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News Article: 5 Potential X-Factors for 2013-2014

NYR Viper said:
I think they need to add some size, but as we see with Callahan and Hagelin, if you have the speed, and Thomas and Fast do, then you can be just as effective.
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Very true as well. I think my main concern is being "bullied". But if they can outskate and outplay the opponents, then there we go
 
NYR Viper said:
Kreider is 6'3
Stepan is 6'0
Miller is 6'1
Lindberg is 6'0
Nash is 6'4
Boyle is 6'7


Fast is 5'11
Thomas is 5'9
Hagelin is 5'9-5'10
Callahan is 5'10

I understand the premise of what you are saying, and I would like to add some more size to the bottom-6 but as long as they can skate, I don't care how big they are. None of the guys I listed are 'soft'

The Rangers defense is actually pretty huge.

Staal is 6'4
MDZ is 6'1
McDonagh is 6'1
Girardi is 6'0
McIlrath is 6'5
Stralman is 6'3
Moore is 6'2

That's a good sized defense.
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Brass is a big boy too, 6'1 200 lbs.
Hagelin is 5'11.

The D is big but it doesn't play up to its size. Needs a hitter.
The O is good sized but it needs a Clowe type in the top 6 who can hit, bang and chip offensively.
Kassian, Stewart, maybe Beach ... not saying those specifically, but that type of player.
 
Kwayry said:
Brass is a big boy too, 6'1 200 lbs.
Hagelin is 5'11.

The D is big but it doesn't play up to its size. Needs a hitter.
The O is good sized but it needs a Clowe type in the top 6 who can hit, bang and chip offensively.
Kassian, Stewart, maybe Beach ... not saying those specifically, but that type of player.
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I think if Staal had been back, they would have been a more physical group. It's also hard for Girardi and McDonagh to be physical when they have to play so many minutes each night. They almost have to go into energy save mode.
 
Viper, the Rangers defense has height but not weight. Look at the average weight of the Capitals starting 6. Look at the average weight of the Bruins starting 6. Even Pittsburgh. A former Ranger (hint: his number hangs at the Garden) told me before the Capitals series that we're too undersized on the back-end. "Watch how they're going to pin us in our own end" he said. McIlrath should help but to say the Rangers defense is "huge" is a bit of a mischaracterization.
 
NYR Viper said:
I think if Staal had been back, they would have been a more physical group. It's also hard for Girardi and McDonagh to be physical when they have to play so many minutes each night. They almost have to go into energy save mode.
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Good point. Our first pair has been asked to score, to play physical, to block a thousand shots a game, knowing behind them no one else is really gonna do it.
 
Crease said:
Viper, the Rangers defense has height but not weight. Look at the average weight of the Capitals starting 6. Look at the average weight of the Bruins starting 6. Even Pittsburgh. A former Ranger (hint: his number hangs at the Garden) told me before the Capitals series that we're too undersized on the back-end. "Watch how they're going to pin us in our own end" he said. McIlrath should help but to say the Rangers defense is "huge" is a bit of a mischaracterization.
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Leg strength, its all about leg strength. That's why hockey is great, you can be 5'9 or 6'9, if you don't know skating, balance and have weak legs you're in trouble. I played some competitive hockey in my day, and even though I was average/or below height, my legs were solid, my family is blessed with tree trunks for thighs :D

When you drive through a player using your legs, no matter what his size you can lift that player off his feet, disrupt his balance or knock'em into the boards.
 
Bluenote13 said:
Leg strength, its all about leg strength. That's why hockey is great, you can be 5'9 or 6'9, if you don't know skating, balance and have weak legs you're in trouble. I played some competitive hockey in my day, and even though I was average/or below height, my legs were solid, my family is blessed with tree trunks for thighs :D

When you drive through a player using your legs, no matter what his size you can lift that player off his feet, disrupt his balance or knock'em into the boards.
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Agreed. And McDonagh and Girardi are more than solid. Staal as well.

Crease said:
Viper, the Rangers defense has height but not weight. Look at the average weight of the Capitals starting 6. Look at the average weight of the Bruins starting 6. Even Pittsburgh. A former Ranger (hint: his number hangs at the Garden) told me before the Capitals series that we're too undersized on the back-end. "Watch how they're going to pin us in our own end" he said. McIlrath should help but to say the Rangers defense is "huge" is a bit of a mischaracterization.
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I wouldn't complain if, on top of McIlrath they were able to add someone who could actually put some fear into opposing forwards ala Orpik or Weber but I don't see it happening. Maybe Moore can take that next step, or McDonagh can add a bit of a mean streak to himself.
 
McDonagh can be the current version of Adam Foote if he gets a bit more ornery in front of the net. One can only hope the influence of a guy like Mcilrath hanging with the big crew. They'll all benefit from the spark a player like that provides. We all admit its been way too long the backline has had the crunch that takes you out of your seat.
 
