Speculation: Roster Building Thread II (2022-23): The Puck is Prepared to be Mounted

[GAGLine]

The stars are not the coyotes. Its looking like both picks will be in the 20's.

That's fine. There are lots of good players in the 1st round. I really want to keep both picks since we didn't have a 1st round pick last year, and we've got several future picks that have already been traded away. Our prospect pool has gotten thin with all the recent graduations. We need to start beefing it up again for when we transition away from the Panarin/Zib/Kreider trio. Hopefully the Kakko/Laf/Chytil trio will be ready to take their place (and we can supplement via trade/UFA), but we'll need young guys to backfill their spots. Right now we have Othmann and Cuylle, potentially. We need more.

 

[MrAlmost]

The Rangers are usually quite good in the later half of the 1st round. We need to keep these picks. Good teams keep their top picks to back fill with talented players on ELCs. 2 picks in the 20s would be excellent.

 

[Avery16]

The stars are not the coyotes. Its looking like both picks will be in the 20's.

That doesn’t mean we won’t find some unique way to f*** it up.

 

[pld459666]

You don't 'fluke' your way into 76 goals and 132 points. Granted, that was a different era of hockey, but Kakko has a loooong way to go before he can get mentioned in that kind of company. Let's at least see him break 20 goals and 50 points first.

Another 5 years, but Teemu Selanne was also playing partial season and putting up .5 goals per game. Yes, goals, not points.

The fact that he never came close to 70 again leads me to believe it was absolutely a fluke like Cheechoo getting 50

 

[RGY]

The Rangers are usually quite good in the later half of the 1st round. We need to keep these picks. Good teams keep their top picks to back fill with talented players on ELCs. 2 picks in the 20s would be excellent.

Tampa Bay says hello.

I am not saying we should trade both 1sts. But trading one of the 1sts is not outrageous nor would it be some trail blazing move. If you have a good scouting and development team and you can hit on some picks in rounds 2-7 then you can still manage to keep your window open for a longtime, ESPECIALLY in the Rangers case because IF things continue to trend in the right direction with the kids on the roster, you have at least 3 / 6 top 6 forward spots spoken for. Possibly 4 with Kravtsov if he isn’t dealt. And then there is Othmann. And you are going to have vets, such as Mika. Trocheck can slide up and down the lineup. So again what you really need is quality bottom 6 forwards which you can find in rounds 2-7. They already have options in the years moving forward who could fit that bill for the bottom 6. Gauthier, Cuylle, Sykora, and a few more.

There window is open and if you feel you can push the team to the next tier by moving one of the 1sts then you do it. I am not sure if that is Kane, Meier, Couture, ROR, etc., but there are options out there. If Kane forces Chicago’s hand you may be able to get him for less than Meier or Couture. Not sure where RoR’s trade value is right now, he has had an up and down season. Tarasenko is another top 6 wing option.

Top 6 forward
Motte
Lauzon

Those are 3 areas for Drury to go for. There might be and likely is a better option than Lauzon but he is a physical defenseman who can displace Harpur. He does have a couple years left on his deal though.

 

[IDvsEGO]

That's fine. There are lots of good players in the 1st round. I really want to keep both picks since we didn't have a 1st round pick last year, and we've got several future picks that have already been traded away. Our prospect pool has gotten thin with all the recent graduations. We need to start beefing it up again for when we transition away from the Panarin/Zib/Kreider trio. Hopefully the Kakko/Laf/Chytil trio will be ready to take their place (and we can supplement via trade/UFA), but we'll need young guys to backfill their spots. Right now we have Othmann and Cuylle, potentially. We need more.

If there were any way to move into the top 3, I'd love to be able to, but thats the most unreasonable thing ever.

 

[MrAlmost]

The fact that he never came close to 70 again leads me to believe it was absolutely a fluke like Cheechoo getting 50

That season was wild. Jagr had one of the most dominating single seasons I have ever seen and missed out on both trophies cause of Joe Thornton and Cheechoo. Cheech was out of the NHL by 2010. Not really his fault though. Bad knees.

I used to joke with my dad and brother that Thornton was still getting second assists on every 3rd Bruins goal.

 

[GAGLine]

If there were any way to move into the top 3, I'd love to be able to, but thats the most unreasonable thing ever.

I mean, I'd love to get top 2 and take Fantilli, but that isn't happening. There are some very interesting players in the mid to late 1st round. Lots of centers too.

