Prospect Info: Vitali Kravtsov: Part IX

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
There's no way a 28-year old career AHLer who has played not even 70 games in the NHL will return a 2nd round pick at the deadline
I would be happy if they were showcasing him for a 5th. Your assessment is 100% correct. He has a wildly unsustainable shooting percentage and, though he is pretty fast, gets knocked down pretty often because of his size. OK. I would settle for a 6th.
 
Could you please tell us where you got that these lines are “long-term”?
You're right, with the way the lines are handled here this could all change 5 mins into the game.

Admittedly I may be overreacting, but over a week ago I said I felt Kravtsov should be put on Strome's line if KK was staying on the 3rd line when VK was put in the lineup bc both needed to be playing in top 9 capacities. You put players in a position to succeed and play to their strengths and this just doesn't. Hopefully I am overreacting and things playout well though but I dont see a benefit to playing ANY of our top elite talent players in 4th line capacities with guys line Rooney, PDG, Howden, ect. That just isn't putting these kind of kids in a position to succeed and play to their strengths.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Larrybiv
You're right, with the way the lines are handled here this could all change 5 mins into the game.

Admittedly I may be overreacting, but over a week ago I said I felt Kravtsov should be put on Strome's line if KK was staying on the 3rd line when VK was put in the lineup bc both needed to be playing in top 9 capacities. You put players in a position to succeed and play to their strengths and this just doesn't. Hopefully I am overreacting and things playout well though but I dont see a benefit to playing ANY of our top elite talent players in 4th line capacities with guys line Rooney, PDG, Howden, ect. That just isn't putting these kind of kids in a position to succeed and play to their strengths.

I hear you and I don’t think anyone would disagree that there’s no need to take Kakko from Strome’s line, especially if the defensive side of the play is concerned.
But if you start with the assumption that JD, Gorton and Quinn know what they are doing (rather than presume that they’re all idiots) then there are scenarios that justify promoting Blackwell to Strome’s line until TDL (e.g. to get some futures for a player that is not instrumental to the long term plan).
 
Keep in mind that they derive more joy from losing a game than winning it, because it unleashes their whining, and there's nothing they like better than whining.

Thankfully, for them, they can always find something to whine about, so they'll always be happy.
You just need to tune out the doomsdayers. I haven't used the ignore feature yet but I'm close. Even when it was around a 40% playoff chance ppl were still lamenting Blackwell getting any icetime compared to Listless-Laf, because winning is secondary when other teams' fans are making fun of our shiny prospects.
 
Last edited:
All shifts from Kravtsov's first game:

When you watch them in succession like this, you can see he had a very good first game. You can see he is poised when he gets the puck. More so than Kakko and Laf at this juncture.

Also, that might have been the most engaged I've seen Laf play so far. I wonder if somehow playing with Kravtsov did that. Not sure how though.

I saw a guy who recognized when to dish it, and when to hold it which is key to limiting NZ turnovers while also maximizing possession zone entries. Some of the passes he made were iffy and telegraphed, but it was the right play just executed incorrectly. Laf likely recognized that he could now focus on getting to the right spots offensively and not worry about support along the boards (which he's shit at anyway) or quick turnarounds to defending and played with a clearer head because of it.
 
All shifts from Kravtsov's first game:

When you watch them in succession like this, you can see he had a very good first game. You can see he is poised when he gets the puck. More so than Kakko and Laf at this juncture.

Also, that might have been the most engaged I've seen Laf play so far. I wonder if somehow playing with Kravtsov did that. Not sure how though.


He had a solid game. He definitely looked more structured and defensively polished than Lafreniere and Kakko did early on, and being older, he should. One thing that struck me in watching the kid line shifts back-to-back like that was how easily Buffalo seemed to get through the neutral zone against them. That may be a reason for putting Kakko on that line, as Kakko is better at causing turnovers and tilting the ice toward the offensive zone.
 
We couldn't trade strome for anything last year but now Blackwell may get us a 2nd round pick if he plays with panarin?? Tbh I rather hold on to Blackwell. He's not going to bring anything in a trade and he's in that 2nd line spot because quinn thinks he's better there than kakko or kravtsov would be and he was quoted saying this. Called him more jesper fastlike! Blackwell is cheap depth that can fill in when needed so no reason to trade him for scraps.