RangerBoy said:
Skjei is like Bouwmeester and Hedican. Really good skater. Great skater. Isn't very physical and doesn't have great puck skills. He was an offensive guy in high school because he was so much better than the other players. Skjei patterns his game after Nick Leddy who is another Minnesota guy. Maybe he gets the chance to show more than he did last season. The opportunity will be there for Skjei in the fall. The Gophers lost 3 upperclassmen D. Don Lucia said Skjei and Mike Reilly will be relied on much more this coming season. Skjei's uncle owns a pro skating business in Minnesota.
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By puck skills, i assume you mean "dangling" for lack of a better term.

He is a good passer and is patient with the puck when he has it in his own end, looks for the open man, and will take a hit to make the play. That's how he got injured early in the season. Took a huge hit but got the puck up ice to his teammate, and Minnesota went on the attack.

The thing that has always stood out to me about Skjei, is his skating, positioning, and his mind for the game. He most often keeps himself between the puck and his own net. He uses his foot speed to close gaps and rub guys out of the play. He also has a good shot from the point.

McDonagh, Moore, Skjei...i enjoy watching these kinds of defensemen play.
 
Skjei played like a rookie last year, and that's cause he was a rookie. I'll give him a break, he did show good play, but don't tell me he was like that all the time. I watched more Minnesota games than any College team last season. I watched him numerous times trying to cheat towards the pass instead of his man. In the Pro's that's unacceptable. His skill is not that great, very few can pull that off at any level nowadays.

There was a reason he didn't see ice late in the season. Let's hope he learned and takes it as motivation to get better.
 
Crease said:
Viper, the Rangers defense has height but not weight. Look at the average weight of the Capitals starting 6. Look at the average weight of the Bruins starting 6. Even Pittsburgh. A former Ranger (hint: his number hangs at the Garden) told me before the Capitals series that we're too undersized on the back-end. "Watch how they're going to pin us in our own end" he said. McIlrath should help but to say the Rangers defense is "huge" is a bit of a mischaracterization.
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We were pinned in our endzone largely because our system gave our D few options; pin the puck along the boards or chip it out. The biggest D in the world would have trouble breaking out with those options.
 
Bluenote13 said:
Skjei played like a rookie last year, and that's cause he was a rookie. I'll give him a break, he did show good play, but don't tell me he was like that all the time. I watched more Minnesota games than any College team last season. I watched him numerous times trying to cheat towards the pass instead of his man. In the Pro's that's unacceptable. His skill is not that great, very few can pull that off at any level nowadays.

There was a reason he didn't see ice late in the season. Let's hope he learned and takes it as motivation to get better.
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You can tell he was used to being the best skater on the ice and being able to be a rover.
 
Bluenote13 said:
Skjei played like a rookie last year, and that's cause he was a rookie. I'll give him a break, he did show good play, but don't tell me he was like that all the time. I watched more Minnesota games than any College team last season. I watched him numerous times trying to cheat towards the pass instead of his man. In the Pro's that's unacceptable. His skill is not that great, very few can pull that off at any level nowadays.

There was a reason he didn't see ice late in the season. Let's hope he learned and takes it as motivation to get better.
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i watched every Minnesota game that was televised in the NY area and your being way too hard on him. First off, he was scatched once at the end of the year when they decided they need more offense. When he dressed he played regular minutes and was on the first PK unit. He's pretty damn good and will only get better with experience. His size and skating are NHL ready and he moves the puck smartly and on the tape. Give the kid a break.
 
The first half of the season watching Skjei I was like:

Terrified-baby-face2.jpeg


The second half of the season I was like:

8125941814_b2e2423fcd.jpg
 
Trxjw said:
So what you're saying is that based on your current rate of aging, by the time Skjei reaches the NHL you'll look like this:
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Like Benjamin Button in reverse.

You should actually be focusing on their facial expressions only to capture my point.
 
puckrush said:
By puck skills, i assume you mean "dangling" for lack of a better term.

He is a good passer and is patient with the puck when he has it in his own end, looks for the open man, and will take a hit to make the play. That's how he got injured early in the season. Took a huge hit but got the puck up ice to his teammate, and Minnesota went on the attack.

The thing that has always stood out to me about Skjei, is his skating, positioning, and his mind for the game. He most often keeps himself between the puck and his own net. He uses his foot speed to close gaps and rub guys out of the play. He also has a good shot from the point.

McDonagh, Moore, Skjei...i enjoy watching these kinds of defensemen play.
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By "puck skills" I mean offensive skill. Able to QB a PP.
 
would like to see them keep going for with essentially the same roster. i think with a little less in terms of headgames from the coach, this team will be ok. i guess they won't keep clowe. it's a shame about that conditional pick situation. but it seems there is room for the current players to grow and some decent young blood to replace the clowes the richardses and pyatts and powes... they can add a veteran scorer or whatever they might need, at the trade deadline. should be a different developmental approach with a full-82-game season. reading this thread, i'm pretty psyched.
 
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