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Prospect Info: Vitali Kravtsov: Part IX

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aufheben said:
Vitali Kravtsov #74
Date - TOI
2021-04-03 - 10:45
2021-04-06 - 11:03
2021-04-08 - 12:15
2021-04-09 - 12:12
2021-04-11 - 13:35
2021-04-13 - 13:56

Now, I’m no mathematician, but I’m 99% sure that those numbers are going up...

Chris Kreider #20
Date — TOI
2021-04-03 - 18:15
2021-04-06 - 17:29
2021-04-08 - 16:32
2021-04-09 - 16:22
2021-04-11 - 15:41
2021-04-13 - 15:37

...and I’m 99% sure that these numbers are going down.

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DICTIONARY
Definitions from Oxford Languages
pa·tience
/ˈpāSHəns/
noun
  1. the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
    • "you can find bargains if you have the patience to sift through the dross"
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4/3 - 2nd most TOI among all forwards (trailing only Zibanejad)
4/6 - 2nd most TOI among all forwards (trailing only Zibanejad)
4/8 - 5th most TOI among all forwards
4/9 - 6th(!) most TOI among all forwards (No PP's in this game, Quinn correctly rode the Panarin line in this one. Kreider doesn't kill penalties, his line mates do.)
4/11 - 6th most TOI among all forwards. He was demoted in this one (rightfully) and actually played less 5v5 than Kravtsov and I believe Lafreniere as well. We won't get into how he was handled at the end of the game.
4/13 - 3rd most TOI among forwards, trailing only his linemates who spent almost 3 minutes on the PK. No PP's in this one either. He also spent 5 minutes in the box for fighting and still managed to be 3rd.

His usage in half of those games still landed him in the top 3 amongst forwards (including a game where his team had no power plays and he was penalized for 5 minutes) and 3 where he was in the latter half of the top 6, one in which the team had no power plays and one in which he was actually demoted.

#Context.
 
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duhmetreE said:
He plays a perfect style of game IMO.

What a stud
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Agreed. Kid’s got literally everything I look for in a player.

Elite hands? Check.
Elite vision? Check.
Great awareness/IQ at both ends? Check.
Good size? Check.
Above average skater? Check.
Competes well? Check.

I can’t find a weakness. A complete player with a couple of elite attributes is not easy to find.
 
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Buchnevich89 said:
Agreed. Kid’s got literally everything I look for in a player.

Elite hands? Check.
Elite vision? Check.
Great awareness/IQ at both ends? Check.
Good size? Check.
Above average skater? Check.
Competes well? Check.

I can’t find a weakness. A complete player with a couple of elite attributes is not easy to find.
Click to expand...
His skating is much better than above average, he was seen as a great skater to begin with in the KHL and now somehow looks way faster in the NHL
 
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EdJovanovski said:
His skating is much better than above average, he was seen as a great skater to begin with in the KHL and now somehow looks way faster in the NHL
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I don’t know. If I REALLY want to nitpick, I’ll say his skating isn’t quite at the level of everything else, but it doesn’t need to be. He can still become elite regardless. I’ll have to double check next time I watch. Maybe he doesn’t look as fast to me because he doesn’t use his full speed unless necessary. He’s just so smart and almost always in the right place on the ice.
 
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Buchnevich89 said:
I don’t know. If I REALLY want to nitpick, I’ll say his skating isn’t quite at the level of everything else, but it doesn’t need to be. He can still become elite regardless. I’ll have to double check next time I watch. Maybe he doesn’t look as fast to me because he doesn’t use his full speed unless necessary. He’s just so smart and almost always in the right place on the ice.
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It’s definitely one of his strengths.

It’s a bit deceptive because he doesn’t look like he’s exerting a ton of effort but watch the people around him while he’s moving. He can scoot.
 
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Buchnevich89 said:
Kravtsov right NOW is Chytil’s ceiling imo.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I'd go quite that far haha

Chytil's ceiling is pretty damn high. He's got all the tools, in spades.

There are so many ways that he could end up getting more from his gifts. He could put increased priority on possession and using his vision, or he could get paired with guys that can play the north-south game at his pace, or he could add a net-front presence to his repertoire and become a Kreider-like threat on the wing. Even just continued growth into that frame is going to make games a lot less fun for the defensemen that he relentlessly attacks with his speed and stick-handling. Right now, to me, he feels like a bit of a square peg for a round hole, but that has nothing to do with the value of the peg; he still has potential beast written all over him.

I feel like we have so much young talent that we keep backing ourselves into corners where we're putting one down to praise another. The reality is that Chytil, Kravtsov, Kakko, and Lafreniere all have first line elite potential, and it's very likely that none of them will be done improving until at least 2022-2023.
 
