2019 Traverse City Prospect Tournament (Sept. 6-10)

[Henkka]

Also said zadina had only 3 SOG and I missed the first two periods but in a ten minute span of me watching the third period he had four, so...

It has been same mess every year. Only thing they get almost right are goal-scorers.

 

[Ola]

may need time in the AHL to work on aspects of his game or learn on the fly at the nhl level?

It's the million dollar question.

I think it will come down to how effective he can be on the forecheck in the NHL. He is a good skater, but the kid didn't stop growing when we drafted him, he is huge right now. He was almost a bit quicker when he was 17, got in so fast on the forecheck. He is a better skater overall now, but the NHL is the NHL.

My bet has always been that he will be ready from Day 1. I think he can be effective and play in an environment that is giving for him and the team even if its not on a top line so to speak.

I would like to see him next to Ziba rather sooner than later.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

It's the million dollar question.

I think it will come down to how effective he can be on the forecheck in the NHL. He is a good skater, but the kid didn't stop growing when we drafted him, he is huge right now. He was almost a bit quicker when he was 17, got in so fast on the forecheck. He is a better skater overall now, but the NHL is the NHL.

My bet has always been that he will be ready from Day 1. I think he can be effective and play in an environment that is giving for him and the team even if its not on a top line so to speak.

I would like to see him next to Ziba rather sooner than later.

It basically depends on whether DeAngelo & Lemieux sign their qualifying offers.

If they do, the Rangers will need to have Boo Nieves on the roster to bank the pro rata $275k in cap credits the 1st month of the season.

If they don’t, then he has a chance to learn on the job because they play so few games the 1st fortnight.

But there are a few things in his game to clean up off the puck. Like not skating cross ice to make a hit off the face off and leaving your side of the ice wide open for Columbus to score 18 seconds in.

 

[wings5]

It's the million dollar question.

I think it will come down to how effective he can be on the forecheck in the NHL. He is a good skater, but the kid didn't stop growing when we drafted him, he is huge right now. He was almost a bit quicker when he was 17, got in so fast on the forecheck. He is a better skater overall now, but the NHL is the NHL.

My bet has always been that he will be ready from Day 1. I think he can be effective and play in an environment that is giving for him and the team even if its not on a top line so to speak.

I would like to see him next to Ziba rather sooner than later.

Better for him to get another year in the KHL if not ready than go to the AHL. Like Kuznetsov he is still growing after he was drafted , may need more time to grow into his body a little bit more.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

Better for him to get another year in the KHL if not ready than go to the AHL. Like Kuznetsov he is still growing after he was drafted , may need more time to grow into his body a little bit more.

Yeaahhh, no.

The issues he has are easily fixable, the time he’ll spend in Hartford is to demonstrate he understands team systems. Physical maturity is not an issue.

 

[newfy]

These games mean absolutely nothing. I remember well the year Vesey set the Rangers record for goals in this tournament, and Buchnevich was near invisible. A few months later, Vesey was over his head in NHL games, and Buchnevich had a good season. Boo Nieves was another star with Vesey on that team, and still can barely get any games for our NHL team. After watching that tournament and seeing how the season played out, it's hard for me to put much into these games. The Rangers could lose every game by 4 goals, and there would be no good reason to change our #1 rank among the best prospect pools in the league.

These games are pretty big deals for the prospects and for their team to evaluate them all as a group. If you watch the games, maybe Vesey had some flukey goals and he wasnt playing in a sustainable way but that doesnt mean that his team didnt get a great chance to evaluate him.

For 99% of these prospects, this is the highest level of hockey they have played in their lives. Draper/red wings management considers this tournament tougher than the world junior championships

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

These games are pretty big deals for the prospects and for their team to evaluate them all as a group. If you watch the games, maybe Vesey had some flukey goals and he wasnt playing in a sustainable way but that doesnt mean that his team didnt get a great chance to evaluate him.

For 99% of these prospects, this is the highest level of hockey they have played in their lives. Draper/red wings management considers this tournament tougher than the world junior championships

Vesey’s goals at Traverse were all of the “great, but can he do that against NHL players” and very rarely, he could. The rest of his game was good, not great when you really need to show great.

Then again, Sonny Milano looked great a couple of times and Alex DeBrinkat was invisible the 1st time there.

