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Prucha revisited

I was excited for Prucha his first 2 seasons here. I really thought we had finally found a homegrown player capable of putting up 30+ goals. Not sure what went wrong. Could just be he lost his confidence and couldn't regain form. Liked him when he was here though. Had heart but if he couldn't produce he was useless on the bottom 2 lines because of his size.
 
beastly115 said:
I was excited for Prucha his first 2 seasons here. I really thought we had finally found a homegrown player capable of putting up 30+ goals. Not sure what went wrong. Could just be he lost his confidence and couldn't regain form. Liked him when he was here though. Had heart but if he couldn't produce he was useless on the bottom 2 lines because of his size.
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It was that BUM Turner Stevenson who took Prucha out with a Dirty knee on knee hit... thats what went wrong. He was much slower and a lot less effective after that.
 
The thing I loved most about Prucha was the ****-eating grin that was plastered to his face every time he was on the ice. Not the best player ever, but so much fun to watch someone who was so in love with playing the game night after night. If everyone on the current roster had his heart and enthusiasm, we'd be destroying the Eastern Conference.
 
He just had the ridiculously unsustainable shooting percentage of 23.1% his first season. By contrast, Jagr, who seemed to score every time he shot the puck, only had 14.7%.
 
Prucha was a victim of his own, and the Rangers as a team, successes.

Recall: before that 05-06 year many outlets had the Rangers finishing 30th in the league. Then Lundqvist out of nowhere, Jagr was playing like he was in his prime, and Prucha was a power play genius (16 of his 30 were on the PP).

The next year, the Rangers made their moves to make a "push" for the cup and brought in Shanny who took away a lot of Prucha's ice time. Petr still managed 22 goals that year, but couldn't bring it back in 07-08.

I got his jersey at Modell's when the old CCM jerseys went on sale before the new Reebok's came in. Always liked him.
 
Well, the stats suggest two theories:

1. If given sufficient PP time, Prucha will produce, or
2. Prucha could only produce on a good PP

In his 3.5 seasons in NY, his average TOI was consistently around 12.5 minutes per game. The steady decline from his 30 goal rookie season was accompanied with a steady decline in PP TOI/Gm:

05/06: 3:49
06/07: 2:53
07/08: 1:38
08/09: 0:44

And his PP goal totals each season:

05/06: 16
06/07: 8
07/08: 2
08/09: 0

So was Prucha the engine that drove the Rangers PP and for some inexplicable reason had his PP TOI/Gm cut because the coaching staff didn't recognize it? Or was he a lucky benefactor on the man-advantage in his rookie year? Well, in the 19 games with Phoenix in 08/09, the Coyotes gave him 3:25 PP TOI/Gm and he scored all of 1 goal.
 
Crease said:
So was Prucha the engine that drove the Rangers PP and for some inexplicable reason had his PP TOI/Gm cut because the coaching staff didn't recognize it? Or was he a lucky benefactor on the man-advantage in his rookie year? Well, in the 19 games with Phoenix in 08/09, the Coyotes gave him 3:25 PP TOI/Gm and he scored all of 1 goal.
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That's great analysis, Crease :handclap:

I think in 05-06 Prucha was certainly a benefactor of a power play that had pure skill guys like Jagr and Nylander.

The next season Shanahan came in and was that guy. Just look at Shanny's PP totals in 06-07 (14g, 17a). Like Prucha a year before him who was a hair above 50%, near 50% of Shanny's PP goals that season came on the PP.

How about Rangers PP rankings?

05-06: 8th, 18.9%
06-07: 8th, 18.5%
07-08: 22nd, 16.5%
(the move from Jagr and friends to Drury and friends)
08-09: 29th, 13.9%

I believe many Rangers in Jagr's tenure on the team benefited from having Jagr around.
 
He definitely benefited from Jagr's year, which was probably one the greatest seasons a Ranger has ever had. Jagr was so good that year that he created an extra split second for everyone else, especially on the powerplay.

Prucha's leg injury and his continually getting laid out probably had him playing scared, compared to his first season.

Jagr wasnt quite as good in the following seasons, the powerplay was never as effective as his first season and he seemingly lost his hands. Even though his production dropped, I cant remember anyone just missing more chances than Prucha did, the years after his rookie season.
 
Slick Rick 61 said:
You're right: Prucha was never the same after that knee injury he suffered in Philly. Guy always played with reckless abandon.

He was MONEY on the PP. Especially on that backdoor stuff in play. Jagr must have set him up for that 5 times or so back in 06. To think there were trade rumors linking the Rangers to Brent Seabrook for Prucha.
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Seabrook was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this thread. Oh, what could have been!
 
I remember him getting wrecked and just springing right up like nothing happened. I liked him but there's a reason he isn't on the nil anymore.

In conclusion. Those aren't boo's, those are pruuu's!
 
mike14 said:
I was 23. Just how young is everyone on this place?

NYR Sting summed up Prucha prefectly
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I was in my early 30s when Pru was around and well for the kind of hockey I watched from NYR before the lockout it's not hard to see why I liked the guy.

The grit and determination from that lil runt while also offensively producing was something I longed for. It was great while it lasted.
 
