Draft Round 3 #90: New York Rangers Select D Drew Fortescue (USNTDP)

[Brutananadilewski]

Fortesque?

Any relation to this guy?

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

Hmmmm.

 

[NYRFTW88]

I have known this kid for a bit personally. Great kid with a great head on his shoulders. Comes from a big hockey family. He played under Marty St. Louis when he was playing Mid Fairfield, and Marty really loved this kid, I am surprised Montreal did not take him, maybe thats part of why Drury moved up but that may be a stretch. I know nothing about scouting and projecting but I think Lindgren type makes sense, really smart and safe dman. He has that hard working attitude too.

 

[cheech70]

So this is really Drury's pick...hope he was blind to bias

 

[NYR Viper]

So this is really Drury's pick...hope he was blind to bias

If nothing else the team knows the kids character. Looking at Kravbtsov and Lias from past drafts, character is very important.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

Pearl River? Cool my neck of the woods.

I’ve worked there for the last 10 plus years now. Great place.

Will def be paying attention to this guy and pulling for him

 

[2014nyr]

Why did we trade a pick to move one spot?

nice round number

 

[Synergy27]

Did we make a trade? Didn’t we originally have pick 91?

 

[bobbop]

Why did we trade a pick to move one spot?

They must have known something.

 

[Ruggs225]

They must have known something.

I wouldnt assume that..

Especially with drury.

And again, its a third rounder.. at this point its a total crapshoot. Why waste an asset.

 

[Synergy27]

Not who I would have picked (Perron or Rykov) but I’m not jumping off a bridge.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I live 5 min from Pearl River. Cool

 

[mike14]

Hockey Prospect had him as 'no interest'
- only about a 15-16 minute defenseman all year, but might actually be a player that requires more
minutes to get his best game – because it takes him a while to get into the groove of the game.
- can do a bunch of things on the ice but doesn’t really have a true calling card or role
-He can take opponents off their feet with a hit, especially along the boards.
- He’s a really good skater. Just looks like a natural athlete with a smooth stride. He can cover a lot of ground straight line or on his edges or skating backwards. Excellent crossover power generation.
-The numbers are a bit misleading, as there’s an undercurrent of some technical skill here – it’s raw and immature, but there’s a little something there.
- The mental game did show some improvement as the year went on. His process just seemed to be simpler and quieter and it made him more effective. But there’s work to be done, as he still makes some poor reads.

There's then a huge paragraph about him making a mis-read/terrible play against Slovakia at the U18 WC

“I had him as a late rounder earlier but now he’s dropped and he’s not on my list.” - NHL Scout,
February 2023

 

[UnSandvich]

Hockey Prospect had him as 'no interest'
- only about a 15-16 minute defenseman all year, but might actually be a player that requires more
minutes to get his best game – because it takes him a while to get into the groove of the game.
- can do a bunch of things on the ice but doesn’t really have a true calling card or role
-He can take opponents off their feet with a hit, especially along the boards.
- He’s a really good skater. Just looks like a natural athlete with a smooth stride. He can cover a lot of ground straight line or on his edges or skating backwards. Excellent crossover power generation.
-The numbers are a bit misleading, as there’s an undercurrent of some technical skill here – it’s raw and immature, but there’s a little something there.
- The mental game did show some improvement as the year went on. His process just seemed to be simpler and quieter and it made him more effective. But there’s work to be done, as he still makes some poor reads.

There's then a huge paragraph about him making a mis-read/terrible play against Slovakia at the U18 WC

“I had him as a late rounder earlier but now he’s dropped and he’s not on my list.” - NHL Scout,
February 2023

You stole my job as Black Book quoter lmao

 

[chosen]

So...

we got Panarin's replacement in Perreualt

Now we got Trouba's replacement, in Fortescue... Stylistically speaking.. but maybe he could actually be good at defense

I don't mind a guy if he can be a Slavin on defense. Play your role on the team. Not everyone has to be a dynamo.

You wouldn't mind if he were a Slavin on defense.

