Are done on the Athletic. The NY Rangers are number one ranked for those 22 and under. I am not linking the article because it’s a site requiring subscription.
One note is that I was disappointed in K’Andre Miller 8. K’Andre Miller, D, Wisconsin-Big Ten
Assessment:
Miller was an all-situations player again for Wisconsin, and one of the top defensemen for Team USA at the world juniors. His offensive totals took a step back, but I saw a player who had confidence with the puck and made plays at both ends of the rink. Miller can make a strong first pass, and has blue line poise to find passing lanes and create chances. He can get too cute at times and be risky with the puck, but I think he sees the game well. He’s a big-time athlete with his size, strength and skating, which projects to be able to win battles and skate with NHLers easily. His offensive game has inconsistencies, with stretches where he doesn’t do much with the puck coupled with very good moments, which is why despite his high grades I’m not very certain he could be a top-four defenseman.
The fact that he is not considered a top 4 defensive prospect is disappointing.
Lundqvist has flipped with Miller over the past year and IMO is a player Rangers fans will love.
Lundqvist has flipped with Miller over the past year and IMO is a player Rangers fans will love.
Yes. Lundqvist was a pleasant surprise in the article. I am very pleased with the direction the Rangers have taken to first rebuild the organization and then build through the draft and not take any shortcuts.
What I meant was Miller wasn’t considered a top 4 Defenseman not that he isn’t a top 4 prospect defenseman in the Ranger organization
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In fact he's the #3 D on the list. He is not ahead of Nils or Fox at this point. I don't see what the problem is.
What I meant was Miller wasn’t considered a top 4 Defenseman not that he isn’t a top 4 prospect defenseman in the Ranger organization
Oh, alright. My bad. Yeah, that threw me for a loop too.
Kakko was 18 years old last year for almost the whole season. Pettersson, who I love, didn't even play in the NHL until he was 20. People need to be patient.
But more to the point, I wouldn't be upset with someone having the #1 vs #3 rated system. Probably not a ton of separation. I am eagerly looking forward to Nils Hoglander hitting the NHL though. Such a creative dynamic player.
I do think next year this time your Sens could see the top spot or top 3.
too old for Pronman's list.
yeah that focus on having ping pong balls with your logo on them get selected at the right time to help you as a team move up beyond the spot you "earned" to draft Kakko and Lafreniere was a solid strategy - more teams should do it.
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Whether it pans out remains to be seen, but the Rangers are executing this rebuild almost to perfection. Really couldn't have scripted it a whole lot better, so I'm thrilled with the direction here and think the near future is very, very bright.
yeah that focus on having ping pong balls with your logo on them get selected at the right time to help you as a team move up beyond the spot you "earned" to draft Kakko and Lafreniere was a solid strategy - more teams should do it.
To be fair, I believe we are talking about not spending lots of money on several free agents to speed up the rebuild process. Yes Panarin was an expensive free agent, as well as Trouba, but I still feel they are building using their young players.
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Whether it pans out remains to be seen, but the Rangers are executing this rebuild almost to perfection. Really couldn't have scripted it a whole lot better, so I'm thrilled with the direction here and think the near future is very, very bright.
yeah that focus on having ping pong balls with your logo on them get selected at the right time to help you as a team move up beyond the spot you "earned" to draft Kakko and Lafreniere was a solid strategy - more teams should do it.
You're right, pj.. those are the only two things that have happened. They didn't sign anyone or actually draft anyone else. The rebuild is limited to those two, isolated events.
Good call.
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In comment 14967435 arcarsenal said:
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Whether it pans out remains to be seen, but the Rangers are executing this rebuild almost to perfection. Really couldn't have scripted it a whole lot better, so I'm thrilled with the direction here and think the near future is very, very bright.
yeah that focus on having ping pong balls with your logo on them get selected at the right time to help you as a team move up beyond the spot you "earned" to draft Kakko and Lafreniere was a solid strategy - more teams should do it.
You're right, pj.. those are the only two things that have happened. They didn't sign anyone or actually draft anyone else. The rebuild is limited to those two, isolated events.
Good call.
Without those two events - Kakko and Lafreniere - do you still feel like this rebuild is being executed perfectly?
So yeah, the Rangers were lucky on Kakko/LaFreniere - they've also made a lot of decisions that had nothing to do with luck that have them where they are now.
Apologies for being happy with the direction of the hockey team I root for.
If Pens fans said "we executed our rebuild perfectly" after Crosby and Malkin I could only imagine the eye rolls from Rangers fans.
That is how non-Rangers fans view your comment.
It's ok to admit there is luck involved and not everything was part of some brilliant master rebuild plan.
Panarin changed the team. Trading for Mika was a huge win. Tony D'Angelo was a really good acquisition whether he sticks around or not. I thought Trouba was a good signing.
So, yes. I think what they're doing has been great and I think they'll be very competitive in the very near future.
No need to be a dick.
If Pens fans said "we executed our rebuild perfectly" after Crosby and Malkin I could only imagine the eye rolls from Rangers fans.
That is how non-Rangers fans view your comment.
It's ok to admit there is luck involved and not everything was part of some brilliant master rebuild plan.
What part of "lotto luck is part of rebuilds" didn't you understand?
I might not be the sensitive one here.
Maybe you need thicker skin.
JD - ( New Window )
Want to try a 3rd iteration of the same hollow critique or are we done here?
