Emphasis on drafting speed and skill paying off for New York Rangers

[offdacrossbar]

With all due respect, it's very easy to look at prior drafts from years ago and state 'they should have picked so-and-so instead of so-and-so'. Even a housewife like me on the Jersey shore can go see who was picked after our draft picks, re-arrange the draft, and turn us into a really good team.

But the draft doesn't work that way...it happens in real time, without the benefit of hindsight.

I've been wrong before - when I was pretty young I thought for sure Ric Bennett was going to be star in this league - but I've been right too.

The day after McIlraith was drafted I am all over the boards arguing that this was a brutal selection, that we should have drafted Fowler or Tarasenko instead. People were vicious in disagreeing with me...now you don't hear from them anymore. We were suffering from a lack of skill then, and we're still suffering from a lack of skill now.

Drafting McIlraith at number 10 overall made no sense whatsoever for this organization. And I said it back then, not in hindsight.

amen sister.

those who have been vocal with this pick are either mocked, jeered or called disloyal.

there are a few of us that have never waivered. this organization could have certainly used a cam fowler or a tarasenko then and certainly today.

good for you speaking up and boo to those who continue to act as though mcilrath in hartford and tarasenko playing for st louis is in some way a postive for this team right now. today.

geez even that bum cam fowler is having a terrific start to the season. he wouldnt help our blue line at all....

bad pick then. bad pick now. bad pick period.

 

[NYR Viper]

amen sister.

those who have been vocal with this pick are either mocked, jeered or called disloyal.

there are a few of us that have never waivered. this organization could have certainly used a cam fowler or a tarasenko then and certainly today.

good for you speaking up and boo to those who continue to act as though mcilrath in hartford and tarasenko playing for st louis is in some way a postive for this team right now. today.

geez even that bum cam fowler is having a terrific start to the season. he wouldnt help our blue line at all....

bad pick then. bad pick now. bad pick period.

Go look at the top-15 picks and see who is that much better than McIlrath. Not many.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Progressing quite nicely? Lol he's been excellent value considering where he was chosen.

Go through that 2nd round of 2008 draft and see how many picks are proven NHLers let alone legit 1st liners.

dude. i spoke positively of stepan and you still find a way to criticize my take.

reread what i wrote. i think that was a great pick and hes been all and more.

hes been nothing short of excellent and other than his skating, hes as good as we could have done at that pick that year.

hes a pro and a darn good one and im very happy we chose him.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Go look at the top-15 picks and see who is that much better than McIlrath. Not many.

Horrible, horrible draft pick no matter how you spin it.

 

[Leslie Treff]

Just so you know, I was not a big fan of the pick--immediately. I was tweeting from the draft and before the pick wanted the Rangers to select Fowler. Gordie Clark tried to explain to me why he did not select him (NY already had Del Zotto), but, although I understood his reasoning, I disagreed. I thought that Fowler would have immediate value that the Rangers could turn over.

Now, I am not saying that McIlrath won't be an NHL defenseman. What I am saying is that I doubt that he will be the crease clearing Chara-light blueliner that the Rangers were hoping to get.

 

[Ail]

Just so you know, I was not a big fan of the pick--immediately. I was tweeting from the draft and before the pick wanted the Rangers to select Fowler. Gordie Clark tried to explain to me why he did not select him (NY already had Del Zotto), but, although I understood his reasoning, I disagreed. I thought that Fowler would have immediate value that the Rangers could turn over.

Now, I am not saying that McIlrath won't be an NHL defenseman. What I am saying is that I doubt that he will be the crease clearing Chara-light blueliner that the Rangers were hoping to get.

You're right. He's actually going to be better than Chara.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Go look at the top-15 picks and see who is that much better than McIlrath. Not many.

honestly. just stop already. much better than ? what does that even mean. as in real nhl games played vs pretend games or fighting in the ahl?

how many games has mcilrath played ? i know he was hurt but still, how many nhl games ? hes helping us now how ?

mcilrath has done exactly NOTHING in the nhl so far. NOTHING.

lets talk reality. 3 guys taken AFTER mcilrath that could be helping right now. these guys are all SCORERS and we CANT SCORE !!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHH

taken 16th vlad tarasenko- already an nhl riser and establishing himself as a dangerous scorer. no question hes helping st louis be more dangerous. we could use that, no ?

