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

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There are the two offensive guys Hutson and Buium and IMO Hutson has just been their best defenseman in this series. After that it's a tie between Buium and Fortescue. I think Minnetian has been a bit under the radar too. Fortescue was arguably the USA's best defenseman last night. He wasn't fancy but he was very effective.
 
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eco's bones said:
There are the two offensive guys Hutson and Buium and IMO Hutson has just been their best defenseman in this series. After that it's a tie between Buium and Fortescue. I think Minnetian has been a bit under the radar too. Fortescue was arguably the USA's best defenseman last night. He wasn't fancy but he was very effective.
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hockey guys are raving about him
 
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eco's bones said:
I'm not a big Drury fan but the Rangers have drafted pretty well since he became GM. Gorton's last draft was great though too with Lafreniere, Schneider, Cuylle, Berard, Garand, Rempe.
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Six players drafted by the same team and all from the same draft in the same game would be wild. Has it ever happened?
 
duhmetreE said:
what's his ETA? does he get signed and play a full season in the AHL?
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I'd put him at one more year in BC (25-26) + HFD PTO, HFD (26-27), HFD (27-28) + NYR probably like 15-20 games.

It's possible he goes the Ryan Lindgren route and signs his PTO at the end of this season. He'll be 20 in April but I think one more year would do him good.
 
Thought he was solid. Not nearly as flashy as some of the other USA dmen but he was good.
 
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n8 said:
I'd put him at one more year in BC (25-26) + HFD PTO, HFD (26-27), HFD (27-28) + NYR probably like 15-20 games.

It's possible he goes the Ryan Lindgren route and signs his PTO at the end of this season. He'll be 20 in April but I think one more year would do him good.
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It's very possible that he'll play another year in college, but I'd hope he wouldn't need more than 1 year in the AHL.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but just looking at our recent history, if a guy doesn't make it by his D+5 season, he's probably not going to become a full-time NHL player.

Fortescue has done well in college and at the WJC. If BC wins a national championship, or even if they don't, I wonder if he will stay. BC could be losing a lot of key players, and their recruiting class doesn't seem that impressive, though that can obviously change.
 
Not saying they will fast track him, but depending on how the rest of this season goes, I could see him signing this summer an being in the mix for a roster spot. Mancini did it this year, he's a year older, but there is less congestion on the left side of this defense, even at the AHL level. He could be getting top AHL minutes next season if he signs.

Keep in mind that Perreault, Leonard, and Hagans are likely NHL bound next season (at least signing their ELCs) and that may influence him. BC will still be really good next season, but maybe he goes out with these guys and turns pro.
 
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Another good piece on Fortescue. He might be a lot better than he's gotten credit for. Maybe like a Slavin or Pelech type of player? Neither of those guys put up a lot of points either. It would have been hard for the US to win WJC's with him playing 20+ minutes a night on the top pair unless he's a pretty good player.

www.foreverblueshirts.com

NHL Network host predicts Rangers unsung World Juniors hero 'going to play in (NHL) for long time' - Forever Blueshirts

NHL Network broadcaster E.J. Hradek is bullish on New York Rangers defenseman prospect Drew Fortescue.
www.foreverblueshirts.com www.foreverblueshirts.com

“He just defends so well and he’s just a very bright man,” NHL Network broadcaster E.J. Hradek told Forever Blueshirts on a recent Rink Rap podcast. “He’s one of those guys who’s going to play in the [NHL] a long time. You’re not going to always notice everything he does, but he does so many things well defensively.”

“After the (gold medal) game, we sat down with (United States coach) David Carle and my partner Tony Granato said to him, ‘You know, I didn’t even really notice [Fortescue] out there.’ And David Carle stopped him and said, ‘That’s right. That’s why he’s so good. Like you don’t notice him but he’s doing all these things in a game to help us be successful and to help us win,'” Hradek recounted.

“He really had the coaches’ trust. … He was never one to run into bad ice, he won his battles in front of the net, he has the great stick to protect the passing lanes. He’s one of these guys, if he’s on your team, you’re happy to have him.”
 
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His play reminds me of Skjei a bit. Smooth skater, good size. That skating can cause some issues where he is so fast that he pulls himself out of position but that's a home run pick for a 3rd rounder
 
NYR Viper said:
His play reminds me of Skjei a bit. Smooth skater, good size. That skating can cause some issues where he is so fast that he pulls himself out of position but that's a home run pick for a 3rd rounder
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Agreed. He should have a very similar trajectory to the NHL as well, three years in the NCAA, full year in the AHL, then hopefully NHL.
 
NYR Viper said:
His play reminds me of Skjei a bit. Smooth skater, good size. That skating can cause some issues where he is so fast that he pulls himself out of position but that's a home run pick for a 3rd rounder
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I think there are some differences. I suspect Drew will be a little smaller. Skjei didn't put up much offense in college either but that was kind of a part of his game that was untapped. I think with Fortescue I'd be looking at closer to Ryan Lindgren production than Skjei production. It's not like Skjei is soft but Fortescue's got more edge than he does. What I'm kind of seeing is a bigger and stronger Lindgren type.....quite possibly a better player than Lindgren (I know everyone hates Ryan) but his role at BC and for the WJC team was as the defensive conscience of those teams. He was the best defender for the WJC team. Breaking up plays, pinning players, pushing, shoving, hitting and whacking. He was good at it all and also able to break out of the zone well either by skating pucks out or making good first passes. In the offensive zone he more than less was keeping plays alive when he could. Of course he was paired with Buium more than anyone else and Buium does a lot of roving. Buium needs a very good stay at home partner. He'll need that when he hits the pros too.
 
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