 

[X66]

Vesey’s goals at Traverse were all of the “great, but can he do that against NHL players” and very rarely, he could. The rest of his game was good, not great when you really need to show great.

Then again, Sonny Milano looked great a couple of times and Alex DeBrinkat was invisible the 1st time there.

Marner was trash at his first rookie camp as well.

 

[Levitate]

These games are pretty big deals for the prospects and for their team to evaluate them all as a group. If you watch the games, maybe Vesey had some flukey goals and he wasnt playing in a sustainable way but that doesnt mean that his team didnt get a great chance to evaluate him.

For 99% of these prospects, this is the highest level of hockey they have played in their lives. Draper/red wings management considers this tournament tougher than the world junior championships

The level of comp is probably higher to some extent with older players in the mix but it’s such a short tournament with little practice time I can’t imagine there’s a massive amount riding on it either. I know the Rangers were not happy with how their prospects played a few years ago and called them out on it but spots are won or lost in camp not a dev tournament

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

The level of comp is probably higher to some extent with older players in the mix but it’s such a short tournament with little practice time I can’t imagine there’s a massive amount riding on it either. I know the Rangers were not happy with how their prospects played a few years ago and called them out on it but spots are won or lost in camp not a dev tournament

It’s more about showing they’re ready for the next level going into camp. If they don’t look great at some point before aging out, your ceiling is AAAA at best.

 

[wings5]

Yeaahhh, no.

The issues he has are easily fixable, the time he’ll spend in Hartford is to demonstrate he understands team systems. Physical maturity is not an issue.

He shouldn't need any time in Hartford, Buchnevich spend 4 games in Hartford and I think Kravtsov is the better prospect. Regardless I think we are judging too much from these games, it's too early to say anything.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He shouldn't need any time in Hartford, Buchnevich spend 4 games in Hartford and I think Kravtsov is the better prospect. Regardless I think we are judging too much from these games, it's too early to say anything.

I don't exactly want him playing in Hartford, but if you are going to make a comparison, make a better comparison than this one. Kravtsov is 19 years old, and doesn't turn 20 until a few months into the season. Buchnevich was 21 years old at the time he started in the NHL, and was a better player than Kravtsov comparing them at 21 to 19. He's probably a better prospect, although Ranger fans unfortunately overrate the kid and are putting too much pressure on him. He's not a super-prospect and could've likely used another season in the KHL. He's a very good prospect with a high ceiling, but he certainly wasn't better at 19 than Buchnevich was at 21.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

He shouldn't need any time in Hartford, Buchnevich spend 4 games in Hartford and I think Kravtsov is the better prospect. Regardless I think we are judging too much from these games, it's too early to say anything.

Buchnevich would’ve been better off in Hartford the whole year so he could concentrate on getting stronger during the week.

But that’s not the point. The Rangers have $1mm in cap space with a 22 man roster and 2 RFA to sign.

If both sign their qualifying offers, they have to send somebody down along with Beleskey to have $900k in space to start the season. So unless they send down Andersson down instead of McKegg or Nieves they won’t have enough money to bring him up even if they wanted.

There’s a better chance of the Rangers having a 20 man roster to start the season than Kravtsov to start on Broadway barring injury.

 

[newfy]

The level of comp is probably higher to some extent with older players in the mix but it’s such a short tournament with little practice time I can’t imagine there’s a massive amount riding on it either. I know the Rangers were not happy with how their prospects played a few years ago and called them out on it but spots are won or lost in camp not a dev tournament

I think it depends on different situations and things like that between each team but to say that this tournament means absolutely nothing is a pretty dumb statement (in the post I was replying to). If youre a rebuilding team like Detroit that is going to have some spots open for a young guy or 2 to come take a spot, it absolutely means something. You dont think Detroit is keeping a close eye on guys like Zadina and Veleno not only for roster spots but even for roles they could play in a call up situation?

Obviously camp/preseason play a big role (bigger than this tournament clearly) but that doesnt mean management arent starting to form ideas about these players and their futures on the team vs other prospects by evaluating these games. Without being dominant in this tournament a coach might not even really give a kid a shot in preseason to make the team.