12th cam fowler- dudes having a great start to the season. mcdonagh like skater but much better pp qb. ya ya hes soft as a pillow but.... this guy could certainly address some bigtime needs today on our pp. and who wouldnt rather have fowler over del zotto right now ?

14th jaden schwartz- 23 4 10 14 8 11 0 0 0 41 9.8 playing bigtime minutes for the blues. offensive dynamo and tremendous 2 way player and exactly what we are lacking. this kid is a future star. hed look pretty good in our top 6.

and so mcilrath is better than those 3 exactly how ?

 

[Inferno]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=14500342&postcount=167

...oof...

 

[Inferno]

also, i dont need to go read through my old posts on Stepan...i HATED the pick with a passion..probably the only pick i hated more would be McIlrath. glad to see ive been wrong on both (I woulda taken Gormley...but right now it's looking like a push of a pick, and McIlrath is far more unique than Gorm)

 

[Inferno]

hmm, lets see...i was also so-so on Kreider (wanted Schroeder but was ok with Kreider in that spot)

Skjei & Miller I had no opinion on because at that point in the draft there was nobody I wanted us to grab badly...

Was THRILLED at Cherepanov

Did not like the MDZ pick, wanted John Carlson

I'm pretty sure I was thrilled at Sanguinetti...

Thrilled at Staal, Pissed beyond belief at Korpedo & Montoya...particularly Montoya...I wanted Olesz

meh, either way, long story short, i dont know crap about prospects

 

[Thirty One]

hmm, lets see...i was also so-so on Kreider (wanted Schroeder but was ok with Kreider in that spot)

Skjei & Miller I had no opinion on because at that point in the draft there was nobody I wanted us to grab badly...

Was THRILLED at Cherepanov

Did not like the MDZ pick, wanted John Carlson

I'm pretty sure I was thrilled at Sanguinetti...

Thrilled at Staal, Pissed beyond belief at Korpedo & Montoya...particularly Montoya...I wanted Olesz

meh, either way, long story short, i dont know crap about prospects

Ooh, this is fun.

2003 - liked Jessiman, but wanted Brown
2004 - wanted Tukonen over Montoya, loved Korpikoski
2005 - Marc Staal was my favorite player in the draft
2006 - said around pick #12, would love it if Bobby Sangs fell to them
2007 - pumped on Cherepanov
2008 - don't remember having strong feelings about anyone
2009 - wasn't pumped on Kreider, wanted Schroeder badly
2010 - had a minor-medium mental breakdown
2011 - liked Miller, would have preferred Armia or McNeill
2012 - liked Skjei, but was totally hard for Pearson

 

[offdacrossbar]

hmm, lets see...i was also so-so on Kreider (wanted Schroeder but was ok with Kreider in that spot)

Skjei & Miller I had no opinion on because at that point in the draft there was nobody I wanted us to grab badly...

Was THRILLED at Cherepanov

Did not like the MDZ pick, wanted John Carlson

I'm pretty sure I was thrilled at Sanguinetti...

Thrilled at Staal, Pissed beyond belief at Korpedo & Montoya...particularly Montoya...I wanted Olesz

meh, either way, long story short, i dont know crap about prospects

were not scouts. we guess. we hit a few and we miss most. gordie needs to be called out on this pick. hes the pro and he goofed. irregardless of what and when mcilrath plays in the nhl, it was a bad pick.

gordie thought del zotto was a better version of cam fowler. wrong.

gordie did not trust our well respected russian scout vlad lutchenko who was very high on tarasenko coming over and playing for us. bad decision.

schwartz was "too small". not true.

the mcilrath pick was a reach and a chance for us to take a kid who would be helping address our needs today. we are suffering from lack of scoring and the 3 players taken after our pick all address that very need.

we just really cannot afford gordies folly and love affair with the undertaker. we are paying a price today for gordies reach.

 

[NYR Viper]

lets talk reality. 3 guys taken AFTER mcilrath that could be helping right now. these guys are all SCORERS and we CANT SCORE !!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHH

taken 16th vlad tarasenko- already an nhl riser and establishing himself as a dangerous scorer. no question hes helping st louis be more dangerous. we could use that, no ?

12th cam fowler- dudes having a great start to the season. mcdonagh like skater but much better pp qb. ya ya hes soft as a pillow but.... this guy could certainly address some bigtime needs today on our pp. and who wouldnt rather have fowler over del zotto right now ?

