's a very offense-oriented team that frequently gambles to score, forcing Shestyorkin to stop a lot of very dangerous scoring chances.
That is a veteran team (SKA St Petersburg). Datsyuk and Yakupov play for them, plus more older players. They absolutely have stout D.
But when you have a 1.11 GAA and a 95% save percentage with 10 shutouts I don't care how good your D are, you are playing good hockey.
the argument against Shestyorkin (that speaks to the stout D) is the other goalie Magnus Helberg (a 27 year old non-prospect - ex-Ranger) has a 1.3 GAA and 94% save percentage with 8 shutouts - with more starts than Shestyorkin.
Sorokin put up a 1.16 GAA and a 94.5 save percent, and 11 shut outs for CSKA Moscow this year. His backup on CSKA put up similar numbers.
CSKA Moscow and SKA St Petersburg are the only KHL teams to allow under 118 goals this season (CSKA gave up 75, SKA gave up 80), league average is about 160 goals against.
I've only seen him (Shestyorkin) play in the WJC three years ago (?), I've seen only a handful of KHL games.
And I think he's a fantastic goalie. He should come to the NHL. Goalie is a position that really needs some new blood. I like Vasilevsky, Carter Hart is a phenom, and Binnington (who is 25) is off to a great start, but there is a lack of good young goalies IMO.
It seems like pretty often now goalies debut at an older age or at least they becomes starters older, so Shestyorkin at 23 or whatever he is, is on a good path IMO.
I've not seen any full KHL games with Igor in net, only isolated clips, and they are impressive, as one would expect in replay highlights. But the snap quickness of his glove hand in snatching pucks out of the air, in close range, is about as good as I've ever seen. In a post yesterday I compared him to Giacomin, but he is faster and quicker in his net coverage as he slides across the crease. He is the antithesis of the big, bulky netminders that have become almost standard issue.
It's tougher with hockey, I just don't know nearly as much about the prospects as I do in football.
Well you don't know much about football prospects either so that's not a good sign.
I just wonder what it’s going to look like going forward, what it will look like during the last two years of Lundqvist’s contract, when his team gets even younger – when maybe a playoff spot, but certainly not much more than that, can be in the Rangers’ sights.
And I just wonder how much of the job will be his given the way Georgiev has played and given that super-prospect Igor Shersterkin should land on North American soil, with an entry-level contract, by next training camp.
https://theathletic.com/872510/2019/03/17/its-no-time-to-judge-henrik-lundqvist-but-its-only-natural-to-wonder-what-awaits-him/?source=dailyemail
His game notes alone are worth the read
Quote:
It's tougher with hockey, I just don't know nearly as much about the prospects as I do in football.
Well you don't know much about football prospects either so that's not a good sign.
Let me re-phrase that....
I don't even get to really watch the hockey prospects at all, so I can't put an incorrect opinion out there about them the same way I can with CFB players that I've at least seen play outside of YouTube. :)
He's a US teen, on the USNDTP with Jack Hughes and he's scoring goals in chunks.
He's close to breaking Auston Matthews single season goal scoring record for the US NTDP and he's already passed Phil Kessel for the career goals lead.
Problem is he's 5' 7".
Hughes broke Clayton Keller's single season assist record and in the past few weeks Hughes passed Kane, Eichel, Kessel, and Mathews as the overall career leader in points for the USNTDP.
I'm not sure if the USNTDP plays the same schedule now they did when those other players were there. Now they play NCAA teams, but also USHL and other juniors teams. For example last Friday against the Green Bay Gamblers they US won 12 - 2 or something like that and Caufield had 6 goals and Hughes had 5 assists. Not sure if they were playing USHL teams when Kane and Kessel were there.
I have seen more than one publication flip Kakko over Hughes, and I have no issue with that, both will be good NHL players. I have seen Hughes described as between Eichel and Matthews. I think he's more Eichel, but I'd take that in a heartbeat at 1 and be thrilled if he dropped to #2.
Kakko at 6'2" 190 pounds is more my prototypical player - complete player, but he doesn't have the goal scoring touch that Matthews, McDavid, etc. top picks had. If you want a scorer you take Hughes IMO, if you want a forward who is going to win selkes and provide offense (think Bergeron but a W) maybe you take Kakko.