Rangers Prospect Ranking: (Summer 2019) - #28

[The Crypto Guy]

Ranger's Summer 2019 Prospect Ranking

1. Kaapo Kakko (F) (2019 Draft - 1st round) (Not Ranked) - (97%)
2. Vitali Kravtsov (F) (2018 Draft - 1st round) (-1) - (77%)
3. Igor Shestyorkin (G) (2014 Draft - 4th round) (E) - (69%)
4. K'Andre Miller (D) (2018 Draft - 1st round) (+1) (57%)
5. Adam Fox (D) (2016 Draft - 3rd round) (Not Ranked)
6. Lias Andersson (F) (2017 Draft - 1st round) (-2) - (50%)
7. Nils Lundkvist (D) (2018 Draft - 1st round) (E) (64%)
8. Alexander Georgiev (G) (Undrafted) (+1) (53%)
9. Libor Hajek (D) (2016 Draft - 2nd round) (-1) - (64%)
10. Yegor Rykov (D) (2016 Draft - 5th round) (+1) (64%)
11. Matthew Robertson (D) (2019 Draft - 2nd round) (Not Ranked) (44%)
12. Tarmo Reunanen (D) (2016 Draft - 4th round) (+1) (37%)
13. Morgan Barron (F) (2017 Draft - 6th round) (+1) (60%)
14. Ryan Lindgren (D) (2016 Draft - 2nd round) (-2) (35%)
15. Karl Henriksson (F) (2019 Draft - 2nd round) (Not Ranked) (60%)
16. Joey Keane (D) (2018 Draft - 3rd round) (-6) (74%)
17. Zachary Jones (D) (2019 Draft - 3rd round) (Not Ranked) (40%)
18. Leevi Aaltonen (F ) (2019 Draft - 5th round) (Not Ranked) (46%)
19. Olof Lindbom (G) (2018 Draft - 2nd round) (+6) (57%)
20. Tim Gettinger (F) (2016 Draft - 5th round) (-3) (38%)
21. Jacob Ragnarsson (D) (2018 Draft - 3rd round) (-2) (31%)
22. Calle Sjalin (D) (2017 Draft - 5th round) (+1) (31%)
23. Lauri Pajuniemi (F) (2018 Draft - 5th round) (-2) (40%)
24. Vinni Letteri (F) (Undrafted) (-6) (45%)
25. Sean Day (D) (2016 Draft - 3rd round) (+2) (25%)
26. Ville Meskanen (F) (Undrafted) (-10) (30%)
27. Nico Gross (D) (2018 Draft- 4th round) (-7) (28%)

Unofficial:
4. Filip Chytil (F) (2017 Draft - 1st Round) (-2) (Graduated from list, played 19 too many games)
8. Brett Howden (F) (2016 Draft - 1st Round) (-2) (Graduated from list, played 2 too many games)
11. Brendan Lemieux (F) (2014 Draft - 2nd round) (Not Ranked) (Graduated from list, played 7 too many games)


Added:
Adam Edstrom (F)
Tell me who you want added​

Who is left:

Last	First	Pos.	Sh.
Ciccolini	Eric	RW	R
Crawley	Brandon	D	L
Fontaine	Gabriel	F	L
Hughes	Riley	RW	R
Kjellberg	Simon	D	L
Leedahl	Dawson	LW	L
Nanne	Tyler	D	R
Newell	Patrick	F	L
Raddysh	Darren	D	R
Ronning	Ty	RW	R

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Click to read more...

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Huska. Newell.

 

[pblawr]

It seems like I'm going to be stuck voting for Gropp for a while, so I might as well get my thoughts on the other players out.

