Prospect Info: 2024-2025 Rangers Prospects Thread (Prospect Stats in Post #1; Updated 1/20/2025)

[nyr2k2]

I mean we had this exact conversation like two weeks ago so I don't really want to participate in it again, but I'll just say that it's silly to judge an 18 year old who was known to be very raw and several years away when he was drafted. I have no issue with preferring other players to him, but piling on a guy like Emery is a good way to make yourself look really bad in three or four years. Whatever.

 

[Ranger Ric]

The scratched players back in the lineup today against Charlotte. Garand in goal.

 

[MrAlmost]

It's very, VERY hard to be a defense first player and look good as an 18 year old in NCAA hockey. These are men, not kids like juniors. And honestly, he has played well. People should be happy that Emery is tracking as a solid defensive player that isn't allergic to the puck(lindgren), can skate and is physical. 3 to 4 years. Long term.

 

[nyr2k2]

Wheeler is doing his prospect rankings. He has our system 19th overall, which is the same as last year. He ranked our guys this way, with the lines representing how he broke down the tiers:

1. Perreault
----
2. Othmann
3. Emery
----
4. Berard
5. Garand
6. Sykora
7. Laba
----
8. Fortescue
9. Roobroeck
10. Rempe
11. McConnell-Barker
12. Lamb
13. Korczak
14. Boilard

I would definitely have Fortescue in the third tier. Wheeler's criteria say a skater needs to be U23 and not established as an NHL regular. That means Mancini should be on the list. I might flip a guy here or there but otherwise, this seems close to right.

FWIW he was complimentary of Emery, who he said has a lot of talent already and is taking positive steps in other areas--how he moves the puck and sees the ice--and is "owed" his first goal at this point based on what Wheeler has seen. Interestingly, he mentioned that he has heard that Emery has spent a ton of time on nutrition and exercise, but his metabolism is so high that he burns through it all, which is why he hasn't put on much weight.

New York Rangers are No. 19 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Rangers made just four selections in the 2024 NHL Draft but held onto their first-rounder and the pool remains solid.

www.nytimes.com

 

[FoxysExpensiveNYDigs]

Wheeler is doing his prospect rankings. He has our system 19th overall, which is the same as last year. He ranked our guys this way, with the lines representing how he broke down the tiers:

1. Perreault
----
2. Othmann
3. Emery
----
4. Berard
5. Garand
6. Sykora
7. Laba
----
8. Fortescue
9. Roobroeck
10. Rempe
11. McConnell-Barker
12. Lamb
13. Korczak
14. Boilard

I would definitely have Fortescue in the third tier. Wheeler's criteria say a skater needs to be U23 and not established as an NHL regular. That means Mancini should be on the list. I might flip a guy here or there but otherwise, this seems close to right.

FWIW he was complimentary of Emery, who he said has a lot of talent already and is taking positive steps in other areas--how he moves the puck and sees the ice--and is "owed" his first goal at this point based on what Wheeler has seen. Interestingly, he mentioned that he has heard that Emery has spent a ton of time on nutrition and exercise, but his metabolism is so high that he burns through it all, which is why he hasn't put on much weight.

New York Rangers are No. 19 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Rangers made just four selections in the 2024 NHL Draft but held onto their first-rounder and the pool remains solid.

www.nytimes.com

Fortescue and Garand should be up a tier.

 

[nyr2k2]

More on Emery and then I'll tell you to go get your own subscription, LOL:

"He’s going to need time and patience to develop the finer qualities of his game and learn to impose himself more consistently on both sides of the puck, but he’s got a ton of attributes to work with and I expect him to emerge from three or four years in college as a legitimate NHL D prospect because of his length, skating and the development still in front of him."

 

[bhamill]

Fortescue should be higher IMO. At LEAST third tier, though I'd put him second. I think draft pedigree is what's holding him back. I see him as a solid bottom four D man (or compliment to a 1D like Fox) for a good decade in this league.

 

[tiggles]

He actually has Laba in the fourth tier (last I checked), who, like Fortescue, I agree should be in the third tier.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

There’s like no difference between Laba and a new favorite because he had a solid WJC Danny Nelson except Laba has a PPG season in the NCAA.

 

[eco's bones]

Wheeler is doing his prospect rankings. He has our system 19th overall, which is the same as last year. He ranked our guys this way, with the lines representing how he broke down the tiers:

1. Perreault
----
2. Othmann
3. Emery
----
4. Berard
5. Garand
6. Sykora
7. Laba
----
8. Fortescue
9. Roobroeck
10. Rempe
11. McConnell-Barker
12. Lamb
13. Korczak
14. Boilard

I would definitely have Fortescue in the third tier. Wheeler's criteria say a skater needs to be U23 and not established as an NHL regular. That means Mancini should be on the list. I might flip a guy here or there but otherwise, this seems close to right.

