Prospect Info: 2023-2024 Rangers Prospects Thread (Prospect Stats in Post #1; Updated 05.22.2024)

[Amazing Kreiderman]

The last 4 games in Hartford, Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard have swapped.

Berard played LW, while Othmann has been at RW.

Othmann: 3G, 13 SOG
Berard: 1G, 4A, 12 SOG

Could this be aimed at a future call-up? Time will tell.

Drury was heavily involved with the Pack at the time...

Yes but the decision to keep Lias Andersson in Hartford and not allow him to rehab in New York, was not a Drury decision. That's a GM/President decision.

 

[pld459666]

The last 4 games in Hartford, Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard have swapped.

Berard played LW, while Othmann has been at RW.

Othmann: 3G, 13 SOG
Berard: 1G, 4A, 12 SOG

Could this be aimed at a future call-up? Time will tell.





Yes but the decision to keep Lias Andersson in Hartford and not allow him to rehab in New York, was not a Drury decision. That's a GM/President decision.

The GM of the AHL team doesn't make that call??

Seems odd

 

[2014nyr]

The last 4 games in Hartford, Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard have swapped.

Berard played LW, while Othmann has been at RW.

Othmann: 3G, 13 SOG
Berard: 1G, 4A, 12 SOG

Could this be aimed at a future call-up? Time will tell.





Yes but the decision to keep Lias Andersson in Hartford and not allow him to rehab in New York, was not a Drury decision. That's a GM/President decision.

berard is the guy i'd really love to see get a look. hes a puckhound with the the speed and work ethic to potentially fill a role internally that this roster desperately needs. no downside to giving him an opportunity.

 

[bhamill]

Kravtsov's situation a few months earlier (September 2019) was also worth mentioning as he was called a quitter by Chris Drury in front of his teammates in Hartford while he was saying goodbye before exercising his clause to go back to Russia.

Also worth noting that weeks prior Tarmo Reunanen used the exact same clause(!) to go back to Finland in the first year of his ELC, and no one bat an eye. Let's remember that neither Kravtsov nor Reunanen did anything wrong in 2019. They exercised their European Assignment Clause, given to them during contract negotiations.

Lias Andersson and Vitaly Kravtsov were the wrong picks, and there's a high likelihood they would have failed to make an impact anyway. But that doesn't mean that the way they were treated isn't an issue.

Kravtsov's future attitude issues are bad, but I can't help but wonder how much his initial experience in 2019 played a part in that.

I understand that Kravtsov was within his rights to quit, the first time, but that doesn’t mean that he did “nothing wrong.” Legal and right are two different things. in the same way, contractually allowed and right are also different things. He absolutely DID quit on his teammates, and honestly I have zero problem with him being called out on it. Especially in light of his quitting a second time when he did NOT have the contractual out. He may be a good kid at his core, but he was obviously selfish and immature. And that is on him.

 

[eco's bones]

By the time Reunanen went back to Finland it was pretty clear that he had no future with the Rangers. The Rangers at that point had a number of smallish puck moving D and though he was pretty decent at that he was the least of them.

Kravtsov never handled Hartford well and wasn't even all that productive when he was with the Pack. He didn't play all that well when he was with the Rangers either. I don't think his going back to Russia either time helped his game at all. He didn't seem to impress Tocchet a lot either and I remember the Vancouver coach saying he wanted Vitali to train in Vancouver last summer but then Vitali signed with a Russian team and that was that. Vancouver though was a chance for him to shut up his naysayers and he absolutely failed at that. I think he's just a lot more comfortable in his own country. I don't think he really gives a shit about playing in the NHL. Fair enough.....if you were an American or Canadian for sure your preference would be in North America.

 

[kovazub94]

Today Kravtsov is the same mid-6 winger for Traktor producing around .06-.07 PPG that he was 3 and 4 years ago.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I understand that Kravtsov was within his rights to quit, the first time, but that doesn’t mean that he did “nothing wrong.” Legal and right are two different things. in the same way, contractually allowed and right are also different things. He absolutely DID quit on his teammates, and honestly I have zero problem with him being called out on it. Especially in light of his quitting a second time when he did NOT have the contractual out. He may be a good kid at his core, but he was obviously selfish and immature. And that is on him.