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Hoping for some production over the next few games. I think he’s been great, but I’m desperate to see one of our youngins actually light up the scoreboard for a change. I’m talking about a 2-3 point game or something to that effect just to show other teams that our young players aren’t just all bark and no bite
 
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ThirdEye said:
... I’m desperate to see one of our youngins actually light up the scoreboard for a change. I’m talking about a 2-3 point game or something to that effect just to show other teams that our young players aren’t just all bark and no bite
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Already happened few games ago against Pittsburgh: Kakko 2pts, Lafrenierre 1 goal, Chytil 2pts, Fox 3pts.
 
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SnowblindNYR said:
This is silly. I don't see many people that want to take Kreider off the PP, it's a legit argument when talking about EV lines.
Click to expand...
And install a rookie with 5 games worth of mostly limited minutes there? That is a legit argument on an internet message board. Probably not in most professional NHL franchises there.

Want to talk about starting Lafreniere there and Kreider on the third line? Ok. you got my attention and that can be discussed. But am going with the fact that as he has looked pretty good, that Kravstov is being developed just fine and brought along at the speed that he should be.
 
True Blue said:
Why? The statement completely illustrates rational and legit thinking.........when compared to some other doozies that we have seen posted lately. Need I remind you of this?
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True. I get the excitement, he's actually been better than I thought he would be and I'm delighted everyone has moved past the shit show that was last season but we'd all be better served just letting these young players be who they are without crazy comparisons for a bit.
 
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nyr2k2 said:
If I thought that Kreider was on the decline, and that the cold patch we're seeing is due to some real, tangible deterioration of skill, then I'd agree. But, I think we're just seeing Chris Kreider being Chris Kreider, and in due time he'll get himself on a roll again like he has done for basically the last 550 games--yo-yoing back and forth between being an absolute force and mostly invisible.

I think in a few years we'll reach the point where it becomes apparent his cold patches are due to erosion of ability. We're not there yet, though, in my estimation. He looks like the same guy he has for the past few seasons who is basically a 25-25 guy.
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Yup. He is EXACTLY the same player right now that he has been for the last five years. We're just at the peak of one of his down periods. This time last month he was third in the league in goals scored.

(Though I noticed a definite uptick when Quinn dropped him to the 4th line. I hope that's a tactic he employs more often whenever he hits one of these lulls. It seemed effective. EDIT: I see @kovazub94 has already covered this point.)
 
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Brooklyn Rangers Fan said:
Yup. He is EXACTLY the same player right now that he has been for the last five years. We're just at the peak of one of his down periods. This time last month he was third in the league in goals scored.

(Though I noticed a definite uptick when Quinn dropped him to the 4th line. I hope that's a tactic he employs more often whenever he hits one of these lulls. It seemed effective. EDIT: I see @kovazub94 has already covered this point.)
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Smart points are worth repeating ;)

It also worth noting that just last year at around this time Kreider was an unstoppable force with an all-around game at the highest level it's ever been. To @nyr2k2 point there's no reason to believe that suddenly just a year later it will be all gone without any causes to promote such steep decline.
 
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Brooklyn Rangers Fan said:
Yup. He is EXACTLY the same player right now that he has been for the last five years. We're just at the peak of one of his down periods. This time last month he was third in the league in goals scored.

(Though I noticed a definite uptick when Quinn dropped him to the 4th line. I hope that's a tactic he employs more often whenever he hits one of these lulls. It seemed effective. EDIT: I see @kovazub94 has already covered this point.)
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He's played more floaty, soft hockey this year than in any previous year. I'm not even focusing on his production because you're right, thats always been a peaks and valley's thing with him.

The problem with the Quinn tactic is that while he did improve a bit on the 4th line (and really, most of it was one really good shift) he subsequently almost blew that game twice when he was moved back up and then followed it up with another dud in NJ.

He should have stuck on the 4th line longer. Not a permanent move, but it'll force him to get back to playing more of that workman role which he really has no excuse to not play. For what ever reason, it hasn't really happened enough, particularly when he's been with Zibanejad.
 
The difference so far that I'm noticing is that before he was a guy who had slick moves that he would use every single time as a crutch to get up the ice


Now he's got those in his back pocket but can get around without using those moves on every single shift.

Datsuk could dangle with the best of them. What set him apart was he only did it when the play called for it.
 
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Inferno said:
The difference so far that I'm noticing is that before he was a guy who had slick moves that he would use every single time as a crutch to get up the ice


Now he's got those in his back pocket but can get around without using those moves on every single shift.

Datsuk could dangle with the best of them. What set him apart was he only did it when the play called for it.
Click to expand...
That's one thing for sure, and very noticeable.

But the more aggressive/involved effort and defensive awareness are both leaps and bounds better than what we first saw, as well.
 
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Inferno said:
The difference so far that I'm noticing is that before he was a guy who had slick moves that he would use every single time as a crutch to get up the ice


Now he's got those in his back pocket but can get around without using those moves on every single shift.

Datsuk could dangle with the best of them. What set him apart was he only did it when the play called for it.
Click to expand...

Chytil needs to learn this.
 
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