14th jaden schwartz- 23 4 10 14 8 11 0 0 0 41 9.8 playing bigtime minutes for the blues. offensive dynamo and tremendous 2 way player and exactly what we are lacking. this kid is a future star. hed look pretty good in our top 6.

and so mcilrath is better than those 3 exactly how ?

3 guys out of how many?

What about the top-10? Out of those 3 players, 2 of them are wingers who have limited defensive responsibility. D-men take longer, or is this something you don't want to admit for this argument?

Honestly, I'd rather not have Fowler.

 

[NYR Viper]

were not scouts. we guess. we hit a few and we miss most. gordie needs to be called out on this pick. hes the pro and he goofed. irregardless of what and when mcilrath plays in the nhl, it was a bad pick.

gordie thought del zotto was a better version of cam fowler. wrong.

gordie did not trust our well respected russian scout vlad lutchenko who was very high on tarasenko coming over and playing for us. bad decision.

schwartz was "too small". not true.

the mcilrath pick was a reach and a chance for us to take a kid who would be helping address our needs today. we are suffering from lack of scoring and the 3 players taken after our pick all address that very need.

we just really cannot afford gordies folly and love affair with the undertaker. we are paying a price today for gordies reach.

This is complete crap, sorry ODC. You are already calling McIlrath a bad pick. That's close to unbelievable.

Here's something, if and when McIlrath makes the Rangers, I don't want to hear any positive word from you regarding his play or his presence on the team. Deal?

 

[offdacrossbar]

3 guys out of how many?

What about the top-10? Out of those 3 players, 2 of them are wingers who have limited defensive responsibility. D-men take longer, or is this something you don't want to admit for this argument?

Honestly, I'd rather not have Fowler.

fair enough. your arguments are becoming weaker. i showed you 3 guys taken immediately after we took mac. what more do you need ?

you dont like fowler but you still think del zotto turns it around ?

right now today.

fowler 26 2 11 13 3 8 2 0 0 41 4.9

plus player. playing key minutes and part of a good young team. improving every year and his skating/playmaking is high end.

del zotto 19 1 3 4 -6 4 0 0 0 28 3.6

healthy scratch and trade fodder. stalled development and questionable decision making. productivity per minutes played is poor.

again i ask you, you really wouldnt trade fowler for del zotto straight up today ? im sure ducks fan would NOT do that.

 

[NYR Viper]

fair enough. your arguments are becoming weaker. i showed you 3 guys taken immediately after we took mac. what more do you need ?

you dont like fowler but you still think del zotto turns it around ?

right now today.

fowler 26 2 11 13 3 8 2 0 0 41 4.9

plus player. playing key minutes and part of a good young team. improving every year and his skating/playmaking is high end.

del zotto 19 1 3 4 -6 4 0 0 0 28 3.6

healthy scratch and trade fodder. stalled development and questionable decision making. productivity per minutes played is poor.

again i ask you, you really wouldnt trade fowler for del zotto straight up today ? im sure ducks fan would NOT do that.

Jack Campbell - Not in the NHL

Derek Forbort - Not in the NHL

Alex Burmistrov - Left for the KHL

Nino Niederiter - Just finally developing as many thought

Michael Granlund - Too weak to play in the NHL right now

Brett Connolly - Can't hold a NHL spot right now

Brandon Gormley - Not in the NHL

Joey Hishon - Not ever going to make the NHL

Austin Watson - Not close to the NHL

Jeff Skinner - Serious injury concerns



You take the exceptions to the rule and use that as evidence of what you wanted to happen in the past.

 

[Tawnos]

again i ask you, you really wouldnt trade fowler for del zotto straight up today ? im sure ducks fan would NOT do that.

Fowler doesn't address any of the needs of this team, so no... I wouldn't trade DZ for Fowler straight up. He would be in exactly the same situation that DZ is in... stuck behind Staal and McDonagh and not getting the kind of ice time he needs to be successful.

 

[offdacrossbar]

This is complete crap, sorry ODC. You are already calling McIlrath a bad pick. That's close to unbelievable.

