Its not about talk for or against Krav. The time for talk is over, Just show us on the ice. 90% of us want both Laf and Krav to succeed. We are not so emotionally connected to one or the other that we will root against Ranger players for nonsensical reasons.
It's not impatience to want more out of #1 and #2 overall picks than what they have given up to this point. They have been playing well lately and Lafreniere especially has improved the last month or so which is great. Kakko has basically been the same player all season. But those who have wanted more from them are not or have not placed unfair expectations on either of them.
A lot of people DO bag on Krav And want to get anything we can for him.
Actually, during the summer when Kakko wasn't extended immediatly I guess there was some speculation. But Kakko in all his interviews stated that he loves it in New York, puts basically all of the blame of not scoring on himself (thoug was annoyed with the line jugling), never said he had a problem with the coach etc. NY is an awesome place to be, even if you are not the top dog.
18-19? Lol Laf never played an NHL game at 18. He turned 19 like 3 months before his first NHL game, 20 for his sophomore season.
Of course it is lol. But Isn’t most of the shit on this board hyperbolic? This place isn’t exactly known for it’s understatement.
People get caught up in streaks, as of today both are still on pace for 42pts in their 4th & 3rd NHL seasons. That would’ve been disappointing for their rookie seasons based on the expectations. If someone said they wouldn’t pass 42pts by their 4th & 3rd year they would’ve been called a troll lol
Lol false
stathead.com
That’s not true
People have emotional grudges toward Krav because of how he left to Russia, you see by their attacks including things like hoping he gets shipped off to the war. I don't make these kind of insults toward Laf or Kakko, I simply compare their stats to other top picks. We can see reading GDT's from Kravtsov's first NHL stint where the same posters now hurling insults at him were saying he was the best rookie Ranger they've ever seen, better than Kovalev. Everyone was gushing over him and he had more 3 star votes in those 20 games than any other player on the team. Then he left to Russia again and they went nuts.
Sorry Ed. Season normally starts first week of Oct, Laf’s birthday is the second week of Oct. Now I don’t know if the NHL started season late or not Laf’s rookie year, though I think I remember that Laf had not played a hockey game for almost a year before his NHL DEBUT. The important thing here is that if you need to compare Krav’s D+5 to Laf’s D+1 then you’ve already lost the argument. And Krav was playing pro hockey at 17, no? He’s had a way longer runway than Laf as a pro. I will say I think he’s the least physically developed of the kids, regardless of age, but even that may be a combination of not working on strength as well as just naturally maturing slower physically.
That season started in January, Laf was already 19. I'm comparing Krav's rookie season to Laf's 3rd season, NHL experience matters but if you want to compare their D+1s then Kravtsov's stock rose to the point where he was ranked the number one NHL affiliated prospect by TSN and Laf's stock dropped so far he was called even worse than Yakupov. Laf was a 1st overall pick, he was expected to make am immediate impact. Krav was 9th overall and expected to be a "project" and was called a one dimensional prototypical Russian. Yet he's already better than Kakko & Laf defensively which is supposedly the weakness in Kravs game. Their draft status is why they weren't treated as poorly as Krav and weren't sent to the AHL to make room to carry Libor Hajek as an 8th defenseman (which is a very unorthodox number to carry). If we didn't win back to back draft lotteries this organizations treatment of a 9th overall pick would be considered an abomination by all. He's currently sitting while we deploy Leschyshnyhsnsn. People can't have it both ways, saying the expectations shouldn't be higher on Laf or Kakko just because they're 1st & 2nd overall picks while simultaneously justifying the treatment of Krav because he's not as high of a pick as they were. Kakko was the worst player in the NHL in his rookie season. Kravtsov outscored not only him but Zibanejad, Kreider, Strome & Fox in that 2019 preseason. All reports from camp were that Kravtsov was the one blowing the doors off, if they were equal draft picks there is absolutely zero chance Kakko makes the team over Krav. Go back and read the beat writers reports, the threads on here, twitter. Revisionist history as always. Many of Kravs biggest detractors were calling him the best rookie Ranger of ALL TIME in those 20 games lmfao. "Better than Kovalev" Now they claim he sucked in them.
That may be true but your bashing of Laf and KK does not help Krav. It just makes it seem like you are more Team Krav than Team Rangers at times. I understand you have an emotional attachment to Krav. There is nothing wrong with that but bashing our players and coach does not help Krav. If anything you should say look at the improvements our kids are making. Maybe Krav will as well next season.
There’s a lot to unpack there but mostly has nothing to do with what I said here or anywhere else. I addressed that seasons may have started late, but it was still his D+1 and D+2 and you are highlighting how messed up his circumstances were. What Krav’s stock did or Laf’s stock did have no bearing on how I presently see them as players. Why should it? Fact is they are where they are as players. No GM in the league would have made a straight up Laf for Krav trade any time in the last three years regardless though.