I do think kakko meshes with Chytil way better than with strome or panarin so far in his career. That Chytil line should get more minutes now with kakko on it, but I'm not sure that's actually quinn's plan but here's to hoping. I would definitely have rather thrown in kravy on that strome line instead of Blackwell but this coach is gonna force this playoff push down our throats no matter what...so here we are.
 
All shifts from Kravtsov's first game:

When you watch them in succession like this, you can see he had a very good first game. You can see he is poised when he gets the puck. More so than Kakko and Laf at this juncture.

Also, that might have been the most engaged I've seen Laf play so far. I wonder if somehow playing with Kravtsov did that. Not sure how though.

Maybe because he wants to stay the"shiny new toy"? He has no problem with Panarin, Zibby and Buch being better, but he'll be damned if this Russian kid is going to show him up..... Lol. Competition is a good thing for the team. As long as it doesn't get real personal.
 
You're right, with the way the lines are handled here this could all change 5 mins into the game.

Admittedly I may be overreacting, but over a week ago I said I felt Kravtsov should be put on Strome's line if KK was staying on the 3rd line when VK was put in the lineup bc both needed to be playing in top 9 capacities. You put players in a position to succeed and play to their strengths and this just doesn't. Hopefully I am overreacting and things playout well though but I dont see a benefit to playing ANY of our top elite talent players in 4th line capacities with guys line Rooney, PDG, Howden, ect. That just isn't putting these kind of kids in a position to succeed and play to their strengths.
But, don't you get it? Quinn is trying to give Howden every chance to succeed. :sarcasm:
 
I hear you and I don’t think anyone would disagree that there’s no need to take Kakko from Strome’s line, especially if the defensive side of the play is concerned.
But if you start with the assumption that JD, Gorton and Quinn know what they are doing (rather than presume that they’re all idiots) then there are scenarios that justify promoting Blackwell to Strome’s line until TDL (e.g. to get some futures for a player that is not instrumental to the long term plan).
I have been a huge Gorts fan and still am, Quinn has consistently made questionable moves and I kept giving him the benefit of the doubt pointing to this season as the one to start defining the real direction of development of these talents but there are so many aspects that are making me scratch my head. Is trying to get a 4th rounder for blackwood instead of a 6th really worth jerking KK around again? Whichever, it will playout however it does, but I just dont like dicking around with KK when he has looked terrific recently and finally like he is finding a home with his game.
 
Me neither, but if that's the case we are in for quite the treat. I mean, do we all REALIZE how very blessed we are to have these talents? I mean, like one day they have ZERO prospects, now we have multiplicious? No wait, that's a lie. We had Brady Skeji

its pretty normal for a rebuild. 6 years ago LA and Detroit had zero prospects too and now they're stocked to the gills. Easy to stockpile picks.
 
We couldn't trade strome for anything last year but now Blackwell may get us a 2nd round pick if he plays with panarin?? Tbh I rather hold on to Blackwell. He's not going to bring anything in a trade and he's in that 2nd line spot because quinn thinks he's better there than kakko or kravtsov would be and he was quoted saying this. Called him more jesper fastlike! Blackwell is cheap depth that can fill in when needed so no reason to trade him for scraps.

I do think kakko meshes with Chytil way better than with strome or panarin so far in his career. That Chytil line should get more minutes now with kakko on it, but I'm not sure that's actually quinn's plan but here's to hoping. I would definitely have rather thrown in kravy on that strome line instead of Blackwell but this coach is gonna force this playoff push down our throats no matter what...so here we are.
Blackwell (and probably Rooney) are expansion fodder, they'll re-sign. A future trade of either won't have a significant return... JAM was younger but I think it could be somewhat similar. They're both guys that force results by will alone. Rooney could be like when Fedotenko resurrected in NY like 10 years ago... I think both are guys that just never had the opportunities. But, 4th round for each tops. If Blackwell is the same or much better in a year, a late 2nd could be foreseen, but I honestly can't imagine them here past expansion, whether via posturing or the draft itself..
 
