Prospect Info: Rangers Prospects Thread (Stats in Post #1; Updated 5.29.18)

[Harbour Dog]

But Gilmour sucks and shouldn't be a regular.

I disagree that he was any worse than Pionk or ADA post-deadline, but this is a can of worms that I have no desire to open right now.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I disagree that he was any worse than Pionk or ADA post-deadline, but this is a can of worms that I have no desire to open right now.

I’ll open it if you don’t want to

 

[The Crypto Guy]

We all wanted that elite prospect in the McD, but if Howden ends up being a 50 point 2nd liner, and Hajek ends up being a high end #3 dman who can play 21 minutes for the next 7 seasons for the team, then right there we already made out excellent in the trade..even before factoring in what mystery prospect we end up with with the 1st round pick.

 

[Harbour Dog]

I’ll open it if you don’t want to

Have at it.

 

[CaptBagel]

Everyone's so worried about a true #1 D
I'll take 2 #2s, 2 #3s, and 2 #4s over 1 #1, 1 #2, 2 #4s and 2 Stahl's haha

Everyone is forgetting skjei
He had a sophomore slump
Last year at this time he was the next Brian Leetch
I say he bounces back and remains our #1 as long as he's paired with our best defensive dman which will have to come from free agency, a trade or the draft

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Everyone's so worried about a true #1 D
I'll take 2 #2s, 2 #3s, and 2 #4s over 1 #1, 1 #2, 2 #4s and 2 Stahl's haha

Everyone is forgetting skjei
He had a sophomore slump
Last year at this time he was the next Brian Leetch
I say he bounces back and remains our #1 as long as he's paired with our best defensive dman which will have to come from free agency, a trade or the draft

Who is this Stahl you're talking about?

 

[Levitate]

Everyone's so worried about a true #1 D
I'll take 2 #2s, 2 #3s, and 2 #4s over 1 #1, 1 #2, 2 #4s and 2 Stahl's haha

Everyone is forgetting skjei
He had a sophomore slump
Last year at this time he was the next Brian Leetch
I say he bounces back and remains our #1 as long as he's paired with our best defensive dman which will have to come from free agency, a trade or the draft

I think people got over excited with his first year and were saying things like "he's better than McDonagh!" but he had a rough rough sophmore year. In my opinion because he was trying to play too much like McDonagh. But new coach, new year, new system, we'll see what happens. I just found last season quite discouraging from a developmental perspective when it comes to Skjei

 

[kovazub94]

I think it depends on how we view high upside, and how we view odds.

I think when most fans/posters hear high upside, they tend to elevate that to more of a star like level. The reality is that there are a number of highly paid, important core players on defense who aren't necessarily star, first pairing defenseman.

Again, that's not to say Hajek will not or cannot hit that level. I just think there are certain expectations for guys, especially those who are on our radar, where the expectation can quickly start to outpace the development. And the more we want a guy to succeed, the more we seek those nuggets from quotes, or subtly increase our expectations.

Could it happen? Yes. I'm just not sure that I personally see it as likely as maybe other people who love Hajek. Personally, I liked Howden's inclusion in the deal a bit more. Other people would probably view Howden how I view Hajek, and that's cool with me.

I view the difference between 1st and 2nd pair defenseman as largely attributable to offense. While it’s possible that there’s a difference in play on a defensive side, this difference is not as big as it’s in offensive production.

As you mentioned due to pairings construction a lot of these 2nd pair defensemen find themselves comfortably on a top pair (in my posts I often refer to them as the “other” guy).

From this perspective I’d also agree with Hajek’s ceiling at this moment to be #3 because I wouldn’t expect a lot of offensive from him in the NHL.

 

[Mac n Gs]

And that's really it. I'm more focused on potential pairings and systems. You get the right defenseman, and he clicks with Hajek, well there you go --- Hajek is playing and succeeding in a first pairing role. That's a good thing for the Rangers.

But is Hajek the guy who is necessarily takes someone else and makes them a first pairing defenseman? Ehhhhhh, probably not.

Not sure if that makes sense.

I’d agree with that about Hajek. He’s more of a steady eddie kind of guy that will give you a known product when he’s out on the ice. He’ll work well with most players because his game is very translatable, but he won’t necessarily carry his partner. He doesn’t have that dynamic quality to take over a game, which is why I mentioned Ekholm- Ekholm doesn’t drive play for the Preds, but he’s steady and reliable every shift. He doesn’t have that extra gear like Subban and Josi.

Still surprised that he said he tries to play like Kaberle. Could just be a childhood idol situation (and again, I fee super old this week).