2023 NHL Mock Draft | 2023 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

2023 NHL Mock Draft and NHL Draft History. 2023 NHL Draft prospect videos, stats, and written profiles updated throughout the year.

www.mynhldraft.com

This site has us taking Stramel at 20 and Price at 25. Stramel is a very interesting player. There are questions about his offensive ceiling/hockey IQ, but hopefully he can answer those questions at the WJC. At worst, he's probably an elite 3rd line center. If he tops out as a 2nd line center, that's a home run, and if he becomes a 1st line center, that's a grand slam.

Since Laba probably won't see much action, I'll be paying close attention to Stramel when the US plays.

 

[Avery16]

Have there been any reliable 2023 draft rankings yet?

 

[bhamill]

That doesn’t mean we won’t find some unique way to f*** it up.

Well of course it doesn’t! Hahah. But we also don’t have to guarantee it by making an overpay on a rental.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I mean, I'd love to get top 2 and take Fantilli, but that isn't happening. There are some very interesting players in the mid to late 1st round. Lots of centers too.

2023 NHL Mock Draft | 2023 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

2023 NHL Mock Draft and NHL Draft History. 2023 NHL Draft prospect videos, stats, and written profiles updated throughout the year.

www.mynhldraft.com

This site has us taking Stramel at 20 and Price at 25. Stramel is a very interesting player. There are questions about his offensive ceiling/hockey IQ, but hopefully he can answer those questions at the WJC. At worst, he's probably an elite 3rd line center. If he tops out as a 2nd line center, that's a home run, and if he becomes a 1st line center, that's a grand slam.

Since Laba probably won't see much action, I'll be paying close attention to Stramel when the US plays.

I don't really think there's one specific position where we need to draft. These guys are 2-3 years away from making an impact. Kreider will be nearing the end of his contract, so even LW is a position to look into.

Players that I have been focusing on for various reasons:

Andrew Cristall (LHLW)
Teammate of Talyn Boyko in Kelowna (WHL). Cristall is a talented playmaking winger who may lack size, but I really don't care about size. It's overrated in today's NHL anyway. He distributes the puck really well and is a good skater. Probably too good for the Rangers to target Cristall is not playing in the WJC unfortunately.

Charlie Stramel (RHC)
Players with an edge. Really fits the mold for the Rangers and Drury. Not the best skater in his position but he creates offense with his fast decision-making which could make up for that slower first step. Plays for Wisconsin in the NCAA this season. Only played 1 game in last summer's WJC but will have a bigger role this time.

David Reinbacher (RHD)
Someone else mentioned him earlier but he fits that mold the Rangers have targeted with Schneider only 2 years ago. Austrian kid, which is a bonus for me having lived there, it'll be easy to connect to him as a fan. Is a 0.5 P/GP in NL this season which is very imperssive for a D-man in his draft year, already a record. Not the flashiest player but gets the job done.

Eduard Šalé (LHRW)
If you want flash, this is the guy. But he's also 6'1" so he has the frame to grow into the type of player that can grind for the puck in the corner. His skating and puck skills combine for a great offensive weapon. This guy could go as high as 5 but you never know. A lot of teams still have a skeleton-crew in terms of scouting in Europe, especially Czechia.

Nate Danielson (RHC)
Facilitator down the middle, with a good scoring touch. May not wow you with amazing plays, but he's a very solid player who does the little things well. Plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL, Schneider's old team. Can turn into a very solid 2-way center with the right tools to develop. I'd say he's a higher end version of Bryce McConnell-Barker.

Kasper Halttunen (RHRW)
Halttunen had a quiet start to his Liiga career, but for IFK he has been good in SM-Sarja (u20 Liiga). He's been bouncing back and forth, but in a draft year that's not necessarily a red flag. He's a good passer and also a good shooter. He also scores in the tight areas, around the crease. Quite versatile. At 6'3" and 207 lbs he will pass the size-requirement for some fans He won't be playing in the WJC this year.


I don't really do the whole ranking thing. I don't have that need to convince myself that I am a scout like so many on social media do haha. I just watch hockey games and when players catch my eye, I focus on them for a few games. But that's all this is. Just my personal preference. I left out the top guys like Bedard, Carlsson and Fantilli because there is no way we get even close to those picks.

 

[Barnaby]

The fact that he never came close to 70 again leads me to believe it was absolutely a fluke like Cheechoo getting 50

Cheechoo is a lousy comparable... he put up 50 once and never touched that number again. Selanne had 50+ multiple seasons and paced for 50+ other times. A career year doesn't mean it was a fluke. An all time great. Kakko has a long way to go!