Last edited:
Somehow has better English than Panarin that has been in the NHL for like 5 years.
He was super dedicated to coming to North America, he stayed in Colorado throughout the whole summer 2019 learning English & adapting to the US. He then had a lights out camp and I remember all the Rangers staff as well as beat writers saying Kravtsov was the player who was standing out all camp. But didn't make the team largely because of Kakko I would think, even though he far outplayed Kakko and probably deserved it more and lost the spot due to draft pedigree. Kravtsov's first ever jersey his dad bought for him was a Rangers Jagr one btw :naughty:
 
He was super dedicated to coming to North America, he stayed in Colorado throughout the whole summer 2019 learning English & adapting to the US. He then had a lights out camp and I remember all the Rangers staff as well as beat writers saying Kravtsov was the player who was standing out all camp. But didn't make the team largely because of Kakko I would think, even though he far outplayed Kakko and probably deserved it more and lost the spot due to draft pedigree. Kravtsov's first ever jersey his dad bought for him was a Rangers Jagr one btw :naughty:

Kravtsov also grew up as kid in an era where English was much more common in Russia (2000s as opposed to the 90s). Kravtsov's mother is a diplomat and his father is a former army officer. His sister is an attorney up in Calgary. Kravtsov has been around English-speaking people all his life. All those factors help in familiarizing yourself with English as a foreign language compared to Panarin and how/where he grew up.
 
Kravtsov also grew up as kid in an era where English was much more common in Russia (2000s as opposed to the 90s). Kravtsov's mother is a diplomat and his father is a former army officer. His sister is an attorney up in Calgary. Kravtsov has been around English-speaking people all his life. All those factors help in familiarizing yourself with English as a foreign language compared to Panarin and how/where he grew up.
Panarin's and Kravtsov's childhoods could not be more different. lol
 
We couldn't trade strome for anything last year but now Blackwell may get us a 2nd round pick if he plays with panarin?? Tbh I rather hold on to Blackwell. He's not going to bring anything in a trade and he's in that 2nd line spot because quinn thinks he's better there than kakko or kravtsov would be and he was quoted saying this. Called him more jesper fastlike! Blackwell is cheap depth that can fill in when needed so no reason to trade him for scraps.

I do think kakko meshes with Chytil way better than with strome or panarin so far in his career. That Chytil line should get more minutes now with kakko on it, but I'm not sure that's actually quinn's plan but here's to hoping. I would definitely have rather thrown in kravy on that strome line instead of Blackwell but this coach is gonna force this playoff push down our throats no matter what...so here we are.

Sorry to say because I like him but Blackwell is a goner. Howden is coming back. They also might be looking for making a spot for Barron. There's just no room and assets like Blackwell bring better trade return at TDL.
 
He was super dedicated to coming to North America, he stayed in Colorado throughout the whole summer 2019 learning English & adapting to the US. He then had a lights out camp and I remember all the Rangers staff as well as beat writers saying Kravtsov was the player who was standing out all camp. But didn't make the team largely because of Kakko I would think, even though he far outplayed Kakko and probably deserved it more and lost the spot due to draft pedigree. Kravtsov's first ever jersey his dad bought for him was a Rangers Jagr one btw :naughty:

Oh boy, aren't you good with states. : )
 
  • Like
Reactions: SnowblindNYR
Kravtsov also grew up as kid in an era where English was much more common in Russia (2000s as opposed to the 90s). Kravtsov's mother is a diplomat and his father is a former army officer. His sister is an attorney up in Calgary. Kravtsov has been around English-speaking people all his life. All those factors help in familiarizing yourself with English as a foreign language compared to Panarin and how/where he grew up.

I think it's more about personal environment (including taking English lessons seriously) where Kravtsov was growing up compared to Panarin or Buchnevich rather than a general shift from 90's to '00s.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SnowblindNYR
Called him more jesper fastlike!
lol has Quinny ever seen Fast try to dipsy doodle 1 on 2 at the offensive blue line when he's the last guy back? Blackwell has his own strengths and they're very different from Fast. Quinn did the same shit with KK in the off season, saying he needs to be like Fast on that line and #energygrind. I know they want to recreate Fast so bad, but enough with that already. If everyone needs to be like Fast then they should have just given him that extra year.

Blackwell also played better on the 4th line than he did when he was with Panarin. It's why he was taken off Panarin's line in the first place smh
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad