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Derek Stepan

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Pizza said:
...as in very.

I'm watching him chase down pucks all the time and then I think about the geniuses that keep saying this guy can't skate. You could put lots of good skaters on a line with Nash and Hagelin and they would look poor in comparison.
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think how good it would be if he actually used good form
 
Slats should sign him now or he may be paying a lot more for him this summer if he keeps this up!! He keeps this pace up and he will get 3 million and get three years per year!!
 
really pleased with stepans play during the last 15 games or so, for those who said hes barely a 2c or skates like **** hes really proving that wrong and playing to his potential, i thought he was our best skater tonight hes really playing like the 1c we need him to be right now.
 
rangersbaby said:
This is the problem with the average hockey fan. If he skates fast or looks good skating he is a good hockey player or at least looks good out there. derek on the other hand is the complete opposite akward skater who looks very slow. watch some of his highlights and the reality is he's not that slow. now i will never call him fast but he isn't slow he actually pulls away from players at times slow players don't do that in the nhl. hagelin on the other hand flys around out there legs moving a mile a minute so he gets zero criticism because it looks like he's doing something but in reality steps make 5 times the amount of smart good easy hockey plays and is twice the player that hagelin is. steps has 5 points in 9 games. he plays on the 2nd pp unit which get 35 to 40 seconds of each power play. he's 22 yrs old making 800,000usd and plays with pyatt and hagelin. and he is your scapegoat. richards 8points gaby 8 points and nash 8 points all playing together on the same line make 7.5 million each apparently have really outplayed him and deserve a free pass around here. there is a reason he is off limits when it comes to being a tradable asset on this team by people who actually understand that speed doesn't make the player. he's on pace for a 50 point season again and he also kills penalties and plays in the last minute of games for a coach who will bench anybody at anytime.
to the adam oates comment I don't think he will ever put up some of the numbers oates did
oates 23 yrs old 20 points
24 yrs old 47 points
25 yrs old 54 points
as a comparable not that big of a stretch so lay off the guy who made the comparison.
find another goat.....maybe it should start with
lunquist, gabi, rich and nash about 30 million in salary and none have been good enough on a nightly basis.
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Amazing how much can change in 5 weeks. Apparently he's now a 1c and his slow skating can be overlooked. Can we please start being patient with 19-23 yr old kids on entry level deals. A lot of people eating crow on here.
 
dethomas07 said:
the kids been playing like this the entire year and since he's been here..everyone here looks at stats at the end of the day but i mean he skates hard and has a great two way game..the difference is people are starting to step their own game up and score/contribute and he was snakebitten early on and couldn't score.. I think sometimes you guys have blinders on and don't see how players play and just see everything as stats..
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I couldn't disagree more. If anything, I think Stepan in relation to the public opinion have benefitted from people looking too much at stats. Sometimes good offensive plays from Step has been very few and far between.

I think Step leveled off after his rookie season, and he reached a point -- especially in the PO's last season -- were he was demoted to the 4th line and overall one of our teams weakest positions were Derek Stepan as our 2nd line center.

At the end of last season he had 4+8 in 21 games while avg 20 minutes a night. Against NJ he had 1 assist in 6 games (9 pts in 20 games). And I completely find it impossible to understand the talk about him being snakebitten -- because he did not create anything nor was involved offensively in any way really.

I definitely think Stepan had reached a point were it was more or less crucial for him to just step it up in plain english. Now he is playing in a tremendous environement for him with a great dynamo in Hagelin and a extremely strong player in Nash -- and Stepan can concentrate on what he does best. And don't get me wrong, I definitely think that Derek Stepan is a quality hockey player who is really good in many areas. Now he will get a peace of mind to build his game, and hopefully grow into a person who can stand on his own two feets. Just like Nik Bäckström could playing next to AO in Washington and Giroux received tremendous support in Philly early in their careers. Its nothing wrong with that. But I would definitely lie if I said that I agree with you and that I felt comfortable all along that Step would keep improving and so forth.
 
Another great game from Stepan. So great to see, especially with Richards out of the lineup again.

Let's hope that his play over the last month nearly is something that represents step forward in his progression and not just a temporary blip. I'd hate to see him regress again to his poor form at the start of the season, even if he did pick up some pretty fortunate points early on.