FWIW he was complimentary of Emery, who he said has a lot of talent already and is taking positive steps in other areas--how he moves the puck and sees the ice--and is "owed" his first goal at this point based on what Wheeler has seen. Interestingly, he mentioned that he has heard that Emery has spent a ton of time on nutrition and exercise, but his metabolism is so high that he burns through it all, which is why he hasn't put on much weight.

New York Rangers are No. 19 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Rangers made just four selections in the 2024 NHL Draft but held onto their first-rounder and the pool remains solid.

www.nytimes.com

It was a very good read. For those not mentioned Mancini should be up there in the mix with Berard, Garand, Sykora anyway.

I've been tracking the two ECHL goalies Boyko and Ollas this year. Boyko's had a really good year in Tulsa---and has had two starts with the Pack---the first a shutout and he was first star. Ollas had been struggling a bit with the Bloomington team but seems to be doing a lot better with the Worcester team. ECHL is not a bad league for goalies to start at. Usually teams are going to have one vet with their AHL team like the Rangers have had with Domingue so lots of goalies get their start in the ECHL. It's not really an issue.

Nathan Aspinall's numbers are a lot better this year too though they've fallen off a bit from the start. He's another really big player but he's a project. Ty Henricks is doing okay with Western Michigan as a freshman. Next year hopefully he'll produce a bit more but not unusual when players break in slowly in their freshman years. It's what happened with Lamb.

 

[kovazub94]

Wheeler is doing his prospect rankings. He has our system 19th overall, which is the same as last year. He ranked our guys this way, with the lines representing how he broke down the tiers:

1. Perreault
----
2. Othmann
3. Emery
----
4. Berard
5. Garand
6. Sykora
7. Laba
----
8. Fortescue
9. Roobroeck
10. Rempe
11. McConnell-Barker
12. Lamb
13. Korczak
14. Boilard

I would definitely have Fortescue in the third tier. Wheeler's criteria say a skater needs to be U23 and not established as an NHL regular. That means Mancini should be on the list. I might flip a guy here or there but otherwise, this seems close to right.

FWIW he was complimentary of Emery, who he said has a lot of talent already and is taking positive steps in other areas--how he moves the puck and sees the ice--and is "owed" his first goal at this point based on what Wheeler has seen. Interestingly, he mentioned that he has heard that Emery has spent a ton of time on nutrition and exercise, but his metabolism is so high that he burns through it all, which is why he hasn't put on much weight.

New York Rangers are No. 19 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Rangers made just four selections in the 2024 NHL Draft but held onto their first-rounder and the pool remains solid.

www.nytimes.com

Chmelar? With Fortescue s/b in the 3rd tier

 

[nyr2k2]

Chmelar? With Fortescue s/b in the 3rd tier

Oh yeah, Chmelar should be in there, too.

He actually has Laba in the fourth tier (last I checked), who, like Fortescue, I agree should be in the third tier.

This is what I see:

 

[kovazub94]

There’s like no difference between Laba and a new favorite because he had a solid WJC Danny Nelson except Laba has a PPG season in the NCAA.

Outside of this ranking I think we as a group seem a bit high on Laba and I mean just by a "bit".

IMO 3C in the current NHL is aspirational - if a lot of things break the right way. Looks at our draftee from the recent past in Barron - with very similar trajectory - drafted in a late round, small school, leadership role and good development of hockey skills that easily translatable to NHL. IMO he's probably more of a tweener project between 3/4 liner

 

[NYR Viper]

The Rangers young prospects in the AHL are really performing very well down there. It's a breath of fresh air honestly.
Sykora - 20 years old - 20 points in 37 games
Chmelar - 21 years old - 15 points in 37 games
Othmann - 22 years old - 9 points in 14 games
Berard - 22 years old - 15 points in 20 games
Roobreck - 20 years old - 15 points in 38 games
McConnell Barker - 20 years old - 10 points in 34 games

They're all fairly young and they're all producing. The keep barometer, at least for me, from a young bottom-6 forward is getting over that .5/.6 ppg threshold in the AHL while providing solid 2-way and/or physical play. Just looking back:

Cuylle - 45 points in 69 games
Fast - 34 points in 48 games
Dubinsky - 43 points in 71 games

If you want to be a middle-6 forward that's the key. Berard and Othmann are there this year. Sykora is trending very well for his age. Roobreck as a rookie is performing well considering he likely needs at least another season down there at minimum (he's 6'7...). Chmelar as a rookie in the AHL is doing well, hoping for a bigger 2nd half but he may need another full season.