What he did after 2019 isn't relevant when we are discussing his EAC. There's nothing wrong with what Kravtsov did in 2019.

Why was there never any outrage about Reunanen?

If Drury had a problem with Kravtsov going back to Russia, he should have stepped into Gorton's office instead of yelling at Kravtsov and calling him a quitter in front of his teammates.

Now, this doesn't mean that Kravtsov isn't to blame for the fall out later in when he refused to report in Hartford. But that's a different conversation.

 

[bhamill]

What he did after 2019 isn't relevant when we are discussing his EAC. There's nothing wrong with what Kravtsov did in 2019.

Why was there never any outrage about Reunanen?

If Drury had a problem with Kravtsov going back to Russia, he should have stepped into Gorton's office instead of yelling at Kravtsov and calling him a quitter in front of his teammates.

Now, this doesn't mean that Kravtsov isn't to blame for the fall out later in when he refused to report in Hartford. But that's a different conversation.

There is absolutely something “wrong” with bailing on your teammates. Regardless of whether you have the contractual right to do so. And yes what he did after 2019 IS relevant, it speaks, in hindsight, to his character.

What IS irrelevant is “what abouting” Reunanen. It has no bearing on what Krav, or anyone else, did. I’m not defending Reunanen, but his case was different. For all we know NYR could have suggested it. He wasn’t in their plans and they CONDONED the move if nothing more. And even if it was exactly the same, so what? All that means is they both quit on their teams and maybe he should have been called out too. Doesn’t make what Krav did any better or make Drury an evil despot.

Drury was Hartford GM and I don’t blame him calling Krav out in front of his teammates. Kav’s boss talked mean to him in front of co workers? Cry me a river. Welcome to semi adulthood.

I don’t see any villainy here. Krav quit on his teammates, because he was ”allowed to” and Drury called him out as he had the right to do. Krav wasn’t a victim here, or a villain either, he was simply the architect of his own miseries and a poor teammate.

 

[Levitate]

IMO reunanen wasn’t a high pick or something and wasn’t expected to be a major piece. Him going back is “ well ok take some time or its no big deal if he doesn’t pan out”, he was a fourth rounder

Kravtsov had the expectations that
Come with a high pick and even though he didn’t make the team out of camp I think it’s not wild to want him to stick around and work with the team

I can’t say he was wrk g really but there seemed to be some communication issues going on with the rangers back then. Dunno if the bobrov rumors were true

 

[cwede]

Athletic Scott Wheeler released NYR prospect rankings
19th pool overall

Big vary from our group was omitting Edstrom entirely
[FYI Edstrom being 23 already was out of scope for this exercise]

"Though the New York Rangers made just five picks in the 2023 draft and just two in its first four rounds, the value of Gabe Perreault with the No. 23 pick gives their pool a needed injection of high-end skill to complement the pesky nature of their other forward prospects.
The fatal flaw of their pool, though, is that both their NHL club and their pool are deepest at the same position: left-handed wingers (their top-five ranked prospects here are all left-shot wingers). Now that Zac Jones has aged out, they’ve got very little coming on the back end."

2023 prospect pool rank: No. 22 (change: +3)
"The Rangers’ pool breaks down into four tiers. They are: 1, 2, 3-6, 7-14."