- If we were grading players based on where they ended the season, Gropp, who ended the season with almost a ppg in his last 15 games, probably would belong in the mid-teens. If you think progression matters in evaluating prospects and put more weight on recent results (like most scouts do), that should hold some weight. To be fair, you have also have to account for the facts that 1) it's a small sample and 2) Gropp's professional career before that point sucked, but are the odds of a 15 game sample at the end of the season holding weight for Gropp really less likely than the odds of some of the other guys still on this list turning into NHL players? I'm a believer in "don't give up on talent" and in addition to having had the best end of the season, Gropp is probably the most talented guy left here.
- That aside, it seems to me like Gropp should at least be in the same range as Gettinger and Meskanen. They're 21, 22, and 23 and scored 0.49, 0.43, and 0.42, points per game on the same team this season. I get that the other guys' games are a little more well-rounded (although I thought Gropp improved on the front at the end of the season), but Gropp has the most skill and had the best progression over the course of the season. I can understand the rationale for someone voting for Gettinger or Meskanen over Gropp, but it does seem to me like they should at least be rated relatively similarly based on the seasons they had.
- I would have Gross off the list. It's tough for me to see a guy who's been a below-average junior player turning into a good pro player. Last year I could understand giving him the benefit of the doubt bc he had mono and was adjusting to a new league, but now that he's struggled again under better conditions, I don't see what the case for him is. It seems to me like most of his support is coming because he made the Swiss WJC team, but how many guys on this list wouldn't have made the Swiss WJC team? Kjellberg and Nanne? This year's Swiss WJC team only had 3 other players and 1 other defenseman who were affiliated with NHL teams. Kjellberg actually might have had a chance.
- I think Skinner's an intriguing project. He has the size / skating ability to be an NHL defensemen. You can understand why he hasn't perform like a higher round pick yet since he's new to defense, but he improved a lot, which seems to bode well for his work ethic. If he's got the physical skillset and work ethic to be an NHL defenseman, maybe he starts to look like one as he gets the experience too. Seems like he could be a poor man's Miller.
- I think Hughes belongs on the list. He had a pretty decent skillset and compete level when I watched him last year and is still young.

Add Ciccolini. He's a good skater, has skill, and his OJHL production (1.29 ppg) isn't that far behind a bunch of guys who turned into solid NHL'ers like Reilly Smith (1.53), Evan Rodrigues, (1.46) Devin Shore (1.41), and Drake Caggiula (1.36). Ciccolini is the 20th highest OJHL scorer since 08-09 and 6 of the guys above him are in the NHL. Personally, I think he could be higher on the list

 

[eco's bones]

Elmer Crawley.

 

[cwede]

add Newell

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Skinner, add Newell.

And yeah, maybe it's after Lindbom or maybe it's after Sjalin, but there's a certain point where there's just not a big difference between these names, down all the way to Newell, Crawley and Sicko (is Ciccolini even pronounced that way? I hope so) for me.

 

[Matt Rentfree]

Skinner, add Newell.

And yeah, maybe it's after Lindbom or maybe it's after Sjalin, but there's a certain point where there's just not a big difference between these names, down all the way to Newell, Crawley and Sicko (is Ciccolini even pronounced that way? I hope so) for me.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid it's pronounced Chich-oh-lee-nee

 

[nyr2k2]

Huska, add Cheech.

 

[nyr2k2]

It seems like I'm going to be stuck voting for Gropp for a while, so I might as well get my thoughts on the other players out.

- If we were grading players based on where they ended the season, Gropp, who ended the season with almost a ppg in his last 15 games, probably would belong in the mid-teens. If you think progression matters in evaluating prospects and put more weight on recent results (like most scouts do), that should hold some weight. To be fair, you have also have to account for the facts that 1) it's a small sample and 2) Gropp's professional career before that point sucked, but are the odds of a 15 game sample at the end of the season holding weight for Gropp really less likely than the odds of some of the other guys still on this list turning into NHL players? I'm a believer in "don't give up on talent" and in addition to having had the best end of the season, Gropp is probably the most talented guy left here.
- That aside, it seems to me like Gropp should at least be in the same range as Gettinger and Meskanen. They're 21, 22, and 23 and scored 0.49, 0.43, and 0.42, points per game on the same team this season. I get that the other guys' games are a little more well-rounded (although I thought Gropp improved on the front at the end of the season), but Gropp has the most skill and had the best progression over the course of the season. I can understand the rationale for someone voting for Gettinger or Meskanen over Gropp, but it does seem to me like they should at least be rated relatively similarly based on the seasons they had.
- I would have Gross off the list. It's tough for me to see a guy who's been a below-average junior player turning into a good pro player. Last year I could understand giving him the benefit of the doubt bc he had mono and was adjusting to a new league, but now that he's struggled again under better conditions, I don't see what the case for him is. It seems to me like most of his support is coming because he made the Swiss WJC team, but how many guys on this list wouldn't have made the Swiss WJC team? Kjellberg and Nanne? This year's Swiss WJC team only had 3 other players and 1 other defenseman who were affiliated with NHL teams. Kjellberg actually might have had a chance.
- I think Skinner's an intriguing project. He has the size / skating ability to be an NHL defensemen. You can understand why he hasn't perform like a higher round pick yet since he's new to defense, but he improved a lot, which seems to bode well for his work ethic. If he's got the physical skillset and work ethic to be an NHL defenseman, maybe he starts to look like one as he gets the experience too. Seems like he could be a poor man's Miller.
- I think Hughes belongs on the list. He had a pretty decent skillset and compete level when I watched him last year and is still young.