 

[mrmovies779]

I don't really think there's one specific position where we need to draft. These guys are 2-3 years away from making an impact. Kreider will be nearing the end of his contract, so even LW is a position to look into.

Players that I have been focusing on for various reasons:

Andrew Cristall (LHLW)
Teammate of Talyn Boyko in Kelowna (WHL). Cristall is a talented playmaking winger who may lack size, but I really don't care about size. It's overrated in today's NHL anyway. He distributes the puck really well and is a good skater. Probably too good for the Rangers to target Cristall is not playing in the WJC unfortunately.

Charlie Stramel (RHC)
Players with an edge. Really fits the mold for the Rangers and Drury. Not the best skater in his position but he creates offense with his fast decision-making which could make up for that slower first step. Plays for Wisconsin in the NCAA this season. Only played 1 game in last summer's WJC but will have a bigger role this time.

David Reinbacher (RHD)
Someone else mentioned him earlier but he fits that mold the Rangers have targeted with Schneider only 2 years ago. Austrian kid, which is a bonus for me having lived there, it'll be easy to connect to him as a fan. Is a 0.5 P/GP in NL this season which is very imperssive for a D-man in his draft year, already a record. Not the flashiest player but gets the job done.

Eduard Šalé (LHRW)
If you want flash, this is the guy. But he's also 6'1" so he has the frame to grow into the type of player that can grind for the puck in the corner. His skating and puck skills combine for a great offensive weapon. This guy could go as high as 5 but you never know. A lot of teams still have a skeleton-crew in terms of scouting in Europe, especially Czechia.

Nate Danielson (RHC)
Facilitator down the middle, with a good scoring touch. May not wow you with amazing plays, but he's a very solid player who does the little things well. Plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL, Schneider's old team. Can turn into a very solid 2-way center with the right tools to develop. I'd say he's a higher end version of Bryce McConnell-Barker.

Kasper Halttunen (RHRW)
Halttunen had a quiet start to his Liiga career, but for IFK he has been good in SM-Sarja (u20 Liiga). He's been bouncing back and forth, but in a draft year that's not necessarily a red flag. He's a good passer and also a good shooter. He also scores in the tight areas, around the crease. Quite versatile. At 6'3" and 207 lbs he will pass the size-requirement for some fans He won't be playing in the WJC this year.


I don't really do the whole ranking thing. I don't have that need to convince myself that I am a scout like so many on social media do haha. I just watch hockey games and when players catch my eye, I focus on them for a few games. But that's all this is. Just my personal preference. I left out the top guys like Bedard, Carlsson and Fantilli because there is no way we get even close to those picks.

Reinbacher would be a terrific pick.Solid all around player

 

[eco's bones]

Tampa Bay says hello.

I am not saying we should trade both 1sts. But trading one of the 1sts is not outrageous nor would it be some trail blazing move. If you have a good scouting and development team and you can hit on some picks in rounds 2-7 then you can still manage to keep your window open for a longtime, ESPECIALLY in the Rangers case because IF things continue to trend in the right direction with the kids on the roster, you have at least 3 / 6 top 6 forward spots spoken for. Possibly 4 with Kravtsov if he isn’t dealt. And then there is Othmann. And you are going to have vets, such as Mika. Trocheck can slide up and down the lineup. So again what you really need is quality bottom 6 forwards which you can find in rounds 2-7. They already have options in the years moving forward who could fit that bill for the bottom 6. Gauthier, Cuylle, Sykora, and a few more.

There window is open and if you feel you can push the team to the next tier by moving one of the 1sts then you do it. I am not sure if that is Kane, Meier, Couture, ROR, etc., but there are options out there. If Kane forces Chicago’s hand you may be able to get him for less than Meier or Couture. Not sure where RoR’s trade value is right now, he has had an up and down season. Tarasenko is another top 6 wing option.

Top 6 forward
Motte
Lauzon

Those are 3 areas for Drury to go for. There might be and likely is a better option than Lauzon but he is a physical defenseman who can displace Harpur. He does have a couple years left on his deal though.

The further you go into any given draft the more luck plays into things. We take for granted both Henrik and Igor but practically every team in those draft years (including us ourselves) had multiple chances to take those goalies before we did. It's not really so much that we knew something at those drafts that the other teams didn't. It's just those two players took off like gangbusters in their development. The same could really even be said for Fox. Anyone who bothers to look can see for themselves that Boston took Ryan Lindgren quite a bit earlier than Calgary took Fox. That was the same year as well that Tampa took Hajek. Post draft Fox developed like nobody's business. Shit like this happens but it's not something that any team can count on. There are examples for other teams as well. I was talking to a Bruins fan about this and Marchand was a 3rd rounder. That was luck too.

