GDT: New York Rangers 2018-2019 Training Camp Thread

[SA16]

It's pretty amazing that for a team that I'm told is supposed to be so bad this year that there is no room for more than one of the top prospects to fit in the lineup with a non-trivial role.

 

[I Eat Crow]

I'm surprised, but not shocked at the final roster.

My guess is that McLeod is the 13th forward for now but gets sent down once Beleskey is healthy. Beleskey made the team, IMO.

I'm a little surprised about Andersson being sent down but Howden staying up. I guess the staff sees Howden as more of a bottom six option and Andersson a top 9 option. I wouldn't worry about it. Injuries and trades are going to happen. He'll be up with the club full time soon.

I still think Lettieri sucks despite his goals in the last couple of games. It doesn't hurt that he is the one guy on the team with a shoot first mentality, but I find just about everything else in his game lacking. I was way more impressed with other guys that didn't make the team. Meskanen, Fogarty, and Beleskey (who did make the team), to name a couple.

 

[OrlandK]

It's pretty amazing that for a team that I'm told is supposed to be so bad this year that there is no room for more than one of the top prospects to fit in the lineup with a non-trivial role.

Not that amazing. This team is deep in quantity. Lacks high end quality though. On top of that the goal is player development as much as winning this year so that has to be factored in also.

 

[Levitate]

It's pretty amazing that for a team that I'm told is supposed to be so bad this year that there is no room for more than one of the top prospects to fit in the lineup with a non-trivial role.

eh, we know that none of these guys are elite prospects who were going to come in and blow everyone away and beat out veterans like Zibanejad and Hayes, so that left 1 spot. I dont' think it was ever realistic to expect these guys to be better than the established vets the Rangers currently have. Maybe they will be in the future but not right now.

 

[TheDirtyH]

more disappointed to see McLeod on the roster and DeAngelo in the scratched category than anything to do with the prospects. it's one thing to send a 20 year old to the AHL when he might be ready for the NHL and another to play worse NHLers over better ones. Not a good start for Quinn in my books

 

[Zibanejbread]

Ugh, fire Quinn...

 

[nyr2k2]

His production of a top 6 forward seems to be a product of his linemates. Away from them, he has resembled anything but. I am not sure what he can offer on the 4th line, which leaves the third line. And unless a team basically wants the third line to be a yet another scoring line and it features another pretty good offensive player, I do not think that he would shine there either. That is my point. Unfortunately for him, his play has not nearly made anyone consider playing him as a top 6 forward.

My only response would be, Tampa apparently saw something in him to give him that opportunity to play where he did. I mean if they thought he was completely bereft of offensive ability I doubt they'd stick him there; they had plenty of other options on that team.

He's fine defensively and he can chip in some offense. I don't really understand the concern. Put him on the third or fourth and he'll be fine.

 

[SA16]

Not that amazing. This team is deep in quantity. Lacks high end quality though. On top of that the goal is player development as much as winning this year so that has to be factored in also.

If there's quantity but not quality you can just slide those players around and make room for the ones that are important in the future. Hayes can play wing. Staal/McQuaid/McLeod can not play at all. Namestnikov/Vesey/Fast can all be on the 4th line if needed.

 

[Black Tank]

It's pretty amazing that for a team that I'm told is supposed to be so bad this year that there is no room for more than one of the top prospects to fit in the lineup with a non-trivial role.

Ah, the Islanders school of developing prospects - just throw them on a horrible team and let their natural abilities take over....

I'm glad that we're taking a more responsible approach.

 

[Off Sides]

Lettieri I actually don't mind, if he is a 4th line wing, he seems to fit that spot pretty well. He is in the last year of his entry level so giving him a shot is okay with me.

All of Chytil, Lias, Howden, have this and two more season left on the entry levels, other than the optics of a rebuilding team not playing any of their better prospects at the NHL level, I am not really seeing the upside to having them on the NHL roster.

I think the Flyers taking off last games first two periods may have clouded up what it likely to take place this year when they are facing full NHL rosters who are playing full on or even 4/5th up to their capabilities.

 

[SA16]

Ah, the Islanders school of developing prospects - just throw them on a horrible team and let their natural abilities take over....

I'm glad that we're taking a more responsible approach.

What the Islanders did was play Niederreiter on the 4th line for 10 mins a game. It was a disaster. They traded him for a 4th liner. And then what do you know he turned into a good player in MIN when played with good players and real ice time.

In other words exactly the opposite of what I'm saying they should do.

 

[Kovalev27]

Howden can actually skate at the nhl level that’s what management sees. That’s why he made the team. He’s fast and relentless and that’s their new motto.

Lias I’m worried about. Im worried about how he takes this. I’m worried about the fact we took a “ready now” 3C. 2 summers ago that doesn’t look ready still. I’m worried that in a skating league with a new coach who emphasizes speed that we took a kid that might be the ugliest skater I’ve seen in a long time at 7th overall.

I love the kids compete. I love the kids hands around the net. I love the kids shot. I love the kids IQ. I love the kids leadership. But at the end of the day he never has the puck on his stick because he can’t skate. I’m not sure how much he can improve on that.

Gordie Clark seems to have an issue identifying this in high picks. He did it with mcilrath. He did it here again. This league is about skating now. That should be the focus in any kid we take going forward. I am amazed they watched this kid skate and said now that’s a top 10 pick in the NHL.

I pray PRAY he proves me wrong because we cannot afford to not draft elite talent in the top 10. I thank the lord for Chytil in that draft.

But this is not good news. It’s not because they didn’t want him for the 4th line. It’s because Howden is probably the better player at this time and Edge probably doesn’t want to say this but he knew it last year when talking up Howden. He was more nhl ready than lias.