Here's something, if and when McIlrath makes the Rangers, I don't want to hear any positive word from you regarding his play or his presence on the team. Deal?

i respect you and your opinion and you are correct. yes i am. its a bad pick.

i dont have to wait for anything more to happen. bad pick draft day. bad pick today. bad pick tomorrow. just a poor pick. what he ultimately becomes doesnt make it a better pick. ok ?

see now there you go. the whole disloyal thing right there. thats bogus. i gave you 3 players who are performing today in the nhl helping their teams offensively. we are starving for that and any and all of those players would be helping us today.

just understand it was a bad pick made worse given our current state of affairs today. once you do, you will then begin to realize that although a bad pick, he is still our player and all nyr fans want him to succeed.

last question. if he had been playing for us since the start of this season, do we win more games with him in the lineup ? does he help us win more games ?

does he ?

 

[Trxjw]

McIlrath could be a better skating, nastier version of Dan Girardi, and some people will still think it's a bad pick. It's kind of like arguing with a wall at this point. It's always what other players are doing, rarely, if ever, what McIlrath himself is doing. Laughable. Pure and simple.

 

[Thirty One]

what he ultimately becomes doesnt make it a better pick. ok ?

wut.

 

[Trxjw]

wut.

Pretty much sums it up.

 

[Inferno]

This is complete crap, sorry ODC. You are already calling McIlrath a bad pick. That's close to unbelievable.

Here's something, if and when McIlrath makes the Rangers, I don't want to hear any positive word from you regarding his play or his presence on the team. Deal?[/QUOTE]

i respect you and your opinion and you are correct. yes i am. its a bad pick.

i dont have to wait for anything more to happen. bad pick draft day. bad pick today. bad pick tomorrow. just a poor pick. what he ultimately becomes doesnt make it a better pick. ok ?

see now there you go. the whole disloyal thing right there. thats bogus. i gave you 3 players who are performing today in the nhl helping their teams offensively. we are starving for that and any and all of those players would be helping us today.

just understand it was a bad pick made worse given our current state of affairs today. once you do, you will then begin to realize that although a bad pick, he is still our player and all nyr fans want him to succeed.

last question. if he had been playing for us since the start of this season, do we win more games with him in the lineup ? does he help us win more games ?

does he ?

if mcilrath turns out to be a better skating of Beukeboom, it's a home run of a pick...a grand slam of a pick, no matter what the other guys do there.

there isn't a better skating version of Beuke in the NHL today...arguably you could say Phaneuf, but he brings more offense than McIlrath does, and he's not a fighter like McIlrath is.

And youve made posts like this before defending Enver Lisin bro...they don't seem to end up well for ya :-/

 

[offdacrossbar]

Jack Campbell - Not in the NHL

Derek Forbort - Not in the NHL

Alex Burmistrov - Left for the KHL

Nino Niederiter - Just finally developing as many thought

Michael Granlund - Too weak to play in the NHL right now

Brett Connolly - Can't hold a NHL spot right now

Brandon Gormley - Not in the NHL

Joey Hishon - Not ever going to make the NHL

Austin Watson - Not close to the NHL

Jeff Skinner - Serious injury concerns



You take the exceptions to the rule and use that as evidence of what you wanted to happen in the past.

incorrect.

i had exactly zero interest in any of the players you highlighted.

i liked fowler and tarasenko and kuznetsov at 10 in that draft.

 

[Thirty One]

McIlrath could be a better skating, nastier version of Dan Girardi, and some people will still think it's a bad pick. It's kind of like arguing with a wall at this point. It's always what other players are doing, rarely, if ever, what McIlrath himself is doing.

With the draft, it's always about opportunity cost. What the players who were drafted around him are doing is very relevant in evaluating the pick itself. He's the highest pick the Rangers have had in 9 seasons, it's not like he's a mid-round pick.

 

[Inferno]

With the draft, it's always about opportunity cost. What the players who were drafted around him are doing is very relevant in evaluating the pick itself. He's the highest pick the Rangers have had in 9 seasons, it's not like he's a mid-round pick.

yep, agreed, but i think most people would also agree its FAR too early to make blanket statements like what a terrible pick it is, at least not for another year or 2.

McIlrath *should* be NHL ready by then, and we'll see what we have.

It's like the people killing the Kreider pick...till he got sent down all it was was a terrible pick and what a bust he was...now, hes playing like a first liner. probably too early to jump to any conclusions on McIlrath. Just as it is on the flip side for Tarasenko, Fowler, etc.