Prospect Info: Vitali Kravtsov: Part VIII

[Edge]

"The Rangers are a poor drafting team"

Is there anybody that still wants to die on that hill, or will we have to wait until our 3rd round pick from this year has a weak post-draft season?

It's always lurking, trust me.

Every time I think we've slayed the beast, it comes back from the dead.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Consider for a second that if we can still count Kakko as a prospect, one of Lafreniere, Kakko or Shesterkin will, as a matter of coure, actually enter next season as the Rangers third ranked prospect.

Along those same lines, one of Kravtsov, Miller or Lunkqvist will have to be ranked sixth.

It wasn't long ago that Boo Nieves, Day, and Gropp were top prospects.

 

[Edge]

It wasn't long ago that Boo Nieves was a top prospect.

I'll simply say Nieves was not a kid I was ever head over heels about and leave it at that.

 

[Ola]

Putting on weight is so freaking overblown. In the modern game less weight is better. He's going to fill out naturally.

Russians are like any other kids, some are man-strength younger and some are not. They train as hard if not harder than anyone.

Edit: Strength can easily be attained without putting on too much weight was my central point. He's going to gain weight regardless as he fills out.

Definitely, in Kravtsov’s case I think it’s more about growing into his body than adding 20-30 lbs.

 

[Cag29]

The Rangers have one of the top prospects in the KHL and one of the best D prospects in the world playing in the SHL. Yet neither is viewed as the top organizational prospect and both will be a spot further down the list after the draft in October. That's melting my brain a little bit.

Hallelujah!

 

[Edge]

Definitely, in Kravtsov’s case I think it’s more about growing into his body than adding 20-30 lbs.

I think this tends to be a forgotten element --- strength vs. weight.

If Kravtsov is "only" 200 pounds, but his strength/skill combination is hard to contain, that's fine. He doesn't need to be 210 or 220.

 

[Trxjw]

I'm already looking forward to the arguments 3-4 years from now that the Rangers build a cup contender through the draft in spite of Gordie Clark instead of with his help.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

0 assists in 6 & 2/3 of a game, bust!

Is the KHL always this slow?

 

[nyr2k2]

Is the KHL always this slow?

It's a slower game, for sure. That's always part of the adjustment for guys coming over--and why guys over here with really good skills who were just a tick too slow in how they read and reacted to the game, can often find success overseas.

The pace of the game is the biggest thing, in my estimation, that separates guys who can play in the NHL from guys who can't. The jump in pace is big coming from everywhere, including the AHL.

 

[Black Aces]

"The Rangers are a poor drafting team"

Is there anybody that still wants to die on that hill, or will we have to wait until our 3rd round pick from this year has a weak post-draft season?

People will still bring up Brendl, Lundmark, Jessiman

 

[JCProdigy]

People will still bring up Brendl, Lundmark, Jessiman

Even more crazy is those first two selections were widely praised in both fan and professional circles. Many thought the Rangers had solved 2/3rds of their first line for the future. Nobody panned the actual picks at the time.

 

[Kovalev27]

Nothing compares to NHL speed. It’s not like slightly faster it’s considerably faster than the next closest two leagues. That adjustment is the biggest thing. And it’s not necessarily adjusting to foot speed. It’s a matter of can you slow the game down in your head enough to be impactful at that level.

 

[Edge]

I'm already looking forward to the arguments 3-4 years from now that the Rangers build a cup contender through the draft in spite of Gordie Clark instead of with his help.

My hope is that we judge the Rangers by what they’ve done since 2017 and use that to grade Clark and Gorton.

In two to three years there will be no arguments about draft position, about the differences between top 10 picks vs. picks in the later first, or players taken first or second overall compared to 9th or 10th. No one can say the Rangers didn’t have a plethora of picks.

One way or the other, this board will have its answer.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Nothing compares to NHL speed. It’s not like slightly faster it’s considerably faster than the next closest two leagues. That adjustment is the biggest thing. And it’s not necessarily adjusting to foot speed. It’s a matter of can you slow the game down in your head enough to be impactful at that level.

Yep. And the same is true for the WHL, OHL, QMJHL, AHL, USHL, SHL, Liiga etc. That final step up to the NHL is always the hardest

 

[Inferno]

Yes - Fox would count (forgot about him for a minute).

Yes - Having Lundkvist 5th and Miller 7th is the height of insanity.

Yes - Taking a player 22nd overall and still have him be (at best) your 8th ranked prospect is amazing.

Yes - We need to appreciate that one of Wall, Barron, Reunanen, Henriksson, Jones, Robertson, or our 2020 22nd overall pick might not even make our top 13 list and our current prospect depth is unlike anything this franchise has seen in about 30 years.

Fire gorton.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Kravtsov playing the point on the PP in the KHL. could this happen for the Rangers??

 

[EdJovanovski]

Traktor kept turning it over trying to gain possession during the PP, then Kravtsov took matters into his own hands and skated around everyone for an easy zone entry lol

 

[EdJovanovski]

Kravy took a slashing penalty lol

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Kravtsov's linemates are doing him no favors.

He had a rough start to the period but his last 2 shifts have been much better. Severstal looks like a pretty good team too.

 

[Thirty One]

I think this tends to be a forgotten element --- strength vs. weight.

If Kravtsov is "only" 200 pounds, but his strength/skill combination is hard to contain, that's fine. He doesn't need to be 210 or 220.

You can be skinny and strong too. Wayne Simmonds is 6'2" 185 lbs.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

I think this tends to be a forgotten element --- strength vs. weight.

If Kravtsov is "only" 200 pounds, but his strength/skill combination is hard to contain, that's fine. He doesn't need to be 210 or 220.

no doubt. They're still invariably tied together, you get to a point where you have to add weight if you want more strength, but take Crosby for example. He's probably 200 pounds max but one of the stronger guys on his edges and impossible to knock off the puck down low.

 

[MrAlmost]

I will never forget when I got the chance to play against 2 retired NHLers a few years back. I had played with and against some great players over the years, but these guys, who were 4th liners for their careers, were almost playing a different sport. They were faster physically for sure, but it was the always being where they needed to be that was crazy. Puck coming up the wall, boom there they are, picking the puck up to start a breakout, boom they are already on top of you. It was like they were 3 people in one. Its hard to really explain it. You have to experience it. Its the relentlessness of it that is jaw dropping.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I will never forget when I got the chance to play against 2 retired NHLers a few years back. I had played with and against some great players over the years, but these guys, who were 4th liners for their careers, were almost playing a different sport. They were faster physically for sure, but it was the always being where they needed to be that was crazy. Puck coming up the wall, boom there they are, picking the puck up to start a breakout, boom they are already on top of you. It was like they were 3 people in one. Its hard to really explain it. You have to experience it. Its the relentlessness of it that is jaw dropping.

I wonder if we as mere mortals would be able to see the difference between playing NHL 4th liners and superstars since the 4th liners seem like superstars already. The 4th liners are a lot further from us than superstars are from 4th liners in the NHL.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Im really starting to dislike Sedlak.

 

[Kovalev27]

Traktor is and has been an offensive black hole for years.