Prospect Info: Rangers Prospects Thread (Stats in Post #1; Updated 10.17.18) *Part II*

[Harbour Dog]

There's a name that brings back some memories.

I never realized that he had sniffed a couple assistant coaching jobs at the NHL level; hopefully he is more suited to scouting.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

This is such an underrated move!! Thrilled he is on the staff!!

Good time for it too, beef up the organizations weak spot for a year with a lot of top talent playing in the WHL

 

[Tawnos]

Good time for it too, beef up the organizations weak spot for a year with a lot of top talent playing in the WHL

Honestly, I feel like they need to improve their scouting staff in all of Canadian Juniors.

 

[Joey Bones]

Honestly, I feel like they need to improve their scouting staff in all of Canadian Juniors.

Adding Konowalchuk is a good first step. Helped bring up Barzal!!

 

[Tawnos]

Adding Konowalchuk is a good first step. Helped bring up Barzal!!

Yeah, this is definitely a good thing.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Honestly, I feel like they need to improve their scouting staff in all of Canadian Juniors.

I definitely don’t disagree, but I feel like the WHL was the worst of the three

 

[Tawnos]

I definitely don’t disagree, but I feel like the WHL was the worst of the three

The Rangers haven't drafted a decent QMJHL player in like 20 years.

 

[EpicDing]

The Rangers haven't drafted a decent QMJHL player in like 20 years.

Duclair? He's a solid bottom 6 option with a 20 goal season to his name.

But yeah, point taken.

 

[nyr2k2]

The Rangers haven't drafted a decent QMJHL player in like 20 years.

Well they got Duclair, who I don't care for but I'd definitely say is decent. Fontaine may yet have an NHL career. Same for Ryan Graves. Before that Ryan Graves pick, however, they went through a long stretch without even pulling a middling prospect.

What's hard for me to believe is that since taking Callahan and then Staal in 2005, they've only drafted 15 players from the OHL. I would have guessed twice that.

Ronning is the best bet, I think, at an NHL player from the WHL since Dale Weise back in 2008.

 

[Tawnos]

Duclair? He's a solid bottom 6 option with a 20 goal season to his name.

But yeah, point taken.

Well they got Duclair, who I don't care for but I'd definitely say is decent. Fontaine may yet have an NHL career. Same for Ryan Graves. Before that Ryan Graves pick, however, they went through a long stretch without even pulling a middling prospect.

What's hard for me to believe is that since taking Callahan and then Staal in 2005, they've only drafted 15 players from the OHL. I would have guessed twice that.

Ronning is the best bet, I think, at an NHL player from the WHL since Dale Weise back in 2008.

Duclair was a good prospect, not sure if I'd categorize him as a decent NHL player just yet. Important year for him... still have questions.

I think the big problem how few they draft, but I think that's a symptom of their scouting not being as good in the CHL. If they had high quality scouts whose opinions they valued more highly, they'd pick more players.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

The Rangers haven't drafted a decent QMJHL player in like 20 years.

Fair enough, I think just all of the WHL picks they’ve made and following them being terrible is sticking out more prominately in my mind

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

The Rangers haven't drafted a decent QMJHL player in like 20 years.

It feels like the rangers have taken 3 players out of the Q in the last 20 years.

They’re basically allergic to that league.

 

[Ranger Ric]

I think I read that the QMJHL generates the fewest NHL players of the three junior leagues. The Rangers also are coming off a period of trading so many draft picks, not just first rounders, such as in 2012 when they only had four picks. The lack of drafting QMJHL players likely is just randomness.

The Rangers did sign Jonathan Marchessault through its then Connecticut Whale affiliate for the 2011-2012 season after his career with the Quebec Ramparts and I am sure I remember one of the Rangers officials say that the team offered him an NHL contract the following year but he decided to sign with Columbus. The Rangers also signed Marek Hrivik out of Moncton and Hartford signed Michael Joly from Cape Bretton but Joly decided to sign with the San Antonio Rampage rather than the Wolfpack at the end of the year.

The Rangers also have invited QMJHL players to development camps and prospect tournaments over the years.

