Prospect Info: Vitali Kravtsov: Part VIII

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Wishing the video started 3-5 seconds earlier – looks like he also did great work to get the zone entry (as @bl02 noted).

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Wishing the video started 3-5 seconds earlier – looks like he also did great work to get the zone entry (as @bl02 noted).

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

He looks lanky af. Did not realize he was so tall.

 

[Kovalev27]

The zone entries the zone entries the zone entries. He’s doing this a lot and I’m loving it. It’s also one of the reasons why I keep saying I want to see him at center.

 

[kovazub94]

Could’ve been a prettier tick tack toe goal. I’m greedy ; )

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Nice. He did indeed do good work to push the D back and gain the zone. And the subsequent filtering through the front of the net is outstanding.

Thank you, sir.

 

[bl02]

Traktor loses again. Looks like Kravtsov had a chance late on a one time which goalie made a nice save on.
Kid is playing well obviously but I just really hope Traktor isn't a dumpster fire of a team again this year.

 

[Leetch3]

The hands are so smooth...he made that rebound goal off his skates to the backhand look so easy

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Traktor loses again. Looks like Kravtsov had a chance late on a one time which goalie made a nice save on.
Kid is playing well obviously but I just really hope Traktor isn't a dumpster fire of a team again this year.

They're not bad, they just can't score.

 

[Leetch3]

He looks lanky af. Did not realize he was so tall.

I think he’s 6’4...definitely has the frame to be add muscle as he matures.

 

[Kovalev27]

They haven’t been able to score for years now this is the same story since we started following Kravtsov. He’s there best weapon. Nothing changes

 

[Kovalev27]

I think he’s 6’4...definitely has the frame to be add muscle as he matures.

he definitely had a growth spurt from draft day. I’d say two inches for sure. Wonder if that’s been part of his adjustment. Growing into that body. He’s got plenty of room to fill out for sure

 

[1Knee1T]

No, I would like to have a stat that shows assists on a shot on goal. How often does a player set up a teammate for a scoring chance. That's something that should be available somewhere, right?

If you're still looking for this I believe Sean Tierney tracks these as "shot assists" at the NHL level.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Gorton is twirling his mustache and laughing like an 80s wrestling villain: Kravstov plays the entire season on Traktor who don't make the playoffs, he comes over to NA in gameshape and makes the roster in February, everyone wins in the end.

 

[kovazub94]

Kravtsov might soon get a chance at 1LW. Aberg hasn’t clicked on Sedlak’s line so far and 7 team goals in 4 games definitely is not what was expected at the start of the season.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Gorton is twirling his mustache and laughing like an 80s wrestling villain: Kravstov plays the entire season on Traktor who don't make the playoffs, he comes over to NA in gameshape and makes the roster in February, everyone wins in the end.

Lol’d at the mental image of this

 

[Entrancemperium]

Gorton is twirling his mustache and laughing like an 80s wrestling villain: Kravstov plays the entire season on Traktor who don't make the playoffs, he comes over to NA in gameshape and makes the roster in February, everyone wins in the end.

 

[Kovalev27]

 

[JimmyG89]

Watching Colorado a lot this playoffs and I get the feel of an Andre Burakovsky type player. Hopefully he hits his stride a little earlier than him. Burakovsky looked like a near 60 point player this year.

He might not be able to carry a line, but I can see him fitting very well with Panarin or Zibanejad. His zone entries could be extra valuable being paired with them. Kreider-Zibanejad-Kravtsov could be a line in a year or two. Heavy possession line. A great compliment to a higher end player.

 

[Entrancemperium]

I like Button but not too long ago, on the Elite prospects podcast with JD Burke, Button said he really likes Kravtsov as a winger and not a center. Sure things can change and if he can become a center it's great for us but yeah just throwing that nugget out there.

 

[usekakkorightquinn]

Kravtsov has shown absolutely nothing to show he's a top 6 center. After a while you have to stop listening to hype and look at production and Kravtsov is not productive.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Kravtsov has shown absolutely nothing to show he's a top 6 center. After a while you have to stop listening to hype and look at production and Kravtsov is not productive.

Kravtsov was the youngest player on his team last year in the AHL. In a league and country he's not familiar with. Players need time to adjust. He's been fine. He's 20 years old.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Watching Colorado a lot this playoffs and I get the feel of an Andre Burakovsky type player. Hopefully he hits his stride a little earlier than him. Burakovsky looked like a near 60 point player this year.

He might not be able to carry a line, but I can see him fitting very well with Panarin or Zibanejad. His zone entries could be extra valuable being paired with them. Kreider-Zibanejad-Kravtsov could be a line in a year or two. Heavy possession line. A great compliment to a higher end player.

He has had very good chemistry with Chytil from their days in the initial prospect camp together right after Kravtsov was drafted.

 

[gravey9]

Kravtsov was the youngest player on his team last year in the AHL. In a league and country he's not familiar with. Players need time to adjust. He's been fine. He's 20 years old.

Agreed. Furthermore, he's not a finished product at all. Soooo much is going to change between the player he is right now and the player he will be in 2 or 3 years. It's good for him that he is being relied upon to score goals at Traktor as opposed to facilitate. I like that he's shooting a lot more and going to the net. His game had so much finesse when we drafted him. Lots of dangles, etc. Real junior hockey type moves. In part, because he has so much skill. Right now, he's continually adapting a more pro-style game. We'll see how that continues to grow alongside his frame hopefully filling out a lot more. It's good to keep track of how he's faring game by game. But I get the sense from watching him over the last season and a bit that he's very adaptable. Which to me, means it's far too early to know what hes going to be. I do know that despite his movements during last season, the adjustments he's managed to make have not been subtle. They've been fairly stark. Which makes me enthusiastic but also wiling to be far more patient. He may have been hard headed about making the NHL at 19, but he's not hard headed about only playing one way.

 

[Ola]

He looks lanky af. Did not realize he was so tall.

Yeah, and lol, I have never seen anything like this before. This is not at all how I remembered him before the draft, and his play in NA has surprised me a bit. But I now for the first time went back and watched highlights of him.

Check these out:


He was more coordinated, less lanky, when he was 17 than 20 lol. He must have grown at least 2-3 inches from D-1 and it has definitely not helped him one bit (so far).

The biggest difference from my POV is also his forechecking which isn't seen in the highlights but was obvious when I watched him in the KHL D-1. He was an effective strong forechecker in the KHL at 17. He got in faster on the forecheck and was useful because he constantly could stress the Ds with his speed. Growing so much, he doesn't have that quickness. He is much less effective on the forecheck now than 3 years ago, even if he is making up ground slowly but surely.

He could definitely grow into his body, but from my POV he could definitely have stayed at 6'2 instead of pushing north of 6'4...