Prospect Info: 2024-2025 Rangers Prospects Thread (Prospect Stats in Post #1; Updated 12/15/2024)

[cwede]

A kid sued the NCAA because he played in a couple OHL exhibition games and that cost him his college eligibility. This will likely lead to the end of the prohibition on Major Junior players being able to play in the NCAA, which has been inevitable for a while now, since the implementation of NIL essentially ended the whole "amateurism" charade.

that potential change has been brought up a few times with NILs in place it makes the whole thing dumb. If it changes it will be cause NCAA admits they aren't no more amateurs than the guys in juniors now not cause some random guy didn't follow the rules and is now crying about it.

here's a recent article as the suit

NCAA sued over major-junior hockey player ban

The NCAA is being sued over its ban of major junior hockey players.

www.espn.com

the restrictions do seem obsolete given, not just NIL,
but the examples such as the NCAA Swede and Ledecky :
"...Masterson argues in the suit that even pro athletes who have been financially compensated -- such as swimmer Katie Ledecky -- still retained NCAA eligibility. The suit also notes Boston College's Tom Willander played professionally in Sweden and was still allowed to dress in the NCAA too"

 

[Ranger Ric]

here's a recent article as the suit

NCAA sued over major-junior hockey player ban

The NCAA is being sued over its ban of major junior hockey players.

www.espn.com

the restrictions do seem obsolete given, not just NIL,
but the examples such as the NCAA Swede and Ledecky :
"...Masterson argues in the suit that even pro athletes who have been financially compensated -- such as swimmer Katie Ledecky -- still retained NCAA eligibility. The suit also notes Boston College's Tom Willander played professionally in Sweden and was still allowed to dress in the NCAA too"

The NCAA has a perfect record. It has lost every one of these lawsuits. Count on Canadian junior players in the NCAAs in the near future. The real question is how many other restrictions will fall. For example, will NCAA players be allowed to go to professional rooking and team training camps?

 

[Ranger Ric]

Elite Prospects has released its ranking of the top 100 drafted skaters and top 15 goaltenders heading into the season. Ratings are 1-3, Not NHL caliber, 4-6 NHL average, 7-9 high-end skill.

Garand not ranked in the top 15 goaltender list.

In the skaters list:

30. Perrault: with a grade of 6.5, just below the high-end range of 7-9. Elite passing, puck handling and sense. Skating and physical play ranked 4 and 4.5 respectively.

38: Othmann: with a grade of 6. All individual skills 5-6.5. Conclusion is he's ready for the Rangers now.

86. Emery: with a grade of 5. 6.5 for skating and physical play. Other skills rated 4.5 except puck handling, rated 4.

No huge surprises. I think GP skating is a little higher because of his quickness but skating is not high end. BO is a solid but not high-end prospect. Emery needs to develop his offensive skills.

 

[RangersFan1994]

This is what Kakko is doing.. Kakko must mean lazy in Finnish

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I hope Sykora gets some games as a reward.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

This is what Kakko is doing.. Kakko must mean lazy in Finnish

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I hope Sykora gets some games as a reward.

Kakko is lazy? Based on what?

 

[RangersFan1994]

Kakko is lazy? Based on what?

He has not improved much meaning he doesn't work at it. Stats don't lie

 

[eco's bones]

He has not improved much meaning he doesn't work at it. Stats don't lie

It's not that he hasn't improved. He just hasn't become the player we hoped he would become. His first year he was not ready for the NHL.....his biggest improvement since that year has come in his play away from the puck. He's also gotten much stronger both physically and on his skates and when he has the puck he protects it pretty much as well as any of the other forwards we have. My suspicions and I think a lot of other Rangers fans would agree with me is he's never found the confidence to become a steady offensive producer. That's not necessarily at all a case of not working hard enough.

 

[2014nyr]

Kakko is lazy? Based on what?

people on the internet expected more and were sure he would have been a superstar by now....so they are faced with accepting they don't know everything and maybe attempting to identify things they overlooked or underweighted as factors/if they blinded themselves to issues/if they were guided by emotion rather than reality etc...or just explain any underperformance of what they expected on kakko simply not putting in any work.

thats just 2024. nobody is ever wrong and they'd certainly never look in a mirror to ask themselves why...just point a finger anywhere else or simply reinvent your own history and convince yourself you were right all along.

 

[eco's bones]

Most of the 1st rounders from the 2019 draft haven't busted out. Some are doing better than Kakko by virtue of playing for weaker teams and have gotten more opportunity than he has. Jack Hughes, Moritz Seider are legit stars. Caufield a legit goal scoring threat. Cozens a good all around player. Zegras....but he took a step back last year and is not great away from the puck. Boldy. Not too many of them have surpassed him so far as a player. He's not terrible when you compare him relative to those drafted around him. He hasn't made a big step sure but.......2019 doesn't look like the greatest draft.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

He has not improved much meaning he doesn't work at it. Stats don't lie

Just because a player doesn't hit his potential, doesn't mean he didn't put in the work. Is James van Riemsdyk lazy too? I guess Nico Hischier is lazy because he's not even a point of time-per-game player as a first overall pick...

Yeah, Kakko has been disappointing but how do you know it's due to a lack of effort? This isn't a video game where you're guaranteed to improve over time if you play well.

I really don't understand your logic here. Development isn't linear. Nor is it an exact science.

Then again, fans cried about Lafrenière playing baseball a year ago instead of working out. Not that it means a player doesn't work out if there's no evidence of course.