You're projecting heavy here. Take a break. :)
Want to try a 3rd iteration of the same hollow critique or are we done here?
maybe you can re-read the thread and see who is sensitive. If you still feel like I am the one being sensitive just say so and then I will apologize no questions asked (insincerely but I'll do it to cheer you up), if you feel like it's you, then maybe take some time and reflect on why that it is.
If it bugs you so much that a Rangers fan is happy with their rebuild that you need to mince words and make a big deal over a completely innocuous post, it's probably you who has the problem here. Not me.
When I start picking apart your posts because I have nothing better to do, feel free to let me know.
I'll let you have the last word if you'd like.
You made a silly comment, I called you out on it, just say - you used a poor choice of words and move on.
Or just move on, but don't try and attack me because of your poor choice of words - that defensiveness is what makes you look worse.
good talk.
Fans of both teams have a lot to be excited about, but time will tell whether they can put contenders together. A few years ago, fans of Buffalo, Toronto, Edmonton and Florida were really excited about their highly touted farm systems also.
Fans of both teams have a lot to be excited about, but time will tell whether they can put contenders together. A few years ago, fans of Buffalo, Toronto, Edmonton and Florida were really excited about their highly touted farm systems also.
And joking aside, the Rangers have gone about the rebuild really smartly from an asset management standpoint. The harder part now is developing these kids and turning it all into a machine to compete.
Pretty much any successful rebuild is going to have an element of luck involved. Most successes in sports are aided by luck and fortune at key moments. I think that's generally understood and accepted.
I also don't think there's anything wrong with saying the Rangers have done a fantastic job in most facets of the rebuild that they've been able to directly control. They're not winding up at the top of these lists because of two ping pong balls.
They've made small missteps here and there, but all things considered, yeah - I think they've done a great job and I think it's a good position to be in going forward.
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Whether it pans out remains to be seen, but the Rangers are executing this rebuild almost to perfection. Really couldn't have scripted it a whole lot better, so I'm thrilled with the direction here and think the near future is very, very bright.
yeah that focus on having ping pong balls with your logo on them get selected at the right time to help you as a team move up beyond the spot you "earned" to draft Kakko and Lafreniere was a solid strategy - more teams should do it.
Strange post. Surely being in a position to potentially get some lottery luck WAS part of the Rangers plan. More teams probably should do it instead of toiling in the middle of the league. But who hasn't built an elite organization without getting lottery luck? Lafreniere was a helluva break, no doubt there. But they're #1 on this list without accounting for Laf.
I think they moved up 3 spots to get the Kakko pick. It wasn't that crazy. They had that chance because they decided to rebuild. There are several players listed in their top 10 besides Kakko with high end/very good/legit NHL player tags that were drafted with the extra picks they acquired because they made the decision to sell off and stop trying to scrap for the last playoff spot with a team that had missed its window.
We'll see how some of the salary cap decisions play out, it's a mixed bag there. But as far as acquiring young assets, the Rangers have executed their rebuild well regardless of the luck they've had
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In comment 14967442 pjcas18 said:
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In comment 14967435 arcarsenal said:
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Whether it pans out remains to be seen, but the Rangers are executing this rebuild almost to perfection. Really couldn't have scripted it a whole lot better, so I'm thrilled with the direction here and think the near future is very, very bright.
yeah that focus on having ping pong balls with your logo on them get selected at the right time to help you as a team move up beyond the spot you "earned" to draft Kakko and Lafreniere was a solid strategy - more teams should do it.
You're right, pj.. those are the only two things that have happened. They didn't sign anyone or actually draft anyone else. The rebuild is limited to those two, isolated events.
Good call.
Without those two events - Kakko and Lafreniere - do you still feel like this rebuild is being executed perfectly?
The lottery luck has changed my optimism regarding the success of the rebuild but not my views on the quality of the execution.
I didn't like the Shattenkirk buyout. I don't really like the Trouba trade (but I was fine with it at the time, so may be a bit unfair). I would have preferred to trade Kreider this past deadline. Other than that, I'm happy with how things are going.
Also, without the lottery luck, I'd probably be less enthused about the Panarin signing. The Rangers have a chance to build a contender within 2-3 years now. If they were picking in the 5-10 range in the 2019 and 2020 drafts, I'd probably think we were 4-5 years away and not like the Panarin signing. Feels weird to say with a Hart contender, but the goal is to win Cups.
And the lottery luck changed a lot of people's outlook.
Moving up 4 spots to take Kakko (neck and neck #1/#2) vs picking 6th and getting Turcotte or Seider or someone like that is massive - and then moving up from 9th or 15th or whatever to land Lafreniere is even more massive.
Without Kakko the Rangers aren't the #1 farm system (he is their #1 prospect) - doesn't mean they don't have a good outlook or crop of prospects but it has a ripple effect, changes the window to compete and puts the Panarin and Trouba signings and even Kreider extension in a different light.
Shesterkin really IMO isn't even part of the rebuild. He was a 4th round lottery ticket 6 years ago when Hank still had 8 years left on his contract or something like that. If you're looking at that and claiming flawless execution of a rebuild I only have to say LOL.
Anyway, my main point was the Rangers luck in the draft lottery changed everything and that's not execution, it's luck, be happy with it, sure, no doubt about it, but I just don't give credit to people for luck like that.
Here he is with a solid zone entry, nice dish to the wing, and slick skate to stick on the rebound for a nice goal
link - ( New Window )