NYR Chris Drury fumbled with Niko Mikkola

[Louie the Blue]

Well 6'6 d men arent finished products at 26 years old. Thats on them.

He was drafted in the 5th round.

I don’t think anyone in their wildest dreams could confidently say they expected him to play this well, including Zito. I do think he was put in a bad situation in St. Louis, but to act as if he’s always shown this potential is revisionism.

 

[UnSandvich]

As a Ranger he had 2 LHD in front of him and nobody knew how bad Lindgren was about to crater. If the Rangers did I’m sure they would’ve kept Mikkola over him

 

[bert]

He was drafted in the 5th round.

I don’t think anyone in their wildest dreams could confidently say they expected him to play this well, including Zito. I do think he was put in a bad situation in St. Louis, but to act as if he’s always shown this potential is revisionism.

Well I mean those players are never done developing at 26 especially euros that didnt come to N/A until they are 22 years old. Maybe not this effective but they definitely gave up on him before his natural trajectory was completed.

You are literally doing exactly what I said people do around here in post #46. Its like clock work.

 

[Panteras]

How is Mikkola a reclamation project? He wasn’t broken. He had not demonstrated he was capable of playing at this level in St. Louis - part of that might be due to how long it takes defensemen to develop and the other part is that he wasn’t put in a great position to succeed partner wise. Can’t speak much for his stint in NY.

He’s succeeded in part because of his own growth and his partners (which Zito deserves credit for). Mikkola wasn’t some guy off the trash heap. He was just…there. I wouldn’t have wanted him extended in St. Louis.

Also, if you’re going to pump anyone’s tires, it should be Bill Armstrong who oversaw drafting for the Blues at the time AND selected Mikkola in the 5th.

How is he not? A player that other organizations have given up on and is picked up by another organization and given the chance to shine and does=reclamation project. Like Verheaghe, Bennett, Forsling etc. if those are reclamation projects so is Mikkola. Again, how is he not??
Pumping tires? And you are going to give credit for the GM that picked him in the 5th round 10 fregging years ago?

 

[Tawnos]

He looked like he was playing hot potato with the puck in St. Louis on a team that collectively had 4 defensemen that are individually fine but did not work well together and desperately needed a solution/alternative in the top 4 for someone who was able to handle their own defensively and be OK with the puck.

If he had demonstrated that in St. Louis, he would not have been traded.

The puck skills thing is only a part of the story, and it's absolutely true that he's much better on that end of things than he was.

Mikkola has always thrown a lot of hits, but there are two types of defensemen who do. One type is doing it because they often are chasing the puck. That's what Mikkola was. A guy playing essentially a Victor Hedman style, but if he was playing it better then he wouldn't have needed to throw so many hits. Hedman isn't much of a physical player in that way. Had Mikkola developed along the lines that most D do in their late-20s, the number of hits would have come down as his effectiveness at that game went up.

The other type throws hits to physically challenge the opponent. Think Drew Doughty. And that's the change I'm talking about. He's not Drew Doughty levels of physicality or ability, but his approach has changed to be much more similar to him. The type of physical engagement is totally different, and it's resulted in what is a pretty drastic stylistic change, IMO. It's not a change you often see players make in their late-20s.

 

[OysterForever]

Mikkola is not the same player in Florida that he was for the Rangers or Blues. Good on Zito for identifying a player who could be molded, but it's hard to blame Drury here.

I mean he played last game as a Ranger two years and one month ago. Does a then-27yo guy improve that much in two years?

 

[eojsmada]

The odds of a draft pick having anything resembling a career are very low to begin with so drafting is pretty much a lottery anyway.

If teams when had success were so astute at it why would they let some of their picks go so late before drafting them? Kucherov and Point in TB for example?

Sather- Kurri, Messier, Anderson, Moog
Detroit- Darsyuk, Zetterberg, Lindstrom
Pittsburgh- Stevens,Recchi

I would agree with this to an extent, but the track record just isn't there for the Rangers. That people passed on Kucherov or Point is more a testament to Tampa's ability to develop their players and other teams' inability to. That is a huge factor when teams draft, because if they see a player who just needs to work on one or two things and don't have the development staff to make it happen, they are more likely to pass on that player and go with the "safe" pick of a player who may need an extra year or two.

