Prospect Info: Rangers ranked #1 by The Athletic

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it's extremely impressive (albeit aided greatly by getting lucky and moving up in the draft lottery) that the Rangers are being ranked as the top prospect pool considering 2017 was the first time the Rangers drafted in the first round since drafting Skjei 28th overall in 2012, AND the two players they picked first in 2017 aren't even listed as prospects anymore because of the number of professional NA games they've played.
It's a remarkable turnaround, Gorton has done an amazing job acquiring talent these past few years. The first round of 2018 could be a complete game changer for this franchise as much so as drafting Kakko could be (imagine if they get a 1st line winger, a top pairing D, and another top 4 D out of it??) and adding players like DeAngelo, Fox, and to a lesser extent Hajek, Rykov, and Lindgren has had a big impact in stacking the D pipeline.

Again, just think about what the Rangers had at the start of the 2016 season and what they have now at the start of the 2019 season. In 2016, Buchnevich was basically the top prospect
 
it's extremely impressive (albeit aided greatly by getting lucky and moving up in the draft lottery) that the Rangers are being ranked as the top prospect pool considering 2017 was the first time the Rangers drafted in the first round since drafting Skjei 28th overall in 2012, AND the two players they picked first in 2017 aren't even listed as prospects anymore because of the number of professional NA games they've played.
It's a remarkable turnaround, Gorton has done an amazing job acquiring talent these past few years. The first round of 2018 could be a complete game changer for this franchise as much so as drafting Kakko could be (imagine if they get a 1st line winger, a top pairing D, and another top 4 D out of it??) and adding players like DeAngelo, Fox, and to a lesser extent Hajek, Rykov, and Lindgren has had a big impact in stacking the D pipeline.

Again, just think about what the Rangers had at the start of the 2016 season and what they have now at the start of the 2019 season. In 2016, Buchnevich was basically the top prospect

If we had stayed in our original slot I think we would have been a contender for #1 anyway and definitely in the top 3 with Los Angeles and Colorado. It would have probably meant we would have taken Zegras/Turcotte at 6 unless Byram dropped to us and either LA or Colorado would have ended up with Kakko. Colorado's real prospect depth IMO is about 8/9 guys deep and after that a lot more questions than us. The Kings seemed deeper than the Avalanche though I'm still not sure what to make of Vilardi. I'd rather Kravtsov or Miller than Vilardi or Kupari for sure. So yeah it was luck winning the lottery but we were going to be really really good anyway.
 
Yeah the Rangers would be up there but this years draft had a clear cut top 2 talent and then everyone else (more or less). Getting Kakko was definitely the boost to the #1 ranking otherwise there'd still be questions about whether the Rangers had and real elite talent prospects
 
Yeah the Rangers would be up there but this years draft had a clear cut top 2 talent and then everyone else (more or less). Getting Kakko was definitely the boost to the #1 ranking otherwise there'd still be questions about whether the Rangers had and real elite talent prospects

Landing Kakko changes everything, which shows you just how impactful a potential elite/franchise talent can be for an organization.

Now you hope that impact, and combination of talent, can take the next step and translate their abilities to the NHL level.
 
True. And while it's possible one of them can be the answer, it's definitely a position I'd like to see more depth.

Barron has progressed greatly, Aaltonen was a huge steal in the 5th round. I think we will be fine. Worst case scenario we trade one of our gazillion defensemen for a winger with upside
 
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Barron has progressed greatly, Aaltonen was a huge steal in the 5th round. I think we will be fine. Worst case scenario we trade one of our gazillion defensemen for a winger with upside
Barron hasn't really played C for Cornell. I think it's up in the air as to where he plays long term.

Aaltonen, jury is still out on him, no? I mean maybe he works out, but he's a long way from the NHL. I can't even really consider him depth at this point.
 
Imagine if Lias Andersson was considered anything special by any scouting service we basically busted with our first pick of the rebuild and we still have the top prospect pool in the league. Amazing really
Lias is 20. How is that a bust? Way to early.
Let’s see how he does this year.
 
Lias is 20. How is that a bust? Way to early.
Let’s see how he does this year.
He's a bust for a #7 pick because he doesn't appear to have elite talent. He is a mediocre skater with average hands. Not necessarily a bust relative to a decent NHL career. 3C seems to be his realistic best result.
 
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Disappointing pick at the time and not much has happened to change that view. That said I wouldn’t call him a “bust” and wouldn’t even say he is on that trajectory.

there is "bust" potential there but relative to 7OA more than just playing in the nhl.

its way too early to make that call but.... his resume to date is poor. he was nothing but average at best in hartford. yes, that place was a tire fire last season but still, he hasn't stood out yet at any pro level ever.

as we add talent to the pool, he gets further and further down the depth chart. thats what happens to teams who draft high for a few years.

its time for him to get regular minutes with some talent and see what he can produce.

he appears to me to be a tweener type player. real good head and motor but the tangible talent tools are lacking. hes got intangibles for days but seems. so far, short on those skills required to be special i.e., skating and hands.

time will tell.
 
Andersson has plenty of time to figure things out. If he doesn't get there then the good news is the Rangers pool is now so strong that it's not going to cripple the organization. Whinging about him is just looking for a reason to be salty at this point.
Yeah, and the odd thing is there seem to be folks on both sides who are kind of insisting that people take an extreme stand on him: either "he's a bust" – or "he's still a baby and how can you make any definitive statements about him?"

Why can't we just leave it as "would've liked to have seen more to this point, but he still has time to figure it out"?
 
The pressure is on for Lias. He definitely needs to take a meaningful step forward this year.

But can we please not assume that he can't?

Especially before any games have been played.
 
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He's a bust for a #7 pick because he doesn't appear to have elite talent. He is a mediocre skater with average hands. Not necessarily a bust relative to a decent NHL career. 3C seems to be his realistic best result.

Oh boy. Here we go. If you expect elite talent at 7th overall in a weak draft, you'll always be disappointed. Go look at previous drafts
 
Again, just think about what the Rangers had at the start of the 2016 season and what they have now at the start of the 2019 season. In 2016, Buchnevich was basically the top prospect
Gorton deserves a lot of recognition. Not everything will be a homerun and getting 2OA was very fortuitous, but he really stocked the pipeline well. And that goes beyond the young players that will take the ice this year. Between identifying assets in the draft and on other teams, he honed in on exactly what and who he wanted.
 

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