Player Discussion Vitali Kravtsov - Signed 2-Year Deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk

[LickTheEnvelope]

Contrary to popular belief, he is one of the best defensive players in the league.

Interesting. I am fascinated to see how these numbers look after a few games with Stillman and Myers behind him.

 

[MS]

Contrary to popular belief, he is one of the best defensive players in the league.

Players getting really soft usage/minutes tend to generate results like this.

I remember the same thing on Goldobin - every player on the team has better advanced stats playing with Goldobin! Yeah, because those other players played medium or high leverage minutes with not with Goldobin and then were given the softest minutes imaginable with Goldobin was on their line.

Maybe he's better defensively than advertised and that would be great, but there's no way he's 'one of the best defensive players in the NHL'.

 

[Jyrki]

I'm interested to see what Kravtsov can do in Vancouver. He'll still have a good amount of Russians around him, Kuzmenko in particular is important given his recent KHL->NHL transition and how much he's toiling to get things done in Vancouver. But he won't have any of the pressure like he had in NY - here, it's more like competing for a roster spot than living up to draft expectations.

Nice minor trade by the front office to bring him in and hopefully that signals a different tune in upcoming seasons. A guy with a similar profile to Lockwood (who will be glad to fight for a spot in a contender, anyhow) can be easily had for free in the off-season but someone like Kravstov wouldn't have made it far in the waiver wire.

There's a reason why Kravstov was so cheap, obviously - odds are he goes the same way as Robbie Schremp and Nail Yakupov. But it's good to work with a bit of upside rather than none.

 

[Raistlin]

I love this. I love this. What a coup. him and Pod will be a freakin tough line to play against.

 

[TruGr1t]

I love this. I love this. What a coup. him and Pod will be a freakin tough line to play against.

Kravtsov is a soft, one-dimensional winger. That’s like saying Goldobin was hard to play against.

 

[RickChartraw]

hope he works out for you guys. for whatever reasons it didn't here. he's got talent.

 

[elitepete]

This isn’t as big if a slam dunk as it may seem.

 

[DonnyNucker]

This isn’t as big if a slam dunk as it may seem.

Who thinks it’s a slam dunk? The same 3 posters that say every move was a slam dunk? We gave up nothing and likely received nothing. Worthwhile even if he only has a 10% chance of contributing

 

[sting101]

hope he works out for you guys. for whatever reasons it didn't here. he's got talent.

Care to give us a scouting report

 

[RickChartraw]

Care to give us a scouting report

needs to get stronger. skates very well, long strides which makes it seem like he's not working. good hands. imo, see's the game well. not great on the boards but that is back to the first point.

 

[Cogburn]

Vitali Kravtsov Stats, Profile, Bio, Analysis and More | Vancouver Canucks | Sports Forecaster

All the latest news, stats and analysis on Vitali Kravtsov of the Vancouver Canucks on SportsForecaster.com.

sportsforecaster.com

VITALI KRAVTSOV
Status On roster
Ht/Wt 6’3’’, 193 lbs
Shoots L
Experience 2 years (Rookie)
Debut Apr 3, 2021
Born Dec 23, 1999 (23 yrs) Vladivostok, Russia
Drafted Drafted by NY Rangers in 2018 (1/9).
Drafted from Chelyabinsk (KHL)

SCOUTING REPORT
Is an offensive dynamo with tremendous skill with the puck. Is also an extremely good skater with a very projectable (6-2) frame. Can be a game-breaking, offensive force when he is on the ice. His play when he does not have the puck still leaves something to be desired, so he needs to improve his defensive game in order to maximize output in North America. Must also get stronger.

Long Range Potential: Ultra-skilled, talented winger with major upside.

I mean I feel that Lockwood being sent down post-injury-recovery is definitely what materialized this trade.
If this kind of hype is true, I wonder why the Rangers didn't get more. I always viewed Lockwood as a bottom six player, probably 4th line, but much closer to a sure thing. I see why we do that if my read is correct, as it's low risk and could, if the write up here is close to accurate with his ceiling, be high reward, but hey, I'm happy we've got a guy that according Rangers fans could play center at least.

 

[krutovsdonut]

is he really still 187 lbs?

 

[ziploc]

Players getting really soft usage/minutes tend to generate results like this.

I remember the same thing on Goldobin - every player on the team has better advanced stats playing with Goldobin! Yeah, because those other players played medium or high leverage minutes with not with Goldobin and then were given the softest minutes imaginable with Goldobin was on their line.

Maybe he's better defensively than advertised and that would be great, but there's no way he's 'one of the best defensive players in the NHL'.

A quick glance at the Rangers board will reveal that the only plus for them in moving on from Kravstov is being freed from poster Ed Jovanoski’s constant pumping of Kravstov’s tires. So I guess we have that to look forward to.

