Prospect Info: 2017 NHL Draft / Pick #7 - Lias Andersson (C)

[Fvital92]

Contract slide, not being a necessity at center, and that he can develop in the AHL. I love Chytil but there's more to it than just what he can do on the ice. If he plays well enough to warrant it, we will burn a year off his ELC and he will play.

Well, we need a 3C next year, so it's kind of necessity. And it will be tough to sell this rebuild if we don't play the kids.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Well, we need a 3C next year, so it's kind of necessity. And it will be tough to sell this rebuild if we don't play the kids.

I just hope Chytil is ready. I think he is still a bit young and physically weak.

 

[Fvital92]

One offseason of training can change that, and until now he handled himself pretty well for his age. I don't think his maturity will be a problem.
But, I think he will travel a lot between New York and Hartford next year, the same for Lias.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

One offseason of training can change that, and until now he handled himself pretty well for his age. I don't think his maturity will be a problem.
But, I think he will travel a lot between New York and Hartford next year, the same for Lias.

Alright, so here's a scenario:

Chytil's contract can slide again next year, if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games. What do we do if Chytil plays in the NHL but isn't good or bad but just average? Do we keep him in the NHL and burn a year off his ELC? Or do we send him back and save that very valuable ELC year?

 

[FireGerardGallant]

I think we should let both continue to develop next year.
Toronto sent Nylander back down another year after he dominated in the Ahl and that certainly helped out his development. If this is a teardown like some are saying it will be no need to put so much pressure on both on an awful team

 

[Fvital92]

Alright, so here's a scenario:

Chytil's contract can slide again next year, if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games. What do we do if Chytil plays in the NHL but isn't good or bad but just average? Do we keep him in the NHL and burn a year off his ELC? Or do we send him back and save that very valuable ELC year?

I just don't see the upside of him playing in the AHL next year. He is dominating offensively this year and the reports are that his defense has been really good too.

 

[Fireonk]

I think a lot of it will depend on how much muscle he puts on in the offseason. His strength would be the only thing that would make me hesitant of throwing him into the fire next year. Needs to be able to win A faceoff (basing this on Beacon's reports) and be able to absorb some hits a bit better.

 

[NYR Viper]

It depends on whether the team is a dumpster fire next year or not. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if this organization could put together a very strong AHL team for him to stay. I say that only because I like young players being fostered in a strong winning environment and next years NHL team has the chance to be very bad

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

It would be dumb to start both of them at center next season. Maybe one of them, maybe none. Rookie centers are usually not that good at playing center in all three zones. They also usually aren't good on face-offs. They can both play center eventually, but not next season in the NHL. They should both play in the NHL next season though.

 

[Irishguy42]

It would be dumb to start both of them at center next season. Maybe one of them, maybe none. Rookie centers are usually not that good at playing center in all three zones. They also usually aren't good on face-offs. They can both play center eventually, but not next season in the NHL. They should both play in the NHL next season though.

Agreed. I would hope to see one up out of camp, and then the other up mid-season or something like that.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Agreed. I would hope to see one up out of camp, and then the other up mid-season or something like that.

I think you start both of them in the NHL. Let them play wing though.

 

[Irishguy42]

I think you start both of them in the NHL. Let them play wing though.

Will depend on what the roster shakes out to be like.

 

[kovazub94]

It would be dumb to start both of them at center next season. Maybe one of them, maybe none. Rookie centers are usually not that good at playing center in all three zones. They also usually aren't good on face-offs. They can both play center eventually, but not next season in the NHL. They should both play in the NHL next season though.

Both of them on a wing could be an overkill. I’d guess that Lias would be better equipped to handle the defensive side, especially if you take some pressure scoring expectations by limiting his 5x5 minutes but maybe he could be a front of the net option on the 2nd PP unit.

Chytil will likely get a chance at top 6 so him I’d rather keep on a wing to start of. If Hayes is still the Rangers #2 center then I’d be comfortable Chytil to play on his wing.

Given the Rangers lack of depth at C, if not addressed, simply would not allow to keep both at the wing, but as I said, I don’t think it is necessary.

