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Prospect Info: Vitali Kravtsov: Part IX

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Seemed like a mixed bag today. Turned the puck over a couple of times when trying to create something from nothing, but also made some smart/deft touch passes, had a few chances and showed a strong defensive effort, particularly on the back check and when trying to get in the way of passing lanes.
 
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If VK turns into a very good defensive forward with some offense that might be a fantastic outcome considering things like team depth and cap issues.
 
JohnC said:
Thank god for lottery luck or we’d be on the ten year plan with this rebuild
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also pretty much "forces" the Rangers to do the right thing and leave him as long as possible to develop. Right now does not belong in the top 9 of the big club. Hopefully another year or two he will be.
 
EdJovanovski said:
Very good defensive forward who can chip in a little offense? Are we watching the same guy? Lmao
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Considering how very few high scoring forwards there are in the 6’4” and up cohort it’s a long shot VK becomes that. Meanwhile, I watched a ton of Hfd games after he returned and he showed defensive aptitude.
 
bl02 said:
also pretty much "forces" the Rangers to do the right thing and leave him as long as possible to develop. Right now does not belong in the top 9 of the big club. Hopefully another year or two he will be.
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The pattern I see emerging with VK so far -- when it comes to point production -- he's streaky. When he's hot, it all goes in. When he's not, nothing goes in. This may change as he matures. Hard to say for sure, but it seems like there's a bit of youthful impatience with VK. Which tends to impact consistency.

But offensive consistency will determine whether he is a first line forward or a middle-six forward and PP specialist. To be fair, Buchnevich, Kreider, Chytil, Kakko and Zibby -- all battle/bave battled with being streaky early in their pro careers. If a player rounds out their whole game but remains a streaky scorer you get Buch or Kreider. If a player becomes a consistent threat they can become a Zibby.

For the Rangers to turn the corner to perennial playoff team they will need Laf, Kakko, Fox and a few others to become constant threats. Otherwise, you get the Czechmate years. Enjoyed Nedved, but he was too streaky to be a legit 1C on a playofff caliber team.
 
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bl02 said:
also pretty much "forces" the Rangers to do the right thing and leave him as long as possible to develop. Right now does not belong in the top 9 of the big club. Hopefully another year or two he will be.
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Thinking semi-long term, when he does jump to the NHL, where does he fit? I don't think he pushes out young-vets Panarin or Kreider from the top-6. And the spots behind them are Kakko's and Alexis's spots to loose. So there is your two lines worth of wingers right there for the next 2, 4, and even maybe 6 years from now.

Even if he does become good, even meeting his "projections" for being the 7th OA, he might not crack the top 6 on this team. At this point, he needs to *exceed* is draft position value if he wants to be on one of the top two lines, and i don't see him happy (or useful) in a bottom-6 role. If he was a center, that is a different story, however.
 
ArPanet said:
Considering how very few high scoring forwards there are in the 6’4” and up cohort it’s a long shot VK becomes that. Meanwhile, I watched a ton of Hfd games after he returned and he showed defensive aptitude.
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Not this height nonsense again. Before it was Shesterkin being an inch shorter than some imaginary cutoff now this.
 
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Sharing a couple thoughts after sitting on the sidelines for a bit:

1) I care much more about the reports of his play in terms of defense and driving puck possession than I do about his counting stats. I have enough confidence in his skill level from watching him play that I don't really worry about whether or not he'll score points if he spends a lot of time with the puck on his stick. I think that's pretty obvious from his highlights in case anyone needs a refresher:







2) I thought @SoundAndFury made an excellent post on the main boards (RW Vitaly Kravtsov (2018, 9th, NYR) Part2) that hopefully he doesn't mind me referencing.

Kravtsov's point totals are actually basically in line with other high picks from his draft year:

"2018 1st rounders currently playing in Europe:

Veleno - 0,47 PPG in SHL
Bokk - 0,15 PPG in SHL
Kaut - 0,25 in Czech Extraliga, then 0,62 in Allsvenskan
Wahlstrom - 0,8 PPG in Allsvenskan
Zadina - 0,93 PPG in Czech Extraliga
Hayton - 0,5 PPG in the SHL
Kotkaniemi - 0,8 PPG in the Liiga

I'd say Kravtsov's 0,46 PPG in the KHL on a rather low-scoring team is perfectly in line with these numbers."

3) I think the split in Kravtsov's production between the first half of the season, when he was one of the top players in the KHL in terms of goals, points, and shot generation, and the second half of the season is fairly significant.

Firstly, he dropped off after his injury and I don't think we ever found out what his injury was or got a sense of how that could be affecting his play.

Beyond that, I think there's a difference between someone like Kravtsov who has demonstrated the ability to be one of the best players in his league and just hasn't been able to sustain it versus someone who's never been able to reach that level of performance to begin with, but has been more consistent. In my view, the prospects like Kravtsov are more valuable. I think consistency and figuring out how to maintain superiority against a pro level of competition is actually a fairly common issue for highly-skilled young players who grew up dominating lesser competition. Mika is a good recent example on the Rangers.

So if you step back and look at the whole picture of Kravtsov's season as:

- Improving his defensive and puck possession play considerably when he's already established a high end skillset
- Scoring at a fine rate
- Demonstrating the ability to be one of the best players in a pro league, but struggling to sustain it

I think it's a lot more promising than the impression you'd get from just focusing on the point totals.
 
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Being inconsistent is pretty much a trademark of a prospect developing in a major professional league.

Add this consideration: since the hard cap was introduced in the KHL this season the overall quality of the league went up (don’t know how to support it with stats but it’s clear to see watching games) and 20-year old Kravtsov has been playing against the very best the league has to offer.
 
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Great post @pblawr. I will say that being in same pack as his peer group isn't the same as being a stand out.

We saw what Vitali could do, once the genie is out of the bottle, no one wants to see it go back in. If he's dinged up it's one thing, but you want to see him better numbers.
 
I would like to see Kravtsov make his decisions faster. It seems like he has some good instincts but in these highlights, I don't get the sense of him performing them at NHL speed which just means he won't be able to get the same opportunities that he's getting now and therefore won't be as productive. Good to hear he's doing better off the puck though.
 
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Vitto79 said:
So play all year in Russia then join the taxi squad
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I think that is the right move at this point. No reason to rush him just to maybe get 3rd line minutes. I think Gauthier has the edge over him and others for that 3rd line role. Especially if he plays opposite Lafreniere. Big, fast forward, who can drive the net and open up space for Lafreniere. Kravtsov just isnt quite there yet. I think his big push will come during the 21-22 season. But I also think he is a helluva talent to have on the taxi squad in case you need to inject a spark in the lineup.
 
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RGY said:
I think that is the right move at this point. No reason to rush him just to maybe get 3rd line minutes. I think Gauthier has the edge over him and others for that 3rd line role. Especially if he plays opposite Lafreniere. Big, fast forward, who can drive the net and open up space for Lafreniere. Kravtsov just isnt quite there yet. I think his big push will come during the 21-22 season. But I also think he is a helluva talent to have on the taxi squad in case you need to inject a spark in the lineup.
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Be interesting to see who he actually pushes, with Panarin, Kreider, Kakko, and Alexis occupying the top 4 wing spots. Honestly, what is his path beyond the 3rd line on this team?
 
If he's going to play in the KHL all season the don't go into long stretches where he does absolutely nothing offensively. He needs to pick it up or he'll start falling into the bust category. However, to be fair to him, there isn't any player on that roster with an ounce of NHL talent and creativity offensively for him to play and learn with. He needs to realize that. Said it many times. The KHL is not a developmental league. He would be much better off playing and learning in the AHL where he could get more minutes and play with some prospects that actually have a chance of making the NHL. If Barron doesn't make the team I would much rather he plays with him then the rejects he's playing with on his KHL team.
 
usekakkorightquinn said:
If he's going to play in the KHL all season the don't go into long stretches where he does absolutely nothing offensively. He needs to pick it up or he'll start falling into the bust category. However, to be fair to him, there isn't any player on that roster with an ounce of NHL talent and creativity offensively for him to play and learn with. He needs to realize that. Said it many times. The KHL is not a developmental league. He would be much better off playing and learning in the AHL where he could get more minutes and play with some prospects that actually have a chance of making the NHL. If Barron doesn't make the team I would much rather he plays with him then the rejects he's playing with on his KHL team.
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You think Morgan Barron is better than Pontus Åberg, Tomáš Hyka or Lukáš Sedlák?
 
Sedlak, Hyka, and Aberg were all good AHL players and at least made the NHL, with Sedlak and Aberg even having some degree of success there. I think the hope is that Barron becomes a better player than all of them, but it's far from a guarantee. It's hardly a guarantee Barron would even be a better KHL player. We have to see how Barron, with his skating, adjusts to the faster-pace of the professional game. He's otherwise ready physically but how well his skating translates I think is the difference between being a dependable fourth line wing, and something potentially significantly more.
 
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