RANK	PLAYER	POS.	AGE	TEAM
1	Gabriel Perreault	LW	18	Boston College
2	Brennan Othmann	LW	21	Hartford
3	Brett Berard	LW	21	Hartford
4	Adam Sykora	LW	19	Hartford
5	Will Cuylle	LW	22	Hartford/New York
6	Dylan Garand	G	21	Hartford
7	Noah Laba	C	20	Colorado College
8	Drew Fortescue	LHD	18	Boston College
9	Bryce McConnell-Barker	C	19	Soo
10	Hugo Ollas	G	21	Merrimack
11	Matthew Robertson	LHD	22	Hartford
12	Ryder Korczak	C	21	Hartford
13	Jaroslav Chmelar	RW/LW	20	Providence
14	Dylan Roobroeck	C	19	Oshawa

"Big TPS forward Kalle Vaisanen and University of Minnesota sophomore Brody Lamb were also considered."

2024 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 19 New York Rangers

The value of drafting Gabe Perreault with the 23rd pick gives the Rangers' pool a needed injection of high-end skill.

theathletic.com

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I think Väisänen might surprise people. He's not a top-6 upside prospect but in the Edström-mold, he is very much on a similar trajectory.

Big guy who is a good skater and plays well in transition. Saw his production double despite not being an offensive dynamo.

He isn't AHL eligible until 2025-26 so if he signs his ELC, it'll be back to TPS on loan for him.

 

[kovazub94]

... He isn't AHL eligible until 2025-26 so if he signs his ELC, it'll be back to TPS on loan for him.

Really? He was drafted 3 years (after this season ends). Why wouldn't he be eligible to join Hartford for '24-'25?

 

[NYR Viper]

I think Väisänen might surprise people. He's not a top-6 upside prospect but in the Edström-mold, he is very much on a similar trajectory.

Big guy who is a good skater and plays well in transition. Saw his production double despite not being an offensive dynamo.

He isn't AHL eligible until 2025-26 so if he signs his ELC, it'll be back to TPS on loan for him.

Is he as physical as Edstrom was? I don't know much about him other than a few articles

 

[GAGLine]

Really? He was drafted 3 years (after this season ends). Why wouldn't he be eligible to join Hartford for '24-'25?

Transfer agreement. IIRC, it's different for players drafted outside the 1st round. We can sign him, but if he doesn't make the NHL team, he has to be loaned back to his Liiga team if he's under 22. He doesn't turn 22 until next January.

Is he as physical as Edstrom was? I don't know much about him other than a few articles

Not from what I've seen of him at the WJC. I wouldn't call him a finesse player by any means, but he doesn't seem to have that same level of aggression as Edstrom.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Is he as physical as Edstrom was? I don't know much about him other than a few articles

No, but he doesn't shy away from taking the body. Very good skater, and a big body.

I haven't watched him this season at all, but when I've seen him before, he was hard on the forecheck and attacking puck carriers in the neutral zone.

Occasionally flashed some quick hands, but I think Edstrom's offense has a much better chance of translating to the NHL.

 

[kovazub94]

Transfer agreement. IIRC, it's different for players drafted outside the 1st round. We can sign him, but if he doesn't make the NHL team, he has to be loaned back to his Liiga team if he's under 22. He doesn't turn 22 until next January.

Thank you! I’m aware of the transfer agreement splits (1st rounders vs later) but didn’t realize it’s 22 yo where the cut line is. I guess it’s lucky that Edstrom was born in October to have him in Hartford this year.

 

[eco's bones]

Vaisanen is a big guy but judging by his listed weight which hasn't changed much since we drafted him (and FWIW he could be somewhat heavier) it's more tall than heavy. Edstrom and Rempe are both almost like monsters 6'8 and around 240 lbs. If Vaisanen is up to around 200 or so now it's still quite a difference. Kalle seems to be chipping more offense in lately though.

No doubt the Rangers are looking for big guys who can play. Chmelar is another at around 6'5 and 230. Roobroeck another project kind of is flirting with being a point a game player in the OHL. BMB has some size too and then there's Henricks who is a huge 18 year old who probably needs at least 3 college years after this.

 

[NYR Viper]

Vaisanen is a big guy but judging by his listed weight which hasn't changed much since we drafted him (and FWIW he could be somewhat heavier) it's more tall than heavy. Edstrom and Rempe are both almost like monsters 6'8 and around 240 lbs. If Vaisanen is up to around 200 or so now it's still quite a difference. Kalle seems to be chipping more offense in lately though.