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

These games mean absolutely nothing. I remember well the year Vesey set the Rangers record for goals in this tournament, and Buchnevich was near invisible. A few months later, Vesey was over his head in NHL games, and Buchnevich had a good season. Boo Nieves was another star with Vesey on that team, and still can barely get any games for our NHL team. After watching that tournament and seeing how the season played out, it's hard for me to put much into these games. The Rangers could lose every game by 4 goals, and there would be no good reason to change our #1 rank among the best prospect pools in the league.

In terms of results, i would agree. However there is meaning beyond the actual score.

The value is getting familiar with the players in your organization, and how your organization operates from both on the ice and off the ice perspectives. The Leafs have done extremely well without our notable guys like Bracco, Liljegren, Sandin. The reason being it seems like our coach Sheldon Keefe has them playing the Leafs system almost perfectly. From simply a coaching perspective, i think this is showing the Leafs that Sheldon Keefe is the real deal.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Day Three Underway.

Dallas 5 - Columbus 3

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1

Dallas Stars - Rhett Gardner (Adam Mascherin) 3:46 Dallas Stars - Adam Mascherin (power play) (Tye Felhaber, Ty Dellandrea) 10:27

Period 2

Dallas Stars - Riley Tufte (power play) (unassisted) 1:43 Columbus Blue Jackets - Egor Sokolov (Maxime Fortier) 8:28 Columbus Blue Jackets - Andrew Peeke (power play) (Trey Fix-Wolansky) 9:27 Dallas Stars - Ty Dellandrea (power play) (Adam Mascherin, Riley Tufte) 16:02

Period 3

Columbus Blue Jackets - Egor Sokolov (Anton Karlsson) 15:30 Dallas Stars - Adam Mascherin (empty net) (Rhett Gardner) 19:59

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Peasy]

Kakko with 2 assists so far.

Anyone that is watching the game have any comments on how he has looked?

 

[Kaapo Takko]

Kakko with the OT winner. 1g+3a in his first game.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Kakko just had an awesome OT goal

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Kakko dominates in his first game.

New York 4 - Minnesota 3 (OT)

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1

Minnesota Wild - Ivan Lodnia (unassisted) 17:40

Period 2

Minnesota Wild - Darian Pilon (Drake Pilon) 16:31

Period 3

New York Rangers - Vitali Kravtsov (power play) (Karl Henriksson, Kaapo Kakko) 1:06 New York Rangers - Vitali Kravtsov (power play) (Kaapo Kakko) 2:44 Minnesota Wild - Matvey Guskov (Adam Beckman) 4:26 New York Rangers - Patrick Newell (Kaapo Kakko) 18:23

Overtime

New York Rangers - Kaapo Kakko (unassisted) 2:48

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Polar Bear]

Kakko just had an awesome OT goal

1 goal and 3 assist in his debut game in the tournament.

 

[Zats Muccarello]

Wow what a beauty by Kakko

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Dallas has booked their ticket to the Championship game.

Linday Division:

1st - Dallas (2-1-0-0) 6 Points
2nd - Columbus (1-1-1-0) 5 Points (Tiebreak winner)
3rd - New York (1-1-1-0) 5 Points
4th - Minnesota (0-1-0-2) 2 Points

 

[lemonybergamot]

Kakko with 2 assists so far.

Anyone that is watching the game have any comments on how he has looked?

Didn't look like he was playing at full effort, but still managed to put 4 pts up.

Very strong on the puck and seems to control it any time he has it. Great at possession. Connected with Kravtsov for a beautiful goal and his goal was a great individual effort. Hope to see him snipe some goals soon.

 

[Levitate]

Didn't look like he was playing at full effort, but still managed to put 4 pts up.

Very strong on the puck and seems to control it any time he has it. Great at possession. Connected with Kravtsov for a beautiful goal and his goal was a great individual effort. Hope to see him snipe some goals soon.

Minnesota was playing a very well structured defensive game for this kind of tournament and the Rangers as a team struggled for a lot of the game to get into the zone with possession. Once he got possession in the offensive zone he was great.

Also going to say that the Minnesota player who was ejected for hitting another guy in the head is just...damn, if you could fine someone in this kind of tournament he should be fined and banned from returning. This is just not the kind of place to be doing crap like that and he basically lost his team the game because that let the Rangers back in it.