 

[krutovsdonut]

i see lockwood as having a tyler motte-ish elite 4th liner who can play up ceiling, but the reality is he is probably going to be a replacement level player. i am quite ok with management taking a longshot gamble like this.

 

[RickChartraw]

A quick glance at the Rangers board will reveal that the only plus for them in moving on from Kravstov is being freed from poster Ed Jovanoski’s constant pumping of Kravstov’s tires. So I guess we have that to look forward to.

Hopefully you all can turn EdJovo onto some better Vancouver pizza than Pizza Hut.

 

[StickShift]

i see lockwood as having a tyler motte-ish elite 4th liner who can play up ceiling, but the reality is he is probably going to be a replacement level player. i am quite ok with management taking a longshot gamble like this.

Tyler Motte is only 2.5 years older… and he was already a high-level bottom-six forward at the age that Lockwood is now.

By the time a player is turning 25—they’ve already reached their ceiling. This is what they are.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Gonchar too

and hopefully this will bring pavel back to the fold in some way

teach petey and quinn a thing or two about dealing with bullies

 

[EdJovanovski]

 

[4th line culture]

Haven't noticed him at all tonight. Bust

 

[Raistlin]

Kravtsov is a soft, one-dimensional winger. That’s like saying Goldobin was hard to play against.

He is not one dimensional at all, as jovonovski pointed out, he was just seriously underutilized in the wrong org. He is not great defensively, and needs to play stronger (just like EP early), but he was playing with the wrong players, not given the ice time and most importantly, he probably feels he was set up to fail. Goldy doesn't have his skill nor size, paired with Pod(if he reaches potential) he can be the Rantanen to his Nichushkin. So yes, there is potential for him to really shine here. If it doesn't work out, hey, he came for free, not Hog, not mid 1st pick as Drury feels he's worth.

 

[Mandar]

Haven't noticed him at all tonight. Bust

Get used to that…it’s the same as if he was actually there

 

[RutherPlan]

He looks exceptionally smooth in that highlight reel, you can definitely see the upside in him.

 

[Gstank]

Kravtsov is interestin to me

• You can tell he has elite hands
• He hasnt played a lot of NHL games, now this maybe because he isnt ready but usually prospects that are labled reclamination projects or of Kratsov nature have a lot more games then he does
• The Ranger have not been going a good job of putting him in spots to succeed since they have a lot of highend wingers higher in the depth chart
• He Production in the KHL seems to indicate that he gets tunnel vision and doesn't utilize his teammates very well. If he is a puck Carrier that would work well with the type of players we have
• Everyone says he has highend skill which usually translate well to the NHL
• I question if he would be willing to play as a 3rd line PP2 guy and play more of a defensively minded game or adapt his game to stay in the NHL as a mid 6 player
• People in NY say he has had entitledment issues which is something that people often outgrow, especially after they have been traded a couple of times (this is his first trade so it maybe not work

Overall he is an interesting case that you dont see very often. I the last player that I can think of that was similar was Lias Andersson and that didnt turn out well at all

 

[TopShelfSnipes]

Rangers fan dropping in to give my scouting report on Kravtsov.

Physical: Tall drink of water. Good skating stride that is effortless and often assumed to be him coasting because he doesn't "look" like he's trying. Long reach, decent stickhandling, has a few go to moves - but is easily pushed off the puck or slowed by contact. Can't fight through checks. Can win some board battles on guile and technique, but won't win most.

Offense: Underrated release, but doesn't get into position to use it nearly enough at this stage in his development. Spent much of his time afraid to make a mistake, but some of that is probably a byproduct of how he was handled. Has very good offensive instincts away from the puck and plays a support role well, but this doesn't create offense for him. He does the little things though. He'll take defenders behind the net to clear the slot for a teammate, he'll try to pick off a defender in front of the net to give a teammate more time to shoot, etc. He does use his teammates, but that's usually through giving them the puck in the neutral zone, not through playmaking in the offensive zone.

Defense: Not elite, but very good and definitely better than advertised. He's good at blocking passing lanes and is rarely out of position. He's a very good backchecker, and he's usually pretty good in transition - especially once he's out of his zone. Carries - strong in the neutral zone, weak in the offensive zone. Defensive zone puck movement and outs are a mixed bag. Doesn't block a ton of shots but takes away lanes and reads where the puck is going to be, and goes there...just may not win the physical battle for the puck when he gets there.

Mental: Could be better. Wasn't wrong in that he made the team last season, and there was no reason to send him to the AHL, but throwing a tantrum wasn't the way to handle that. A lot of fans feel he'd benefit from the AHL, but the track record of Russian players developing in the AHL is mixed at best. He had opportunities this year and didn't make the most of them, and didn't seem to show the fire or desperation of somone truly eager to prove the front office wrong. Fresh start could be good for him, but if he thinks the league owes him something, that will only get in his way.

