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Prospect Info: Vitali Kravtsov: Part IX

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Our top 4 wingers include Panarin, Buchnevich (currently leading the team in scoring), Kreider (goal scoring leader) and then we have Kakko and Lafreniere. Kravtsov had a pretty good season with Traktor but it wasn’t exactly terrific IMO. I don’t see how he replaces anybody in the above pecking order. Would I give him preference over someone like Blackwell? For sure but once given he’d need to hold on to it. Blackwell will work for his ice time and Kravtsov will need to work for his too if he wants to hold onto it.
 
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romba said:
They’re having trouble elevating their game to match NHL speed, intensity, and attention to defense. Every guy in the NHL was a star in their former leagues. Top guys usually play for worse teams where mistakes might be more tolerated and points are therefore easier to come by.

And we don’t only dump and chase but do what the play and opposition allows for. It’s what every team tries to do abs we’re not different. We have to work on puck retrieval’s and putting in spots where we have guys coming in. We’ve limited our turnovers which means we sometimes have to dump and chase more often than we like.
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For me, one hypothesis is what our crazy uncle Dave Maloney calls the small ice game. All the kids need to know how to play the small ice game. Often an oppty begins with a chip play or a small stick handle move.
 
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Chytilmania said:
There has been a bad trend with our young top picks, and anyone not coming the NCAA route. When Kravtsov was here he didn't look like a different player, but our #2 and #1 look different than the guys we drafted. Whether it's the coach or not something is going on.
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Does Kakko look different this season than last? Same coach. Maybe the issue is not coach?

On Lafreniere, there was a recent post that showed production by a few of incoming 1OAs in recent years and our prospect’s production coming in without a benefit or a normal camp and preseason was very much in line. So again, maybe it’s not the coach?
 
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SA16 said:
So which of Kreider, Buchevich, Panarin, Lafreniere, or Kakko do you want to play him over? 5 of their spots in the top 9 forwards are locked in. The other has been Colin Blackwell who has been quite good. So unless we're demoting Blackwell to L4 - which is not warranted based on his play - there is absolutely no spot available other than on L4 without demoting one of the other young players.
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Play a forward line with 4 forwards, duh.
 
SnowblindNYR said:
Why does demoting Blackwell have to be warranted based on his play? He's still ideally a good 4th liner if we can upgrade (potentially) then why not?
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It's probably not an upgrade. Haven't we just seen all of the top picks come in and immediately struggle? Both for us and the Devils.

BroadwayStorm said:
It doesn't f***ing matter, you demote him to the 4th which is where he belongs. You don't sacrifice playing time to young developing players in a rebuild year. It's f***ing stupid.
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Quinn's primary goal is to keep his job and to do that he will have to win games. He's not, and shouldn't, just demote Blackwell for a player with zero NHL games immediately when Blackwell has been a good player for this team. I think he should start on the 4th line and if he looks good or Blackwell's game goes the wrong way he should get moved up.
 
SA16 said:
It's probably not an upgrade. Haven't we just seen all of the top picks come in and immediately struggle? Both for us and the Devils.



Quinn's primary goal is to keep his job and to do that he will have to win games. He's not, and shouldn't, just demote Blackwell for a player with zero NHL games immediately when Blackwell has been a good player for this team. I think he should start on the 4th line and if he looks good or Blackwell's game goes the wrong way he should get moved up.
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That's fair but that's a different story. He shouldn't be sat if it won't be an upgrade.
 
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I hope Kravtsov isn't expecting to play and just wants to get some practice time with the team or else he's down for another major upset and will probably ask to be traded. Blackwell and any other veteran AHL tweener will play before Kravtsov. Quinn is fighting for his job right now and he has not had any luck with offensive prospects before so he will go back to the well.
 
tomobson said:
I hope Kravtsov isn't expecting to play and just wants to get some practice time with the team or else he's down for another major upset and will probably ask to be traded. Blackwell and any other veteran AHL tweener will play before Kravtsov. Quinn is fighting for his job right now and he has not had any luck with offensive prospects before so he will go back to the well.
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I imagine Kravtsov will get a shot but not in the top six or at least not right away. It’s what he does with his shot. A coach is going to try to win as many games as possible. What kind of coach would he be otherwise? This isn’t just about one guy—it’s everybody else on the team too.

On the subject of Quinn’s fighting for his job that I’ve been reading all over this forum I think people here really have no more idea than I do or said another way that they’re really expressing their hopes and maybe their hopes will come true and maybe they won’t but so far I really haven’t seen anything solid from anywhere that Quinn’s job is on the line at least at this moment.
 
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Rangers in 7 said:
Man to think Colin blackwell should get minutes over kravtsov is a take that I’ll never understand
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We have a team starving for offense and our most developed top offensive prospect joining the team and we're wondering if quinn can find a spot for him on the lineup. Laughable. Kravtsov has seen this coach having premier offensive prospects struggling to produce. I have to think he has one foot well out the door if he doesn't get a good shot this time around or a coaching change happens.
 
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Kravtsov landed

DU2P1fh.jpg
 
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Every good or great team is a mix of elements. You need guys who can score. You need guys who can make plays. Everyone needs to have some idea of where to be or how to defend when the other team has the puck but yeah some are needed to hit and grind the other team down. You, need penalty killers. It’s helpful to have at least one or two centers good at face offs. Without top talent you’re not going to win but talent can only take you so far in a team game. The Lightning had their grinders last year and the Blues the year before and the Caps the year before that. They all contributed to their Cup winning teams. You need guys who can take on the unappreciated shit and FWIW Kakko, Lafreniere and Chytil have all been putting in work on their two way games and it’s because they’ll be better players for it.

We haven’t seen Kravtsov in the NHL yet but it’s not all about scoring goals. He’ll make a good impression if he produces and works on the other parts of his game. A guy as young as he is—6th or 7th on his KHL team in scoring has a lot of talent but it’s not likely he’ll blow the doors off when he hits the NHL. Kakko’s numbers were more impressive in Liiga considering his younger age when he put them up. It wouldn’t surprise me if in a couple/three years Kravtsov is doing things that Kaprizov is doing now but I’m not expecting that right away.
 
romba said:
And we don’t only dump and chase but do what the play and opposition allows for. It’s what every team tries to do abs we’re not different. We have to work on puck retrieval’s and putting in spots where we have guys coming in. We’ve limited our turnovers which means we sometimes have to dump and chase more often than we like.
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Thank you. It's amazing to me how many people don't understand this.
 
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