If the Rangers can get that in the 3rd round, he'll be one of the very best picks of the draft.

not that I think this about this player but stay-at-home defensemen have absolutely no value at the NHL level unless they're truly S tier defensively like Lindgren or Pelech. Drafting ones that are already that type is dumb.

I don't think Lindgren is anywhere close to Pelech as a defenseman.

 

[kovazub94]

I think Hajek was a 2nd round pick

I stand corrected. Drafted 37 vs Fortescue at 90 so my broader point stands.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

TBH I find all the NYR connections to be a negative.

Strange (but not surprising) the org touts it as such a positive.

 

[Raspewtin]

You wouldn't mind if he were a Slavin on defense.

If the Rangers can get that in the 3rd round, he'll be one of the very best picks of the draft.



I don't think Lindgren is anywhere close to Pelech as a defenseman.

Pelech is definitely better than Lindgren but Lindgren has a legit argument for top 10 defensive defenseman in the league, imo.

he's just abhorrent with the puck and in transition

 

[Machinehead]

Hajek would be a fine 3rd pairing guy if the rest of his game was solid and he lived up to his physical skills but didn’t score much
Hajek isn’t good because his defense is bad and he can’t move the puck effectively, not because he doesn’t score points
A third pairing D who’s solid and cheap is fine as a 3rd round pick if it pans out. Shut down the rush, start a breakout, don’t need to score a lot if you’re cheap

If you can move the puck effectively and start a breakout, you get points by accident.

Obscenely low scoring totals, especially in easier leagues, indicates a guy that isn't as good at defense as people think he is.

 

[GENESISPuck94]

At least his first name and last name rhyme.

 

[chosen]

Pelech is definitely better than Lindgren but Lindgren has a legit argument for top 10 defensive defenseman in the league, imo.

he's just abhorrent with the puck and in transition

I don't think that highly of Lindgren defensively. I didn't try and put together a list, but I would be surprised if he was in my top 20.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

If you can move the puck effectively and start a breakout, you get points by accident.

Obscenely low scoring totals, especially in easier leagues, indicates a guy that isn't as good at defense as people think he is.

No, not always. You can be buried on the depth chart and/or play a small role in limtied minutes with majority with 3rd/4th liners and defend and move the puck very well and not have much at all to show for it in the way of points, esp on a bad team.

This is a general statement and nothing about the prospect this thread is for.

Also, there are examples of guys who were and are great puck movers but never really put up points in any lower level until they hit stride in the NHL like Gustav Forsling for example.

Sure they might the exception and not the norm, but this guy is a late 3rd round pick, he's a longshot to really have any impact in the NHL anyway.

 

[Machinehead]

No, not always. You can be buried on the depth chart and/or play a small role in limtied minutes with majority with 3rd/4th liners and defend and move the puck very well and not have much at all to show for it in the way of points, esp on a bad team.

This is a general statement and nothing about the prospect this thread is for.

Also, there are examples of guys who were and are great puck movers but never really put up points in any lower level until they hit stride in the NHL like Gustav Forsling for example.

Sure they might the exception and not the norm, but this guy is a late 3rd round pick, he's a longshot to really have any impact in the NHL anyway.

If you're buried on the depth chart at the level he's at, you're not playing pro hockey.

 

[Barnaby]

Hoping Muse knows something we don’t

Muse knew the kids name before today, so he already knows more than we do.

A late 3rd is a long shot anyway. I have no problem at all taking a defenseman whom the Rangers should be knowledgeable about, who is going to a very strong NCAA hockey program.

Let him simmer for 4 years and at the end we might have a player, or we might not.

 

[bhamill]

If you can move the puck effectively and start a breakout, you get points by accident.

Obscenely low scoring totals, especially in easier leagues, indicates a guy that isn't as good at defense as people think he is.

Or plays with others who aren’t good at scoring either... hence no accidents. And not good at scoring doesn’t mean buried on the depth chart unless you consider defensive specialist or shutdown line buried.
Regardless he’s practically a fourth rounder, we shouldn’t have much in the way of expectations no matter which we we want to look at it.