 

[PistolPete]

I would agree with this to an extent, but the track record just isn't there for the Rangers. That people passed on Kucherov or Point is more a testament to Tampa's ability to develop their players and other teams' inability to.

And to their luck. If it was strictly about their abilities then they'd be turning any draft pick into a regular.

That is a huge factor when teams draft, because if they see a player who just needs to work on one or two things and don't have the development staff to make it happen, they are more likely to pass on that player and go with the "safe" pick of a player who may need an extra year or two.

Thst applies to pretty much every player after the first round; otherwise rhey would've been first rounders.

 

[Breakers]

Why is this shocking????????????

he traded their 2nd best even strength player in Buchnevich for a used iTunes gift card

 

[Raistlin]

at this point, its established that Zito's pro scouting is elite level. how many of these diamonds in the rough has he uncovered? Its not just Maurice, Brunette got a bunch of these players like Forsling Reinhart Duclair and Bennett to overperform also, and Q before them. Mikkola is just the latest gem uncovered. Championship finals teams 3 years in a roll, that is elite level managing in the org, cannot fault NYR here, its like being beat in a breakaway by McDavid, you just have to tip your hat sometimes.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

This all would have been avoided if Marty McFly hadn't prevented Old Chris Drury from handing his younger counterpart Gray's Sports Almanac.

 

[Louie the Blue]

Well I mean those players are never done developing at 26 especially euros that didnt come to N/A until they are 22 years old. Maybe not this effective but they definitely gave up on him before his natural trajectory was completed.

You are literally doing exactly what I said people do around here in post #46. Its like clock work.

I do not genuinely believe he would be playing at the level he is now unless he was on a team that had strong partners for him. He might have improved naturally, but not at the level he is playing at.

They gave up on him because of the trajectory he was on, which I don’t think changed while he was in NY. He’s benefitting from having great players around him (who wouldn’t) and just naturally progressing. These things are not mutually exclusive.

How is he not? A player that other organizations have given up on and is picked up by another organization and given the chance to shine and does=reclamation project. Like Verheaghe, Bennett, Forsling etc. if those are reclamation projects so is Mikkola. Again, how is he not??
Pumping tires? And you are going to give credit for the GM that picked him in the 5th round 10 fregging years ago?

Tampa didn’t tender Verjeahe as a RFA. Forsling was placed on waivers. Those are both examples of teams washing their hands of a player and viewing them as broken.

Bennett wasn’t broken and he was traded for a 2nd.

Mikkola was traded because it meant the Blues could get a first round pick when they traded Tarasenko and Mikkola wouldn’t have solved the Blues problems defensively. He wasn’t at risk of being waived. He was a guy on an expiring contract on a team that decided to be sellers and wouldn’t enhance the team’s future outlook.

And Bill Armstrong =/= Doug Armstrong. Bill was the Blues director of amateur scouting.

 

[Leonardo87]

This all would have been avoided if Marty McFly hadn't prevented Old Chris Drury from handing his younger counterpart Gray's Sports Almanac.

Great Scott!

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Why is this shocking????????????

he traded their 2nd best even strength player in Buchnevich for a used iTunes gift card

It's hard to fathom just how bad Sammy Blay ended up sucking for New York but they took a swing for a kind of player they needed and lacked, someone with top6 skill but also who had physicality and threw the body. Obviously it failed hard.

That said, Buchnevich is hardly relevant these days. Obviously, still a good player but not close to PPG the last two seasons and not really noticeable for the Blues in their PO run or anything and has taken a backseat to other forwards in St Louis as the ones driving the ship.

Wish him well but he's not someone you look back on as 'getting away' if you're a Ranger fan.

 

[Tawnos]

It's hard to fathom just how bad Sammy Blay ended up sucking for New York but they took a swing for a kind of player they needed and lacked, someone with top6 skill but also who had physicality and threw the body. Obviously it failed hard.

That said, Buchnevich is hardly relevant these days. Obviously, still a good player but not close to PPG the last two seasons and not really noticeable for the Blues in their PO run or anything and has taken a backseat to other forwards in St Louis as the ones driving the ship.

Wish him well but he's not someone you look back on as 'getting away' if you're a Ranger fan.

It's not hard to fathom at all. He was a player with no margin for error in his skating speed and Subban destroyed his career.