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I’d agree with that about Hajek. He’s more of a steady eddie kind of guy that will give you a known product when he’s out on the ice. He’ll work well with most players because his game is very translatable, but he won’t necessarily carry his partner. He doesn’t have that dynamic quality to take over a game, which is why I mentioned Ekholm- Ekholm doesn’t drive play for the Preds, but he’s steady and reliable every shift. He doesn’t have that extra gear like Subban and Josi.

Still surprised that he said he tries to play like Kaberle. Could just be a childhood idol situation (and again, I fee super old this week).

I remember when Kaberle trade talk *LITERALLY* was like 75% of this board’s traffic.

Good times.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Heads up, Hajek and Regina play Hamilton at 10 on the NHL network

 

[Harbour Dog]

Two solid defensive plays followed by jumping into the rush and getting a SOG. Good start for Hajek.

 

[bl02]

Two solid defensive plays followed by jumping into the rush and getting a SOG. Good start for Hajek.

Really enjoying watching this kid especially the skating in his own zone.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Really enjoying watching this kid especially the skating in his own zone.

He just eats up 1-on-1 coverage. Has the feet to keep up with the attacker and takes the body hard.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

He just eats up 1-on-1 coverage. Has the feet to keep up with the attacker and takes the body hard.

That is what I like to hear. My hope is that this new coach gets them to play physical again, I can't bear watching the soft play.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Hajek with a good defensive play there. Kid’s having a great first period so far

 

[bl02]

Great recovery there by Hajek to prevent Hamilton player from getting a great chance. He seems to have those quick feet when he needs them or when he gets in trouble helps him recover.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Hajek gets caught flat footed there and Hamilton scores. Not a great play from him or Regina’s goalie on that one

 

[Harbour Dog]

Hajek gets caught flat footed there and Hamilton scores. Not a great play from him or Regina’s goalie on that one

And another similar play right there. Although I think I'd put that one more on the forward coming back than Hajek.

All in all, he's had a very good game.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Regina wins, Hajek’s going to be playing for the Memorial Cup

 

[Leetch3]

regina is the host city so regina and hamilton both make the memorial cup. didn't matter who won

 

[GAGLine]

regina is the host city so regina and hamilton both make the memorial cup. didn't matter who won

He's talking about the championship game. If Regina had lost to Hamilton last night, Hamilton would be playing in the final for the Memorial Cup instead of Regina.

 

[Leetch3]

He's talking about the championship game. If Regina had lost to Hamilton last night, Hamilton would be playing in the final for the Memorial Cup instead of Regina.

oh my bad

 

[2014nyr]

I disagree that he was any worse than Pionk or ADA post-deadline, but this is a can of worms that I have no desire to open right now.

I'll bite here. Think this might be my first deviation of opinion w/ this guy - no offense intended just have a different evaluation of the above.

Pionk - I love that kid. I think he's a roster lock, probably a top 4 lock. His hockey sense is through the roof, he competes his tail off and will play physical on the wall, great skater - especially edgewise. He makes nice breakout passes and will lead it skating as well. he's heady in the neutral zone stepping into passes and turning it the other way, has a sneaky great shot in both getting wristers/snaps through to the net and a sneaky great one timer. also comes with awesome hand eye coordination and seems to break up every single odd man rush that comes down on him. sure he'll have some moments every year when he loses leverage/board battles to a bigger guy that lead to goals against, but those will only happen when our 5 man unit is pinned in our zone and as such are largely avoidable. by an large he's even great in board battles w/ the way he uses leverage. to me he's at worst torey krug and at best brian rafalski.

tony d - he showed some flashes, but i have a lot of concerns about this kid. first - mentally - is he all there all the time? to date i don't think so. he's also 21/22, so its not like there can't be growth and maturity there. but even beyond that, i just didn't personally see much out of him that gave me hope for the future. the biggest thing was skating, he does look to me like he gained a lot especially in upper body muscle since he was drafted. i don't think thats ideal, and i dont understand how any coach allows that to happen. who, in the history of hockey, has added significant upper body weight and shown positive development? lean him out and see what level his skill/skating allows him to climb to.

gilmour - he's by far the fastest of the 3. and maybe, maybe the nhl games have turned a light on and he'll come back way more prepared. but he was also, by far, the worst of the 3 defensively. for the most part he looked like someone filling in on d in a mens league game. he was timid about engaging on the wall, he never played a gap well, and his passes up ice when he was settled enough to make them were ... not great. offensively, admittedly he did find/create a lot of chances w/ his skating. he also blew just about every single one, and not only did he do that but on almost every single one he blew it by ripping a shot high and wide that created a breakout pass for the other team. for sure he has some intriguing skills w/ that skating, but at this point he has way too many warts to even have hope of turning into a top 6 guy for me.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

I think both Gilmour and Pionk looked sharper and quicker than DeAngelo. DeAngelo was a big disappointment I don't understand what our scouts were thinking. Never understood why we traded for him.