Well they got Duclair, who I don't care for but I'd definitely say is decent. Fontaine may yet have an NHL career. Same for Ryan Graves. Before that Ryan Graves pick, however, they went through a long stretch without even pulling a middling prospect.

What's hard for me to believe is that since taking Callahan and then Staal in 2005, they've only drafted 15 players from the OHL. I would have guessed twice that.

Ronning is the best bet, I think, at an NHL player from the WHL since Dale Weise back in 2008.

 

[Joey Bones]

No points for Kravtsov and Virta today....

Kravtsov did have 4 SOG and 13:55 TOI. Virta had 1 SOG with 13:37 TOI.

 

[Ranger Ric]

I think there are two factors involved in the lack of college free agents this year. First I would agree that this was a down year for college free agent seniors. Some of the best college players were underclassman who chose to go back to college (Jimmy Schuldt, Cale Morris and Max Verreneau). The Rangers have brought in some of the better college underclassman to development camp in the last two years including Colt Conrad, Mason Bergh, Brogan Rafferty and Josh Teves.

But the other reason is that unlike in past years where the Rangers were lacking in prospects and had to sign players just to field a team in Hartford (four free agents in 2016 and seven free agents in 2017), the Rangers now have a fuller prospect pool and if Lias Anderson and Philip Chytil make the Rangers, they will be at 48 contracts. So they are now not looking just to fill roster spots but are saving spots for players they really want.

As Amazing K points out signing Meskanen and Lindqvist probably filled the couple of spots the Rangers had for free agents prospects this year.

With the fuller prospect pool and the need to sign some of the drafted players in the next few years I think we can expect fewer college and other free agent prospect signings in the future.

That, and the signing of Meskanen and Lindqvist meant we didn't really have a reason to look at college free agents. But yeah, there wasn't any college free agent worth signing.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

New WHL scout, formerly an assistant with Anaheim and HC for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

YES!!!! We got Kono! As a T-birds fan I am thrilled with this. I wanted him as our new coach in Hartford, but this works as well

With the Seattle-connection (Gropp, Ottenbreit, Smith) I was hoping for Kono as our new AHL coach

 

[Joey Bones]

So the Champions Tournament has been ongoing for a few days now. NYR's prospect Lauri Pajuniemi is playing for TPS, who, thus far, only has a minor penalty in the books. FWIW, TPS is playing god awful hockey. They lost miserably to both Malmo (SHL/8-4) and Red Bulls Munich (DEL/5-1)....

Another prospect, Olof Lindbom, is Djurgardens' 3rd string keeper. He hasn't gotten any action yet....

 

[Leetch3]

so lindbom is matching shesty save for save so far. good pick

 

[Alluckks]

so lindbom is matching shesty save for save so far. good pick

shutop gorton idit

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

So the Champions Tournament has been ongoing for a few days now. NYR's prospect Lauri Pajuniemi is playing for TPS, who, thus far, only has a minor penalty in the books. FWIW, TPS is playing god awful hockey. They lost miserably to both Malmo (SHL/8-4) and Red Bulls Munich (DEL/5-1)....

Another prospect, Olof Lindbom, is Djurgardens' 3rd string keeper. He hasn't gotten any action yet....

TPS has really been awful. I expected them to be much better against RBM. Pajuniemi will get his chances in Liiga though.

 

[Joey Bones]

TPS has really been awful. I expected them to be much better against RBM. Pajuniemi will get his chances in Liiga though.

I agree. They've been highly disappointing....

 

[Joey Bones]

On the bright side....

 

[Joey Bones]

so lindbom is matching shesty save for save so far. good pick

TBH, it's kind of good news that he's on the SHL roster for the tourney. I'm sure he'll be sent down or something, but it's reassuring that he's getting that kind of recognition, one would think!!

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I agree. They've been highly disappointing....

To be fair, a team like TPS doesn't seem to take the CHL as serious as others because they are focusing on winning Liiga again for the first time since 2010.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Virta watch starts earlier than I expected. My plan was to travel to Bratislava on my birthday for the SKA game, but I have a manager coming over from Helsinki for a few days so we are going to the Cherepovets game on Tuesday.