 

[RangerBoy]

Why is Hayes on the team?

Gorton should have traded him three months ago.

The Rangers have young center options. We had this discussion during the summer. They are NHL ready.

They don’t need Hayes. They didn’t want to pay Hayes this summer. Why are they paying him next summer? All three of the young centers have more upside than Hayes and they will be making nothing for the at least the next three years.

I like Gorton but some of his decisions are questionable.

How will the ice time be distributed?

Could the Rangers have gotten more for Hayes June or will they get more as a rental in February?

They will need for Hayes to have a good year to get a good return at the trading deadline. He will need to play and that will take away time from the young players at center.

 

[Trxjw]

I'm going to buck the common thought here and just say it: I think Howden out played Chytil and Andersson. Those guys had more highlight moments, but Howden was the guy who demonstrated he could play with just about anyone and he got stronger and stronger as camp rolled on. That being said, I'm not crazy about him getting 4th line minutes.

Told you all not to sleep on Howdy.

 

[Fitzy]

We'll see if coach plays around with the groups. We have a good 4 practices left before opening night.

Vesey on the 2nd is undeserving, but balances the lines. Players that can score, and players who can play defense up and down the forward lines. Very NYR typical.

 

[Ola]

Definitely agree on the demotion decision on Lias. Last nights pre season game was the first I saw and I think Lias had a positive showing in many ways — but my overall impression was ‘why are we rushing this kid???’

Just look at when other NHLers made the league. Making it D+1 or D+2 is not usual at all. I also don’t think he should be in HFD riding the bus across the US. He should have been left in the SHL.

 

[Levitate]

more disappointed to see McLeod on the roster and DeAngelo in the scratched category than anything to do with the prospects. it's one thing to send a 20 year old to the AHL when he might be ready for the NHL and another to play worse NHLers over better ones. Not a good start for Quinn in my books

Eh let's see how it plays out. This is only one practice so far and we saw different combos during the actual preseason games. Things could change in practice or they could change once the season starts. IMO the roster will still be very much in flux for awhile after the season begins.

 

[bobbop]

There’s no harm in Lias going to the AHL. He is still 19 years old. 19. This signals me that once Lias is ready to return, Hayes will be headed out of town. I think that deep down, that’s been the plan all along.

Howden won the job fair and square. He’s a good player and is going to be an excellent addition to the organization for many years to come. Eventually we may looked at the McDonagh deal as a very good trade.

 

[OrlandK]

If there's quantity but not quality you can just slide those players around and make room for the ones that are important in the future. Hayes can play wing. Staal/McQuaid/McLeod can not play at all. Namestnikov/Vesey/Fast can all be on the 4th line if needed.

Just because Andersson is important for the future doesn't mean he should make the team as a 4th liner instead of playing as a 1C in Hartford. His growth may be better served in Hartford. He can always be brought up if he is lighting it up down there. Probably will be a few more openings after the trade deadline in February.

 

[bobbop]

Why is Hayes on the team?

Gorton should have traded him three months ago.

The Rangers have young center options. We had this discussion during the summer. They are NHL ready.

They don’t need Hayes. They didn’t want to pay Hayes this summer. Why are they paying him next summer? All three of the young centers have more upside than Hayes and they will be making nothing for the at least the next three years.

I like Gorton but some of his decisions are questionable.

How will the ice time be distributed?

Could the Rangers have gotten more for Hayes June or will they get more as a rental in February?

They will need for Hayes to have a good year to get a good return at the trading deadline. He will need to play and that will take away time from the young players at center.

They don’t want to start the season with three rookie centers. A deal is imminent. All things in due time.

 

[OrlandK]

The "McQuaid is no good" talk is overblown. He looked pretty comfortable this preseason for a vet just traded to a new team. Seems more steady with the puck than Staal and he provides the physical element that Quinn is definitely looking for. As JG promised Pionk and ADA will get plenty of opportunity if their play warrants it. They're still crying about losing McQuaid in Boston but he realistically wasn't going to play much with Carlo ahead of him.

 

[Edge]

They don’t want to start the season with three rookie centers. A deal is imminent. All things in due time.

The reality is that this team is currently carrying 6 players with less than 100 NHL games experience.

To put that into perspective, roughly 1/4 of the roster has a combined 137 games of NHL experience.

 

[Ola]

Also hasn’t it been mentioned several times by the scouts that one of the reasons the Rangers drafted Andersson was because he was NHL-ready?

Gordie Clark continues to beef up his resume.

Someone correct me if I am wrong — but no. I think what has happened is that people have been asked if Lias can make the team and answered — ‘talent has no age, if he is good enough he will play ’.

The problem is that we haven’t had kids or many picks in NY for a long time (ever?) so people expect kids to be ready at 18-19. Sometimes they are, but it’s rare. No matter where you are picked outside the top 2 basically.

I also don’t necessarily love how we are bringing up these kids. Honestly what would have been best for Lias, two undisturbed years in the SHL or what he will get now?

 

[Irishguy42]

I'm more interested in how Quimm said the reasoning for Lias in Hartford is they don't want a Top 9 talent on the 4th line.

Soooooooo...do they not view Howden as Top 9 talent long-term then?

 

[RangerBoy]

They don’t want to start the season with three rookie centers. A deal is imminent. All things in due time.

The deal is coming in February.

 

[Matt Rentfree]

I'm more interested in how Quimm said the reasoning for Lias in Hartford is they don't want a Top 9 talent on the 4th line.

Soooooooo...do they not view Howden as Top 9 talent long-term then?

It's possible that Howden is only up until Nieves is healthy again.