 

[Irishguy42]

Yeah, Lias as the 3C and then Chytil being on the wing of the second line seems like a good plan.

Zibanejad-Hayes-Andersson-Nieves as your center depth next season. Not bad.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Both of them on a wing could be an overkill. I’d guess that Lias would be better equipped to handle the defensive side, especially if you take some pressure scoring expectations by limiting his 5x5 minutes but maybe he could be a front of the net option on the 2nd PP unit.

Chytil will likely get a chance at top 6 so him I’d rather keep on a wing to start of. If Hayes is still the Rangers #2 center then I’d be comfortable Chytil to play on his wing.

Given the Rangers lack of depth at C, if not addressed, simply would not allow to keep both at the wing, but as I said, I don’t think it is necessary.

Its dependent on what the Rangers roster looks like. What if we add a center in the offseason? I'm not starting either of those two are center over Zibanejad or Hayes, so they might very well be competing for wing spots. They also need to be competing for top 9 spots, otherwise they should be in the AHL.

 

[Beacon]

My only issue with Chytil is whether he'll be able to make hockey porn moves at the NHL level. If not, is his development better off as a sheltered 4C who keeps it simple with quick rushes up the ice and then dump n chase (or a shot from far away) or is he better off staying as a Hartford 1C to further develop his skills to see if he can develop them until he can go Kovalev on the NHL opposition also. That's for coaches to decide. If I knew the answer to that with certainty, I'd be getting paid $2 million a year coaching an NHL team. But maybe he could play a strong possession and stickhandling game as early as next October. His development the rest of the season, his training in the offseason and his preseason performance will determine that.

He also needs to do something about his faceoff skills. It's not a hard thing to learn, get a friend, even a minor leaguer, and keep practicing for a couple hours a day. His faceoff ability is so horrid, he could probably even learn from watching YouTube videos on it. Maybe not basic ones, but the ones that teach you how to cheat on faceoffs. Faceoff ability in the NHL comes down to how well you cheat at the tiny things that everyone else doesn't notice. As things stand, he can't be a real NHL center just purely on his faceoff ability. You can't have a guy who will cleanly lose possession every time. It leads to a dump out when you're in the offensive zone, and to an offensive setup for the other team when you're on defense. It's so bad that when he doesn't lose cleanly (still loses, but ties it up for a split second), I'm relieved and think, "well, that's progress."

================

As for Lias, he's definitely not NHL ready today. Granted 95%+ of the players not drafted in the top-3 are not ready the year they are drafted - outside of the top 2 guys drafted in 2017, the only one who played over 9 games (to count for ELC purposes) is an Islander who was drafted at the age of 21, and even he only played 14 games. So this is not a great knock on Lias. Let's keep in mind that it took Zuccarello until 25 years of age to cement himself in the NHL. Other busts like McDonagh, Kreider and Miller had to take trips to Hartford at the ripe old age of 21, so there's nothing wrong with a 19-year-old not being ready. Getting called up early doesn't prove anything - who had a better career, McDonagh of Del Zotto? Kreider or Malhotra?

Since he plays (or should play) a two-way game that relies on smart, simple plays that are effective in all 3 zones, he could be effective in a 4C role to start his NHL career, and then learn from there how to progress upwards. Given his style, I have no doubt that once he's NHL-ready, he'll be called up. Chytil could stay in the AHL even after he can hold up as a 4C to polish his fancy moves; Lias doesn't need that because he relies on smart moves and those are best-learned vs the best opposition he can hold up against.

 

[Lays]

I would start Chytil at C next year and keep Lias in the AHL and call him up midseason
I’d want to keep Zucc to play with Chytil next year on the 2nd line

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I would start Chytil at C next year and keep Lias in the AHL and call him up midseason
I’d want to keep Zucc to play with Chytil next year on the 2nd line

I'd be okay with that to see if he is ready, but if he isn't, send him down. His contract can slide another year. We'd be stupid not to take advantage of that if Chytil isn't ready for a top-6 role.