No doubt the Rangers are looking for big guys who can play. Chmelar is another at around 6'5 and 230. Roobroeck another project kind of is flirting with being a point a game player in the OHL. BMB has some size too and then there's Henricks who is a huge 18 year old who probably needs at least 3 college years after this.

Yeah it's pretty clear that Drury and his team have a template for what they want as bottom-6 options.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Yeah it's pretty clear that Drury and his team have a template for what they want as bottom-6 options.

I hope he gets more top 6 with snarl like Othmann and Cuylle. Cuylle should get PP time over Brodzinski

 

[ArPanet]

Perreault game starting at 4:30 today.

 

[Miz]

Surprised Lamb isn't mentioned by Wheeler

 

[Ranger Ric]

By the time Reunanen went back to Finland it was pretty clear that he had no future with the Rangers. The Rangers at that point had a number of smallish puck moving D and though he was pretty decent at that he was the least of them.

Kravtsov never handled Hartford well and wasn't even all that productive when he was with the Pack. He didn't play all that well when he was with the Rangers either. I don't think his going back to Russia either time helped his game at all. He didn't seem to impress Tocchet a lot either and I remember the Vancouver coach saying he wanted Vitali to train in Vancouver last summer but then Vitali signed with a Russian team and that was that. Vancouver though was a chance for him to shut up his naysayers and he absolutely failed at that. I think he's just a lot more comfortable in his own country. I don't think he really gives a shit about playing in the NHL. Fair enough.....if you were an American or Canadian for sure your preference would be in North America.

I don't understand the talk about Reunanen. He was traded by the Rangers om March 28, 2022 to Carolina for Maxim Letunov. So when Reunanen went back to Finland he wasn't Rangers property. And I don't recall any problems with Reunanen when we was with the Rangers.

 

[GAGLine]

Surprised Lamb isn't mentioned by Wheeler

Apparently, he was considered, but not deemed to be higher than the 14 listed.

Lamb has done well for himself, but he plays second fiddle on his team. The Snuggerud/Moore/Pitlick line is their #1 line. Hopefully he'll play a bigger role next year.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Transfer agreement. IIRC, it's different for players drafted outside the 1st round. We can sign him, but if he doesn't make the NHL team, he has to be loaned back to his Liiga team if he's under 22. He doesn't turn 22 until next January.

Not from what I've seen of him at the WJC. I wouldn't call him a finesse player by any means, but he doesn't seem to have that same level of aggression as Edstrom.

Edström isn't aggressive at all though. He uses his body to separate himself from others, but he's by no means an overly physical player.

Väisänen is a bit smaller (6'5") but the way he plays is reminicent of Edström. Good skater who has a good ability to transition the puck. Their game isn't relying on production to be effective.

Really? He was drafted 3 years (after this season ends). Why wouldn't he be eligible to join Hartford for '24-'25?

European players drafted outside the 1st round are not eligible to be sent to the minors unless they are 22 years old, free agents or have completed their first ELC year.

That's why Adam Sýkora wasn't eligible in 2022-23 for instance.

I don't understand the talk about Reunanen. He was traded by the Rangers om March 28, 2022 to Carolina for Maxim Letunov. So when Reunanen went back to Finland he wasn't Rangers property. And I don't recall any problems with Reunanen when we was with the Rangers.

Reunanen used his EAC in 2019, the same summer he signed his ELC. Aside from the lower expectations, his situation was the same as Kravtsov. This isn't about him going back to Finland in 2022.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Thank you! I’m aware of the transfer agreement splits (1st rounders vs later) but didn’t realize it’s 22 yo where the cut line is. I guess it’s lucky that Edstrom was born in October to have him in Hartford this year.

Edström's first ELC year was 2022-23, that was the year he was loaned back to Rögle being ineligible for the AHL. Even if he was younger, he'd be eligible this season for Hartford.