I think Stepan is in the perfect situation to produce now playing between Hagelin and Nash who complement his playing style really well. Stepan really benefits from having someone with a big body like Nash who can help create space for Stepan so he has more time to see the ice and move the puck around. Obviously Nash's quick mind and hands are a huge help as well. Hagelin is also a huge help on the forecheck and creates space in a different way from Nash with his speed and quick spins.
 
First off, it has been 20 years since we have had a home grown Ranger come in and make a impact like step has in his first three years. Some of you just don't get it. When I here people like Dave Maloney, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, talk about how important he is to this team, and how Torts says he goes unnoticed at times with everything he does that's all I need to hear!

When is the last time we have had a player play in every situation of the game like Step does? I would challenge anyone to find that 22 year old that has done that. Like Torts said a week ago " there is not much Step has not done for this team". To me it's all the little things he does that makes him our number 1 center without question. When he went down to block that shot in the ankle the other night you have to believe that he is drinking Tort's kol-aid.

Some of you guys can talk about his skating all you want but this kid has gotten better every year and that is a rare quality in a very young player. There is not one part of his game that has not gotten better in his three years. He slows our pp down at times,he IMO is in on our top pk units with Cally, is our best forward in his own end at a plus 9 and he is third on the team in scoring while being our best two way forward.

With all these factors it is amazing to me how some of you last month had him on the trading blocks for a 5th and 6th rounder. If you are truly a Ranger fan you know darn well we have not had a such a special home grown player come along since Adam Graves and we all know what this guy did while being in a Ranger uniform.

As a 30 year Ranger fan I have to say it has been really fun watching this young man grow into a very special player, and I am really glad he is doing it in a Ranger sweater. This kid will be the captain of this team as Cally plays out his time year!!
 
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Ola said:
I couldn't disagree more. If anything, I think Stepan in relation to the public opinion have benefitted from people looking too much at stats. Sometimes good offensive plays from Step has been very few and far between.

I think Step leveled off after his rookie season, and he reached a point -- especially in the PO's last season -- were he was demoted to the 4th line and overall one of our teams weakest positions were Derek Stepan as our 2nd line center.

At the end of last season he had 4+8 in 21 games while avg 20 minutes a night. Against NJ he had 1 assist in 6 games (9 pts in 20 games). And I completely find it impossible to understand the talk about him being snakebitten -- because he did not create anything nor was involved offensively in any way really.

I definitely think Stepan had reached a point were it was more or less crucial for him to just step it up in plain english. Now he is playing in a tremendous environement for him with a great dynamo in Hagelin and a extremely strong player in Nash -- and Stepan can concentrate on what he does best. And don't get me wrong, I definitely think that Derek Stepan is a quality hockey player who is really good in many areas. Now he will get a peace of mind to build his game, and hopefully grow into a person who can stand on his own two feets. Just like Nik Bäckström could playing next to AO in Washington and Giroux received tremendous support in Philly early in their careers. Its nothing wrong with that. But I would definitely lie if I said that I agree with you and that I felt comfortable all along that Step would keep improving and so forth.
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This sums up my thoughts on Stepan pretty well. So great to see him taking his play to a new level and to see his confidence keep growing.
 
Stepanformayor said:
First off, it has been 20 years since we have had a home grown Ranger come in and make a impact like step has in his first three years. Some of you just don't get it. When I here people like Dave Maloney, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, talk about how important he is to this team, and how Torts says he goes unnoticed at times with everything he does that's all I need to hear!

When is the last time we have had a player play in every situation of the game like Step does? I would challenge anyone to find that 22 year old that has done that. Like Torts said a week ago " there is not much Step has not done for this team". To me it's all the little things he does that makes him our number 1 center without question. When he went down to block that shot in the ankle the other night you have to believe that he is drinking Tort's kol-aid.

Some of you guys can talk about his skating all you want but this kid has gotten better every year and that is a rare quality in a very young player. There is not one part of his game that has not gotten better in his three years. He slows our pp down at times,he IMO is in on our top pk units with Cally, is our best forward in his own end at a plus 9 and he is third on the team in scoring while being our best two way forward.

With all these factors it is amazing to me how some of you last month had him on the trading blocks for a 5th and 6th rounder. If you are truly a Ranger fan you know darn well we have not had a such a special home grown player come along since Adam Graves and we all know what this guy did while being in a Ranger uniform.