If he can learn to rip the puck, maybe he can carve a niche as an Alexander Selivanov type with better passing and defensive instincts. If he can't, he's Alex Burmistrov with better defense.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Here's a breakdown of what transpired regarding the "drama"

He's drafted 9th overall in 2018, Kakko is drafted 2nd overall in 2019. Kravtsov came to America months early and did a lot of work in learning English (you'll see in his interviews how great his English is) and went above & beyond what's typically expected of a European prospect. In the 2019 training camp all of the Rangers beat reporters, front office, etc are reporting that Kravtsov was the stand out player of camp, totally outshining the hyped 2nd overall Kakko. He was far and away the most dominant player in that entire camp, and then in that 2019 preseason Kravtsov goes on to outscore not only Kakko, but also Zibanejad, Kreider, Strome, Chytil & Fox.

He's then cut from the team in favor of Kakko, who goes on to be the statistically worst player in the entire NHL that season. Kakko started his career stapled to the top 6 & PP1, handed every opportunity in the world but completely squandered it. Meanwhile Kravtsov reports to Hartford, after some time he decides to exercise his European Assignment Clause, something that was literally negotiated into his contract and completely within his rights to exercise. It's a very common thing for European players to do, even ones who aren't nearly as highly touted as Kravtsov was. The same season, but without even reporting to Hartford; Tarmo Reunanen exercised his European Assignment Clause as well. But Chris Drury, at the time GM of the Hartford Wolfpack; singles out Kravtsov when he's saying goodbye to his teammates and publicly yells at him, reaming him out & calling him a quitter in front of the team.

In 2020 during the bubble, the Rangers who didn't have much depth and wouldn't have made the playoffs if it weren't for the play in round expanding the teams who were in; asked if he wanted to come back over to play. Kravtsov skips his sisters wedding and hops on the first plane out for the opportunity to play, but the team opts not to play him a single game.

In 2021 the Rangers trade Buchnevich for Blais & a 2nd rd pick, with Drury citing the reasoning being to give Kakko & Kravtsov more minutes. Drury tells Kravtsov to skip prospect camp all together and report straight to the main team. Kravtsov plays well in the preseason once again and Drury in a bizarre move, does not invite him to the team building event in Rhode Island. Kravtsov once again does not make the team, and the entire fanbase is shocked and outraged at this. They opted to have the likes of Hunt, Hajek & Gauthier on the team instead. Hajek meant they were carrying 8 defensemen which was a very uncommon thing to do, especially when the other option would be carrying the standard number for each position including your 9th overall pick instead. This time Kravtsov does not report to Hartford, Drury then agrees to loan Kravtsov to Traktor of the KHL.

Kravtsov once again has a season that compares favorably to the likes of Panarin, Buchnevich, Kuznetsov, Tarasenko; including his signature dominant playoff performance which has become an annual tradition. Throughout the season he's in contact with the Rangers front office and they agree to try it again.

Kravtsov comes to camp early before anyone else to get a head start, this time making the team as the 2RW. He gets injured and when he comes back is now all of a sudden a 4th liner/healthy scratch even though his last game was as 2RW. He was healthy scratched for long stretches of games and Gallant would cite "Can't change things after a win" but when Kravtsov did play and they won, he would still be healthy scratched the very next game, all the time. When he did get to play Gallant would bench him for essentially the entire third period of games. When Kravtsov was on PP2 he would get 10 seconds and then he would sprint to the bench with about 20 seconds left in the PP to get Trouba out there, this happened every shift he's had on the PP for some reason. He would sprint to the bench while they had possession in the offensive zone, this was some strange demand Gallant had of him.

He was the first player on the ice at practically every single practise this season, often 10+ minutes before anyone else was even there. He always attended the optional skates, and did everything that was asked of him but was routinely the odd one out in favor of horrible players like Jake Leshyshyn.

Any honest person would say there is fault on both sides. I think that if we hadn't won the draft lottery in back to back years (Kakko/Laf) there would be widespread outrage from our fanbase for this treatment of a top 10 pick. If you go back and read GDT's from his 20 game NHL stint the 2020-21 season you'll see all of the Ranger fans fawning over him and saying that he was the best rookie Ranger they had ever seen, how they wish Laf & Kakko looked like him, and that he was better than Kovalev. He was routinely voted one of the top 3 starts practically every single game. But then they developed a vendetta against him because of the drama and now many engage in revisionist history claiming that he wasn't good.

Drury & Gallant have a type in players and they love the guys who are more than the sum of their parts, who lack the tools but play an honest game or whatever platitude you want to use. Kravtsov came in as a flashy, confident Russian kid who wasn't intimidated by the organization and stood up for himself when he felt he was mistreated and exercised a mutually agreed upon clause in his contract when they thought he wouldn't. I think Drury has had a vendetta against him ever since.