I mean, there's no video footage of me taking showers. That doesn't mean I never take a shower

 

[kovazub94]

I don’t see who made the claim but Kakko lazy argument is absolutely bonkers.

I get exasperated about talks that the organization somehow didn’t accommodate Andersson or Kravtsov that caused (or otherwise where significant contributing factors to) their misdeveloped, but if anyone can attempt to make such claim - it would be Kakko who should have spent at least some parts of his first year in the AHL, as a shy Finn should have had a vet countryman to learn from who could look after him, and never really got a chance to play with good partners in top-6.

 

[nyr2k2]

Ignoring the Kakko stuff, I don't see much of a chance for Sykora to see NHL games this year. We'd have to collapse at the NHL level and just starting playing young guys for that to happen, and even then, he has a few guys to jump over. Sykora did some nice things last season and I'm optimistic about his future, but unless he takes a huge step, he's not ready.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Ignoring the Kakko stuff, I don't see much of a chance for Sykora to see NHL games this year. We'd have to collapse at the NHL level and just starting playing young guys for that to happen, and even then, he has a few guys to jump over. Sykora did some nice things last season and I'm optimistic about his future, but unless he takes a huge step, he's not ready.

He's still a baby in terms of man strength/age. Let him keep improving and getting more minutes at the AHL level. If he improves exponentially this summer maybe he gets a cup of coffee at some point similar to Edstrom this past season.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Kakko isn't lazy, I mean this isn't Pavel Brendl coming to camp overweight and with no cardio stamina.

He's gotten physically stronger. He's a combination of unlucky with injuries and the only top 6 spot being with two guys who are impossible to play with, and maybe stubborn in that he should focus more on explosiveness and lower body.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Kakko isn’t lazy.

Kravtsov was lazy.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Kakko isn’t lazy.

Kravtsov was lazy.

Kravstov wasn't lazy, he was just soft/had no intensity.

 

[RempireStateBuilding]

Kakko isn’t lazy.

Kravtsov was lazy.

Krav had a sense of entitlement more than anything.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Elite Prospects has released its ranking of the top 100 drafted skaters and top 15 goaltenders heading into the season. Ratings are 1-3, Not NHL caliber, 4-6 NHL average, 7-9 high-end skill.

Garand not ranked in the top 15 goaltender list.

In the skaters list:

30. Perrault: with a grade of 6.5, just below the high-end range of 7-9. Elite passing, puck handling and sense. Skating and physical play ranked 4 and 4.5 respectively.

38: Othmann: with a grade of 6. All individual skills 5-6.5. Conclusion is he's ready for the Rangers now.

86. Emery: with a grade of 5. 6.5 for skating and physical play. Other skills rated 4.5 except puck handling, rated 4.

No huge surprises. I think GP skating is a little higher because of his quickness but skating is not high end. BO is a solid but not high-end prospect. Emery needs to develop his offensive skills.

Really underselling GP at 30. Should be around 15.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Just because a player doesn't hit his potential, doesn't mean he didn't put in the work. Is James van Riemsdyk lazy too? I guess Nico Hischier is lazy because he's not even a point of time-per-game player as a first overall pick...

Yeah, Kakko has been disappointing but how do you know it's due to a lack of effort? This isn't a video game where you're guaranteed to improve over time if you play well.

I really don't understand your logic here. Development isn't linear. Nor is it an exact science.

Then again, fans cried about Lafrenière playing baseball a year ago instead of working out. Not that it means a player doesn't work out if there's no evidence of course.

I mean, there's no video footage of me taking showers. That doesn't mean I never take a shower

JVR and Nico actually produce and are good 2 way players. Kakko is just not that good

 

[UnSandvich]

Ignoring the Kakko stuff, I don't see much of a chance for Sykora to see NHL games this year. We'd have to collapse at the NHL level and just starting playing young guys for that to happen, and even then, he has a few guys to jump over. Sykora did some nice things last season and I'm optimistic about his future, but unless he takes a huge step, he's not ready.

I'm as big a Sykora booster as you'll find on this board, and I 100% agree here

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Yea, there is no reason to rush Sykora, i dont think he plays in the NHL this year. But i also dont see how he isnt an NHL player eventually, i think he’s as close as a lock as we have.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

JVR and Nico actually produce and are good 2 way players. Kakko is just not that good

Did JVR (2nd overall) and Hischier (1st overall) reach their ceiling for where they were picked? Because that's the debate with Kakko.

Kakko isn't a bad player. He is a good 3rd liner. But for a 2nd overall pick he falls short.

My question is: How is Kakko lazy? What made you come to that conclusion?

 

[eco's bones]

Kakko has had times where things started to go well but he's never been able to sustain that for a long period of time. Sometimes injuries have interrupted those better times. It seems to me that that has had an effect on his confidence to produce and that having not really gotten things going for several years now he has lost the confidence to produce in a big way that he had when he was drafted. He's become a good player in other ways though.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

Did JVR (2nd overall) and Hischier (1st overall) reach their ceiling for where they were picked? Because that's the debate with Kakko.

Kakko isn't a bad player. He is a good 3rd liner. But for a 2nd overall pick he falls short.

My question is: How is Kakko lazy? What made you come to that conclusion?

He's obviously a lazy, soft Euro.

Come on guys, it took way too long for someone to say that

 

[GunkWinger]

Sometimes you just have to look at who made the comment to save yourself the aggravation.