For sure there are more educated moves sometimes though. I think Berard was one. Perhaps Garand will be another. Will Berard be a top 6 NHL forward though? Probably not. Because you can't count on finding top talent at all in later rounds more often than not it's better find good characters who can skate well and will use whatever assets they have to give them an edge over whatever competition they face at any given time and adapt their games as necessary to move up if they can to whatever is the next level for them. There are loads of players who were top players for their junior, college or European games who couldn't or wouldn't adapt their games and ended up failing. Talent is important but it's not everything. Those later round guys need to push themselves and be willing to accept roles that might not be all that glamorous.

 

[bobbop]

This is the same commissioner & cheapskate owners who are also trying to sell us this bullshit...

They didn’t ask me

I don't really think there's one specific position where we need to draft. These guys are 2-3 years away from making an impact. Kreider will be nearing the end of his contract, so even LW is a position to look into.

Players that I have been focusing on for various reasons:

Andrew Cristall (LHLW)
Teammate of Talyn Boyko in Kelowna (WHL). Cristall is a talented playmaking winger who may lack size, but I really don't care about size. It's overrated in today's NHL anyway. He distributes the puck really well and is a good skater. Probably too good for the Rangers to target Cristall is not playing in the WJC unfortunately.

Charlie Stramel (RHC)
Players with an edge. Really fits the mold for the Rangers and Drury. Not the best skater in his position but he creates offense with his fast decision-making which could make up for that slower first step. Plays for Wisconsin in the NCAA this season. Only played 1 game in last summer's WJC but will have a bigger role this time.

David Reinbacher (RHD)
Someone else mentioned him earlier but he fits that mold the Rangers have targeted with Schneider only 2 years ago. Austrian kid, which is a bonus for me having lived there, it'll be easy to connect to him as a fan. Is a 0.5 P/GP in NL this season which is very imperssive for a D-man in his draft year, already a record. Not the flashiest player but gets the job done.

Eduard Šalé (LHRW)
If you want flash, this is the guy. But he's also 6'1" so he has the frame to grow into the type of player that can grind for the puck in the corner. His skating and puck skills combine for a great offensive weapon. This guy could go as high as 5 but you never know. A lot of teams still have a skeleton-crew in terms of scouting in Europe, especially Czechia.

Nate Danielson (RHC)
Facilitator down the middle, with a good scoring touch. May not wow you with amazing plays, but he's a very solid player who does the little things well. Plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL, Schneider's old team. Can turn into a very solid 2-way center with the right tools to develop. I'd say he's a higher end version of Bryce McConnell-Barker.

Kasper Halttunen (RHRW)
Halttunen had a quiet start to his Liiga career, but for IFK he has been good in SM-Sarja (u20 Liiga). He's been bouncing back and forth, but in a draft year that's not necessarily a red flag. He's a good passer and also a good shooter. He also scores in the tight areas, around the crease. Quite versatile. At 6'3" and 207 lbs he will pass the size-requirement for some fans He won't be playing in the WJC this year.


I don't really do the whole ranking thing. I don't have that need to convince myself that I am a scout like so many on social media do haha. I just watch hockey games and when players catch my eye, I focus on them for a few games. But that's all this is. Just my personal preference. I left out the top guys like Bedard, Carlsson and Fantilli because there is no way we get even close to those picks.

I don’t want to trade either first under almost any circumstances. Trade the 2024 first or a 2023 second if necessary. This is a premium talent pool and by the time 2023 draftees mature, there will be current roster players starting to age out. Need to think about LHD and could use another center in the organization. Also would be interested in a blue chip goalie if there was one available.

 

[RGY]

They didn’t ask me


I don’t want to trade either first under almost any circumstances. Trade the 2024 first or a 2023 second if necessary. This is a premium talent pool and by the time 2023 draftees mature, there will be current roster players starting to age out. Need to think about LHD and could use another center in the organization. Also would be interested in a blue chip goalie if there was one available.

I mean yes, I would absolutely prefer to deal the 2024 1st round pick to get the top 6 forward. They can probably get Motte or a similar player for a 3rd/4th. Same goes for a depth LHD.

As of right now I think there will be a lot of Top 6 options;

Kane
Meier
Couture
Tarasenko
RoR (probably more suited for the 3rd line)
Larkin
Lindholm

 

[smoneil]

To be fair though, the devils have been stockpiling picks and prospects for 10+ years. There was a whole lot of bad before they started to get it right, and most of their success has come in the more recent drafts.