 

[Breakers]

It's hard to fathom just how bad Sammy Blay ended up sucking for New York but they took a swing for a kind of player they needed and lacked, someone with top6 skill but also who had physicality and threw the body. Obviously it failed hard.

That said, Buchnevich is hardly relevant these days. Obviously, still a good player but not close to PPG the last two seasons and not really noticeable for the Blues in their PO run or anything and has taken a backseat to other forwards in St Louis as the ones driving the ship.

Wish him well but he's not someone you look back on as 'getting away' if you're a Ranger fan.

He was over Point per game and the highest scoring forward on the team

WTF are you talking about?

 

[tantalum]

Florida has a history of identifying mid-20s players that just have a performance explosion on the team. Marchessault and Verhaeghe are others that come to mind. Throw in Bennett as well.

 

[Louie the Blue]

It's hard to fathom just how bad Sammy Blay ended up sucking for New York but they took a swing for a kind of player they needed and lacked, someone with top6 skill but also who had physicality and threw the body. Obviously it failed hard.

That said, Buchnevich is hardly relevant these days. Obviously, still a good player but not close to PPG the last two seasons and not really noticeable for the Blues in their PO run or anything and has taken a backseat to other forwards in St Louis as the ones driving the ship.

Wish him well but he's not someone you look back on as 'getting away' if you're a Ranger fan.

Hardly relevant and taken a backseat?

The Blues extended him for six years. He had 8 points in 7 games vs Winnipeg. He is on the top line with Thomas.

What do you mean he’s taken a backseat?

 

[Jumptheshark]

Not even a Rangers fan, but man... what was Chris Drury thinking letting Niko Mikkola walk out the door as a free agent?

Guy’s been a total monster for the Panthers in these playoffs, laying bodies out, blocking shots like his life depends on it. He’s playing top-4 shutdown minutes on a team going to finals. And he’s not just a passenger either - he’s been making real impact plays night in, night out.

Meanwhile, the Rangers just let him go for free? For nothing? Lmao. It’s not like Mikkola was some unknown quantity. He showed flashes in NY, they just didn’t bother to keep him. Like Kakko. BTW what is the obsession with letter K?

Drury really fumbled this one. Whatever “vision” he has for that D-core clearly doesn’t involve winning games when it matters. Massive L.

BLUES TRADED HIM FIRST!

He was a SOON TO BE UFA and the Rangers traded for him. 31 games for the Rangers 130 games for THE BLUES and you start a thread bashing a team THAT TRADED FOR HIM KNOWING HE WAS ABOUT TO BE A UFA?

WHY DIDNT THE BLUES SIGN HIM?

 

[Panteras]

I do not genuinely believe he would be playing at the level he is now unless he was on a team that had strong partners for him. He might have improved naturally, but not at the level he is playing at.

They gave up on him because of the trajectory he was on, which I don’t think changed while he was in NY. He’s benefitting from having great players around him (who wouldn’t) and just naturally progressing. These things are not mutually exclusive.

Tampa didn’t tender Verjeahe as a RFA. Forsling was placed on waivers. Those are both examples of teams washing their hands of a player and viewing them as broken.

Bennett wasn’t broken and he was traded for a 2nd.

Mikkola was traded because it meant the Blues could get a first round pick when they traded Tarasenko and Mikkola wouldn’t have solved the Blues problems defensively. He wasn’t at risk of being waived. He was a guy on an expiring contract on a team that decided to be sellers and wouldn’t enhance the team’s future outlook.

And Bill Armstrong =/= Doug Armstrong. Bill was the Blues director of amateur scouting.

being traded doesn't equate to not being broken. As you admitted they "gave up on him". Trade is just 1 way of getting rid of a player. Whether he was traded, placed on waivers, or not tendered they're all ways of getting rid of a player in your lineup. I guess anyone that picks them up after is in a sense a reclamation project.

 

[NYRfan85]

This is nothing new for the Rangers. Players come to the Rangers, play okay, then become great with the next team. We're used to it. Besides, he would not have been the same player he is now if he was still on the Rangers, with Phil 'no-defense' Housley running that defense.

 

[Mr grumpy]

I always knew his blue never knew he was Ranger

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Um, the Blues had him long before the Rangers, and for a long time. He played all of 31 games with NYR?

Silly thread.

 

[Zeeker]

Another big brain move from Big Chris.

Never change, Chrissy

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Florida is good at finding hidden gems like Forsling and Mikkola.