 

[Beacon]

This kid can't get a break with HFboard members...

The problem is unreasonable expectations. Most #7 OA do not turn into superstars or first liners. Here's the full list: NHL Players selected at the 7th draft position at hockeydb.com

Most are solid NHLers, plenty are busts, only a few are stars. If Lias became as good as Miller (in terms of his value, not style), would we not be happy to have one more cost-controlled player like that? Even if he only became another Hayes (again, quality, not style), would that be a tragedy for the team? Or would we enjoy a cost-controlled middle-6 forward for 8 years (age 20 to 28) logging quality minutes at a reasonable cap hit? Maybe he'll become Bergeron or Jaden Schwartz, but that's not a reasonable expectation right now. But if we can get a decent two-way second liner, what's the problem?

 

[SnowblindNYR]

The problem is unreasonable expectations. Most #7 OA do not turn into superstars or first liners. Here's the full list: NHL Players selected at the 7th draft position at hockeydb.com

Most are solid NHLers, plenty are busts, only a few are stars. If Lias became as good as Miller (in terms of his value, not style), would we not be happy to have one more cost-controlled player like that? Even if he only became another Hayes (again, quality, not style), would that be a tragedy for the team? Or would we enjoy a cost-controlled middle-6 forward for 8 years (age 20 to 28) logging quality minutes at a reasonable cap hit? Maybe he'll become Bergeron or Jaden Schwartz, but that's not a reasonable expectation right now. But if we can get a decent two-way second liner, what's the problem?

Looking at the #7 pick is kind of random. You need to look at a range of a few picks before and after #7 (like #5-#9). #7 pick overall is just a random pick that could have easily just been randomly subpar. So if #7 has a track record that isn't great, but #8 has a better track record, it means that a #7 pick will likely be worse than the #8 pick?

 

[Mac n Gs]

Chytil’s razzle dazzle isn’t what’s going to make him a sucessful NHLer. It’s his ability to make plays at high speed through the neutral zone and his top-notch vision.

Lias’ bread and butter will be strong play on the puck and tenacity around the net. He opens up a lot of space for his teammates.

 

[Alluckks]

25 more games still for Hartford. 2 points out of a playoff spot. Tons more games for Chytil, Andersson, etc.

We made an AHL move just to make our AHL team better. I know the jokes, but Smith being there makes them better too. 25 games + a run in the playoffs for both Chytil and Andersson. Good experience.

 

[Beacon]

Looking at the #7 pick is kind of random. You need to look at a range of a few picks before and after #7 (like #5-#9). #7 pick overall is just a random pick that could have easily just been randomly subpar. So if #7 has a track record that isn't great, but #8 has a better track record, it means that a #7 pick will likely be worse than the #8 pick?

I did that previously with random picks around there. There's no major difference. Actually, #8 happens to be a particularly bad pick for some reason. Other than in the legendary 2003, NO player drafted at #8 played 600 games and only 5 played a mere 300 games. By comparison, everyone drafted at #7 from 2001 to 2012 played 300 games except Dumba, but he'll get there. Plus, 5 players are at or very near 600 games, with one (Ryan Suter) nearing 1,000. The 7OA pick has similar success to 6OA and pretty close to 5OA's success rate. #7 is slightly better than #9 and a lot better than #10. So it's a reasonably successful selection in comparison to the picks near it.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I did that previously with random picks around there. There's no major difference. Actually, #8 happens to be a particularly bad pick for some reason. Other than in the legendary 2003, NO player drafted at #8 played 600 games and only 5 played a mere 300 games. By comparison, everyone drafted at #7 from 2001 to 2012 played 300 games except Dumba, but he'll get there. Plus, 5 players are at or very near 600 games, with one (Ryan Suter) nearing 1,000. The 7OA pick has similar success to 6OA and pretty close to 5OA's success rate. #7 is slightly better than #9 and a lot better than #10. So it's a reasonably successful selection in comparison to the picks near it.

I mean that's fine. Still doesn't really have bearing on this particular pick.

 

[Beacon]

Is he playing 2C line minutes in the AHL?

yes