There's not a single guy on the list above that has completely fallen on their face which is usually the case for when a large group of young players make the transition to the AHL. It's a difficult step for most everyone.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Outside of this ranking I think we as a group seem a bit high on Laba and I mean just by a "bit".

IMO 3C in the current NHL is aspirational - if a lot of things break the right way. Looks at our draftee from the recent past in Barron - with very similar trajectory - drafted in a late round, small school, leadership role and good development of hockey skills that easily translatable to NHL. IMO he's probably more of a tweener project between 3/4 liner

He plays in a much, much better conference than Barron did. I don't want to shit on the ECAC as it's gotten better and produced national champions, but top to bottom it still lags behind the others.

He ate up Denver and NoDak last year - Thats a national champion and another team that was a top 5 team (ranked #1 at one point, they were #1 when CC played them and he smoked them in fact. ) Barron wasn't facing that level of competition.

I don't think he's a top 6 guy (neither is Danny Nelson, I just threw him in there because he's got heat behind him bc of a strong WJC) but he's one of those guys who gets docked a bit because of where he was picked instead of what he's done since he's been picked.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Wheeler is doing his prospect rankings. He has our system 19th overall, which is the same as last year. He ranked our guys this way, with the lines representing how he broke down the tiers:

1. Perreault
----
2. Othmann
3. Emery
----
4. Berard
5. Garand
6. Sykora
7. Laba
----
8. Fortescue
9. Roobroeck
10. Rempe
11. McConnell-Barker
12. Lamb
13. Korczak
14. Boilard

I would definitely have Fortescue in the third tier. Wheeler's criteria say a skater needs to be U23 and not established as an NHL regular. That means Mancini should be on the list. I might flip a guy here or there but otherwise, this seems close to right.

FWIW he was complimentary of Emery, who he said has a lot of talent already and is taking positive steps in other areas--how he moves the puck and sees the ice--and is "owed" his first goal at this point based on what Wheeler has seen. Interestingly, he mentioned that he has heard that Emery has spent a ton of time on nutrition and exercise, but his metabolism is so high that he burns through it all, which is why he hasn't put on much weight.

New York Rangers are No. 19 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Rangers made just four selections in the 2024 NHL Draft but held onto their first-rounder and the pool remains solid.

www.nytimes.com

I agree with your comments but would add that Chmelar should have been rated in the fourth group and I don't know why he bothered with Korczak who's been scratched lately to be replaced by ECHL players. I was wondering whether Aspinall would get a mention which he didn't.

 

[nyr2k2]

I agree with your comments but would add that Chmelar should have been rated in the fourth group and I don't know why he bothered with Korczak who's been scratched lately to be replaced by ECHL players. I was wondering whether Aspinall would get a mention which he didn't.

Yeah I asked him on Twitter about Chmelar, who I had also overlooked, but he hasn't responded. Mancini he said wasn't included because of a combination of age and NHL experience, which considering it's like a dozen games seems a little lame.

 

[kovazub94]

He plays in a much, much better conference than Barron did. I don't want to shit on the ECAC as it's gotten better and produced national champions, but top to bottom it still lags behind the others.

He ate up Denver and NoDak last year - Thats a national champion and another team that was a top 5 team (ranked #1 at one point, they were #1 when CC played them and he smoked them in fact. ) Barron wasn't facing that level of competition.

I don't think he's a top 6 guy (neither is Danny Nelson, I just threw him in there because he's got heat behind him bc of a strong WJC) but he's one of those guys who gets docked a bit because of where he was picked instead of what he's done since he's been picked.

If I remember correctly Barron did pretty well when facing against bigger competition from Boston area. Anyway this is not here or there.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Wheeler primarily is a draft guy. I don't know how much AHL hockey he watches. So if he didn't have a guy rated high in his draft year who blossomed late (Mancini) he may not realize the improvement. The guy who rated the Rangers prospects on the EP last year didn't include Edstrom. I asked him about that and to his credit he did respond but he was focused on a lack of productivity from Edstrom. But anyone watching Edstrom at Hartford knew he would be a solid NHL fourth liner. On the other hand, Wheeler is still talking about Korczak from WHL days without recognizing that in 1.5 years in Hartford he hasn't shown much and is starting to be scratched.

I like reading what all of these guys have to say since they watch much more hockey than I do but I watch much more Hartford Wolfpack than they do so I take some of what they write about players who have moved onto the AHL with a grain of salt.