As a 30 year Ranger fan I have to say it has been really fun watching this young man grow into a very special player, and I am really glad he is doing it in a Ranger sweater. This kid will be the captain of this team as Cally plays out his time year!!
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While I am thrilled to see Stepan turn on his game over the last 15 games or so you should also admit that Stepan had a very poor start to the season and looked like he'd regressed from last year or at least had stagnated. You are certainly right that we haven't had many young guys come in and make an immediate impact like Stepan has, though he's also had some benefits to come into a talented team where he hasn't had to carry the load himself.

I'd think it's fair to argue that Del Zotto's development and impact over the past few years has been more at least as impressive than Stepan's and probably more so. To eat up so many minutes at defense and cement himself in the best top four at his age is even more impressive than what Stepan has done in my opinion. Let's not forget that Stepan only outscored Del Zotto by 10 points last year. And I don't say this to knock Stepan but I think Hagelin's first year and counting has possibly been more impressive than Stepan's initial period at the club. We've also been blessed to see players like Staal, Callahan, Dubinsky and Girardi (if we are counting him) come through our club and have a huge impact though Stepan may have the upper hand over the 3 year period you've chosen. But I think all fans want to see our home-grown players succeed and that they will always have a special place in our hearts.

I understand Stepan is hot right now but that doesn't mean we can gloss over his poor start to the season and especially in the playoffs. I do hope so badly though that what we are seeing now are new steps in his development that are here to see. He is once again making himself useful on the forecheck, showing patience with the puck and using his active stick and IQ to constantly intercept pucks in all three zones. He's such a smart player.

But that doesn't mean we need to overstate his abilities either. I think Callahan is the best two-way forward on our team, not Stepan. Also, Nash is actually leading forwards and our team in plus/minus, even though I don't think it is fair at all to use that stat as a sole determinant to decide our best two-way forward, especially if you are basing it off of 20 games. Gaborik finished ahead of Stepan in plus/minus last year for example, but I doubt you will find many people backing Gaborik's all-around game over Stepan.
 
Yes, Step's skating sucks, but he compensates with his vision and understanding of the game. He knows where he needs to be and how to get there, and is supremely creative as well. What a find in the second round.
 
nyr2k2 said:
Yes, Step's skating sucks, but he compensates with his vision and understanding of the game. He knows where he needs to be and how to get there, and is supremely creative as well. What a find in the second round.
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His hockey IQ is off the charts. The physical skills will come with the work he is putting in.
 
Although his skating is not the best it is not nearly as bad as some of you make it seem.

He really stepped it up in the 3rd period and I thought he was flying out there last night and really moving his legs.

Hope the kid keeps it going. Because he really started off the season looking like crap. I like that he went to the coaches himself and asked for help as well.
 
It's great that him and Nash seem to be developing some great chemistry. They should be glued to each other. Steps is probably automatically the best center who Nash has played with in the NHL.
 
Ola said:
I couldn't disagree more. If anything, I think Stepan in relation to the public opinion have benefitted from people looking too much at stats. Sometimes good offensive plays from Step has been very few and far between.

I think Step leveled off after his rookie season, and he reached a point -- especially in the PO's last season -- were he was demoted to the 4th line and overall one of our teams weakest positions were Derek Stepan as our 2nd line center.

At the end of last season he had 4+8 in 21 games while avg 20 minutes a night. Against NJ he had 1 assist in 6 games (9 pts in 20 games). And I completely find it impossible to understand the talk about him being snakebitten -- because he did not create anything nor was involved offensively in any way really.

I definitely think Stepan had reached a point were it was more or less crucial for him to just step it up in plain english. Now he is playing in a tremendous environement for him with a great dynamo in Hagelin and a extremely strong player in Nash -- and Stepan can concentrate on what he does best. And don't get me wrong, I definitely think that Derek Stepan is a quality hockey player who is really good in many areas. Now he will get a peace of mind to build his game, and hopefully grow into a person who can stand on his own two feets. Just like Nik Bäckström could playing next to AO in Washington and Giroux received tremendous support in Philly early in their careers. Its nothing wrong with that. But I would definitely lie if I said that I agree with you and that I felt comfortable all along that Step would keep improving and so forth.
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IMO that knee he took from Orpik really hurt him and his skating ability in PO's and thats why he had such a poor performance. Step and Torts would never admit it but to me it was obvious.:(
 
Stepan strikes me as the kinda guy that will always continue to get better or at least try to get better. I love guys like that. Guys that don't wilt when a coach calls them out...a guy that's a stand up dude. Prolly because he's a Wisconsin boy who isn't a pansy.
 