People here seem to have summed it up perfectly. He came in and the defenses were giving more space to players to avoid penalties and Pru was able to take advantage of the added space and pick his spots, especially on the PP where there was even more space for him. Then, as defenses caught up, there was less space. Add to that, the Rangers brought in Shanny who took his 2nd line minutes as well as PP time and his production diminished. I think that lowered his confidence and he seemed to hesitate on his shots. Add to that the guy took a beating every game and eventually it all caught up to him. I still love the guy because he played all out every shift. He obviously just loved to play the game and you could tell by the way he carried himself. But when he got benched and then would get sporadic time he pressed too much and couldn't replicate his production. Even on Phoenix, the guy just couldn't seem to find his groove.

When they sent him to San Antonio, he produced yet again because the guy has talent. For whatever reason, possibly money related, nobody in the NHL wanted to give him a shot so he went to Russia. Seems to be doing well there. Good for him. He's got 14-5-19 in 37 games this year. Not exactly lighting it up, but not awful.

He was always a topic of great debate on these boards. There was a large bunch of posters who loved him no matter what. There was another group that would never be impressed by him. He was good for what he was. A 2/3 liner who could help a PP out. Never great defensively, but hardly a liability.
 
Bob Richards said:
Apparently too young. Put it this way, guys like Prucha, Ruchinsky and Sandis Ozolinsh are considered old timers to me.
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No, Valerei Kamensky and Dale Purinton are the real old timers.

Its been covered. Prucha scored at a time Cheecho scored 56. It was a weird year. An aging Ruckinsky (He, Nedved and Straka are all still playing, the Cezch league must not be too physically demanding) scored over a point per game.
 
Little Petr Prucha was my man. He represented everything that was right about the post lockout Renney Rangers. After years of giving guys away the year before they put up 30 goals elsewhere, Prucha came out of nowhere, and put them in the back of the net for us. And while Prucha didn't become part of a young core to build around, he foreshadowed the guys that came up two years later that were.

Even when Prucha stopped scoring, and became kind of a tackle dummy for the other teams big hitters, he'd always bounce right back up, which was kind of a boss move. Little Petr Prucha is alright in my book. He did not stink like a pig.
 
I liked Prucha. I wish he stayed with us and always have. Always liked what he brought to the table here even when he didn't get all the goals. Showed a lot of fire in his heart.
 
I share the collective fondness of Prucha in this thread (though this board is normally much tougher on him). However, I still hate recalling the 05-06 season. It was like a dream come true that ended in a nightmare.
 
Antithesis said:
No, Valerei Kamensky and Dale Purinton are the real old timers.

Its been covered. Prucha scored at a time Cheecho scored 56. It was a weird year. An aging Ruckinsky (He, Nedved and Straka are all still playing, the Cezch league must not be too physically demanding) scored over a point per game.
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Speaking of which where is Cheechoo?
 
I demand for Prucha to be resigned!

Also Dan Blackburn.

And maybe Dave Karpa.
 
Machinehead said:
I liked Prucha. Great natural scorer. I definitely think that injury had some effect.

The problem with Prucha I think, is I remember how much he liked to throw hits like a maniac and he would just bounce off people. I admired the little guy's heart but he was too small to be doing that and didn't have the strength. I think that's what led to injury issues.
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Yeah, I loved Prucha's spirit, if he didn't bounce off people and end up on the ice, we'd probably call him Callahan. However, a buck 70 soaking wet in the NHL, isn't gonna cut it. His upbeat attitude and perpetual smile made him a fan favorite. Renney should have had the medical staff hitting him with HGH instead of cramming pine up his butt. Another 10-15lbs of lean muscle and this guy could-a-been-a-contender.

kenjets36 said:
I demand for Prucha to be resigned!

Also Dan Blackburn.

And maybe Dave Karpa.
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Why not add Cherneski and Baranka to the list?

There's a better chance that Paul Ranger plays for Tampa again.
 
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Pizza said:
What's his salary in Russia? Just curious. Thanks.
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I assume he makes around the amount that his linemate Patrick Thoresen does, wich is around 3 to 4 a year. Not sure about his contract status atm tho, Thoresen just signed a new contract, so I'm not sure how much he were paid this time, but Prucha-Thoresen-MÃ¥rtensson is probably one of the best, if not the best, line in KHL, and SKA St. Petersburg is probably a team that would be able to compete in the NHL too. They wouldn't win any Presidents Throphies, but they're not Toronto either.
 
anofsti said:
I assume he makes around the amount that his linemate Patrick Thoresen does, wich is around 3 to 4 a year. Not sure about his contract status atm tho, Thoresen just signed a new contract, so I'm not sure how much he were paid this time, but Prucha-Thoresen-MÃ¥rtensson is probably one of the best, if not the best, line in KHL, and SKA St. Petersburg is probably a team that would be able to compete in the NHL too. They wouldn't win any Presidents Throphies, but they're not Toronto either.
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No, no, even SKA managers are not THAT crazy. Thoresen was "bought" from a reigning champ, where he was a 1st liner and a 2nd star after Radulov. He's a player of a very high status in Russia, much higher than Prucha. Prucha probably makes half of what you wrote. Like 1,5.
 
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