Since the 2011 draft, they have won the lottery 4 times, with 3 of those wins coming since 2017. In 2011 they went from 8th to 4th and took Larsson. In 2017, they went form 5th to 1st and took Hischier. In 2019 they went from 3rd to 1st and took Hughes. And in 2022 they went from 5th to 2nd and took Nemec.

Even outside of their lottery wins, they have sucked enough to get top 10 picks in Luke Hughes (4th overall in 2021), Holtz (7th overall in 2020) and Zacha (6th overall in 2015). And in 2013, they would have picked 9th overall, but traded the pick for Corey Schneider. That's a total of 8 top 10 picks in the past 12 drafts, 7 of which they used.

We have had our share of luck, and squandered a good bit of it ourselves, but no team outside of Edmonton has had the kind of draft luck that the devils have had since 2017. 6 drafts, 3 lottery wins, 4 top 5 picks. They've hit on some later round picks as well, but it's almost impossible to not have a strong prospect pool with that kind of draft capital.

Great point. To put that into comparative context, since 2011, the Devils have had nearly double (5) the number of top 5 draft picks that the Rangers have had (3) in the 50+ years of the modern draft. And we traded for one of those three.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

They didn’t ask me


I don’t want to trade either first under almost any circumstances. Trade the 2024 first or a 2023 second if necessary. This is a premium talent pool and by the time 2023 draftees mature, there will be current roster players starting to age out. Need to think about LHD and could use another center in the organization. Also would be interested in a blue chip goalie if there was one available.

Like button for the sole fact that this draft seems to have a lot of talent, in the 1st/2nd at the very least) and I think adding 2 1sts from this pool at this time could really help this teams window. Not only that, it could minimalize a real "rebuild" when the likes of Art/Mika/Kreider/Trouba are all truly gone.

Lastly, I'd like to see the kids and the vets have to carry this team in the playoffs (shocker), so at most I'd like a bottom-6 or 6/7th D or back up goalie added, nothing like a Kane or huge piece.

 

[RGY]

Like button for the sole fact that this draft seems to have a lot of talent, in the 1st/2nd at the very least) and I think adding 2 1sts from this pool at this time could really help this teams window. Not only that, it could minimalize a real "rebuild" when the likes of Art/Mika/Kreider/Trouba are all truly gone.

Lastly, I'd like to see the kids and the vets have to carry this team in the playoffs (shocker), so at most I'd like a bottom-6 or 6/7th D or back up goalie added, nothing like a Kane or huge piece.

If this team is in a secure playoff position / outlook come deadline time and they don’t add a top 6 forward then they are wasting their time AND the ELC years of their younger guys when they can add cap. Its okay to have a mix of young talent and veterans, i promise.

 

[SA16]

Trade both firsts. We can’t develop forwards anyway. Why keep the picks?

 

[Machinehead]

I thought we were comparing Kreider and Cheechoo and I was about to impart the knowledge that Kreider is way better than Cheechoo ever was. Jesus.

 

[Machinehead]

Trade both firsts. We can’t develop forwards anyway. Why keep the picks?

For what?

I have more money in my bank account than the Rangers have cap space.

 

[Fitzy]

I thought we were comparing Kreider and Cheechoo and I was about to impart the knowledge that Kreider is way better than Cheechoo ever was. Jesus.

Cheechoo was Matt Moulson with a better supporting class.

Always saw Kreider as a combination of Anders Lee and Jason Chimera.

 

[Machinehead]

The fact that he never came close to 70 again leads me to believe it was absolutely a fluke like Cheechoo getting 50

It's never a fluke when it's a Hall of Fame talent. It's just variance.

Was it a fluke that Aaron Judge hit 62 homers? He's never coming close again. I would bet all of my cap space that the best he does is barely crack 50 again because that's life and that's statistical variance.

If he hits 51 one year and that's a wrap on his career years, I would sign up right now. I still don't think it's a fluke. He had an 11 WAR season. He hits the ball harder then any player in history. He's good enough to have one 11 WAR season. The analytics back it up.

Hotter take, I don't think it's a fluke that Kreider scored 52. He legitimately just had a better season than he ever had. He topped his average shot output by more than 150. He had the puck more and was doing more with it by times two.

 

[Machinehead]

Cheechoo was Matt Moulson with a better supporting class.

Always saw Kreider as a combination of Anders Lee and Jason Chimera.

Kreider could probably run in sneakers faster than Cheechoo skated LMAO!