Stepanformayor said:
First off, it has been 20 years since we have had a home grown Ranger come in and make a impact like step has in his first three years. Some of you just don't get it. When I here people like Dave Maloney, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, talk about how important he is to this team, and how Torts says he goes unnoticed at times with everything he does that's all I need to hear!

When is the last time we have had a player play in every situation of the game like Step does? I would challenge anyone to find that 22 year old that has done that. Like Torts said a week ago " there is not much Step has not done for this team". To me it's all the little things he does that makes him our number 1 center without question. When he went down to block that shot in the ankle the other night you have to believe that he is drinking Tort's kol-aid.

Some of you guys can talk about his skating all you want but this kid has gotten better every year and that is a rare quality in a very young player. There is not one part of his game that has not gotten better in his three years. He slows our pp down at times,he IMO is in on our top pk units with Cally, is our best forward in his own end at a plus 9 and he is third on the team in scoring while being our best two way forward.

With all these factors it is amazing to me how some of you last month had him on the trading blocks for a 5th and 6th rounder. If you are truly a Ranger fan you know darn well we have not had a such a special home grown player come along since Adam Graves and we all know what this guy did while being in a Ranger uniform.

As a 30 year Ranger fan I have to say it has been really fun watching this young man grow into a very special player, and I am really glad he is doing it in a Ranger sweater. This kid will be the captain of this team as Cally plays out his time year!!
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THanks man, way to sum it up!! thats why i love these boards, someone actually gets it and understands... about 90% of the people here on this board hated him and now are drooling over him.. its really funny to see how ignorant fan here are.. half our team is under the age of 25-26yrs old, give everyone time and watch them grow.. they all bring it and work hard, and torts gets the most out of his players.. STOP looking at stats and actually watch them play!!
 
Got to love the bi-polar nature. Struggles in the beginning of the year and some people want him gone. Plays better and now hes a bona-fide #1 center in this league.

The truth, as in most cases, is somewhere in between.
 
Stepanformayor said:
First off, it has been 20 years since we have had a home grown Ranger come in and make a impact like step has in his first three years. Some of you just don't get it. When I here people like Dave Maloney, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, talk about how important he is to this team, and how Torts says he goes unnoticed at times with everything he does that's all I need to hear!

When is the last time we have had a player play in every situation of the game like Step does? I would challenge anyone to find that 22 year old that has done that. Like Torts said a week ago " there is not much Step has not done for this team". To me it's all the little things he does that makes him our number 1 center without question. When he went down to block that shot in the ankle the other night you have to believe that he is drinking Tort's kol-aid.

Some of you guys can talk about his skating all you want but this kid has gotten better every year and that is a rare quality in a very young player. There is not one part of his game that has not gotten better in his three years. He slows our pp down at times,he IMO is in on our top pk units with Cally, is our best forward in his own end at a plus 9 and he is third on the team in scoring while being our best two way forward.

With all these factors it is amazing to me how some of you last month had him on the trading blocks for a 5th and 6th rounder. If you are truly a Ranger fan you know darn well we have not had a such a special home grown player come along since Adam Graves and we all know what this guy did while being in a Ranger uniform.

As a 30 year Ranger fan I have to say it has been really fun watching this young man grow into a very special player, and I am really glad he is doing it in a Ranger sweater. This kid will be the captain of this team as Cally plays out his time year!!
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You should probably go back a little further to Brian Leetch because Graves wasn't homegrown.
 
Bleed Ranger Blue said:
Got to love the bi-polar nature. Struggles in the beginning of the year and some people want him gone. Plays better and now hes a bona-fide #1 center in this league.

The truth, as in most cases, is somewhere in between.
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Everyone on the Rangers is great or terrible. Never anything in between.
 
Stepanformayor said:
If you are truly a Ranger fan you know darn well we have not had a such a special home grown player come along since Adam Graves and we all know what this guy did while being in a Ranger uniform.
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Stepan is not even the most "special" home grown player on the team currently. Staal? Callahan? Lundqvist or Girardi if you want to count them? And Graves was drafted and groomed by the Red Wings and spent parts of five seasons in Detroit and Edmonton before coming to New York.
 
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