Add Ciccolini. He's a good skater, has skill, and his OJHL production (1.29 ppg) isn't that far behind a bunch of guys who turned into solid NHL'ers like Reilly Smith (1.53), Evan Rodrigues, (1.46) Devin Shore (1.41), and Drake Caggiula (1.36). Ciccolini is the 20th highest OJHL scorer since 08-09 and 6 of the guys above him are in the NHL. Personally, I think he could be higher on the list

Agree on Gross. As I've said a few times, I don't think he's particularly good at anything.

I'm not a fan of Gropp, but for the points you made, I would vote for him after Huska and Wall. Those are my next two. If they went, I'd have Gropp at 30. Huska might not win here, and even if he does, Wall isn't winning next time, so I probably won't be able to vote for Gropp (I'm assuming we stop the voting at 30, then do the HM round, but I could be wrong).

Hughes and Ciccolini are similar in their pedigree and draft position. I think Hughes had a pretty underwhelming year given the circumstances, so I'm going Cheech just because he hasn't yet disappointed me. LOL.

 

[Zil]

Add Ciccolini

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

(BTW, @The Crypto Guy, just noticed: it's Brendan Lemieux, not Brandan.)

 

[pblawr]

Skinner, add Newell.

And yeah, maybe it's after Lindbom or maybe it's after Sjalin, but there's a certain point where there's just not a big difference between these names, down all the way to Newell, Crawley and Sicko (is Ciccolini even pronounced that way? I hope so) for me.

That is how you pronounce Vesey though

 

[Kendo]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid it's pronounced Chich-oh-lee-nee

I'm pretty sure it's "CHICK-oh-lee-nee," if you are using standard Italian pronunciation (which not all Americanized names do...case in point, my last name is QUITE Italian, yet we pronounce one vowel differently than standard). Dino "Sissarelli" should have been "Chickarelli" in standard Italian. But if his family said "Sissarelli" since landing at Ellis Island, then you respect that.

 

[n8]

Elmer, Newell

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Ciccolini

 

[eco's bones]

IMO a lot of these guys are still pretty decent prospects--they'd fit into the 10-15 range of a lot of teams. We could go out to 35 before we do the final thing with 5 or so prospects.

 

[free0717]

Add Ronning

 

[nyr2k2]

I'm pretty sure it's "CHICK-oh-lee-nee," if you are using standard Italian pronunciation (which not all Americanized names do...case in point, my last name is QUITE Italian, yet we pronounce one vowel differently than standard). Dino "Sissarelli" should have been "Chickarelli" in standard Italian. But if his family said "Sissarelli" since landing at Ellis Island, then you respect that.

Yeah I knew a Ciccolini, and it was pronounced and you said (CHICK-olini). I have the double C's in my last name as well, and I know some Italians from Italy that pronounce it as an S sound and others that pronounce it as a CH. Hell even in my own family some said it one way, the others the other way. The ones that moved out of Brooklyn and Long Island, they seemed to end up saying it with an S, because that's how people in whatever random state they relocated to would try to pronounce it and it just became easier not to correct.

I also had my grandfather tell me it was a difference between Northern Italians and Sicilians, with the latter favoring the CH. No idea if that's correct or if he was full of shit (we're Sicilian).

 

[Rempe73]

Man, I don’t know. Tough call. These prospects are all so close that it’s pretty negligible. I went with Skinner because I like the fact that he only recently switched to playing defense, which gives him a bit more upside. But I was also relatively impressed with Gropp’s end to the year.

Maybe add Ciccolini because 1) I doubt leagues like the OJHL and AJHL are scouted as much as other leagues like the OHL, WHL, SHL, etc. so there’s a higher chance of talent dropping, and 2) It’s harder to tell how OJHL/AJHL point production translates to higher levels, and with Ciccolini’s very good point totals, he could become a quick riser. That, or he’ll flame out.

 

[darko]

Elmer add Ciccolini

 

[Leetch3]

add hughes

 

[eco's bones]

FWIW I think Gross is a good prospect. He's not flashy--he's a steady stay at home D not afraid to play physically. Three straight WJC teams too and the Swiss never win but they don't really suck. They usually surprise a team or two every year. I think Gross has a shot but he's at least 3 years away--he's going to need to work his way through another year of juniors and then the minors--the Rangers plethora of defensemen though make it very unlikely he will make it with the Rangers but that doesn't mean he can't or won't become an NHL player.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

(BTW, @The Crypto Guy, just noticed: it's Brendan Lemieux, not Brandan.)

Oops! Thank you! Fixed

 

[Don Chytil]

Add Ciccolini