Line Combos: Who from the Wolf Pack is ready to be a full-timer next year?

[LiveLongandProspal]

I'm guessing Kristo or JT Miller take the place of Callahan if he's traded (assuming a RW doesn't get traded to us) and Lindberg replaces Richards.

So what wold we be looking at? A third line of Hagelin----Lindberg----Kristo? And a fourth line of
Miller---Dominic Moore (hoping we re-sign him)---Derek Dorsett. Not a lot of grit there though

As for the defense, I'm guessing McIlrath is the only one who has a good shot at making it? Assuming we re-sign Girardi and not Stralman, our D would look like:

McDonagh----Girardi
Staal----Klein
John Moore----McIlrath

Falk/Conor Allen


You guys think that Kristo, Miller, Lindberg and McIlrath will be ready to play in the NHL next year? I'm guessing Fast will need more time in the AHL.

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[The Gloaming]

From what I've heard on here from fans who watch the Pack, Jesper Fast should be able to play in the NHL next year. JT miller should stick in the lineup, and Lindberg will be ready defensively. Kristo may need another year at least. I don't know about Big Mac.

 

[Beacon]

You did read through the Pack thread. Everyone watching the Pack is in agreement that Fast is ready while Kristo isn't. Kristo makes a lot of stupid rookie plays. Not brutal ones that make him look awful in the AHL, but he would get exposed in the NHL. Given his age, that is a concern.

Fast is NHL-ready today, he just doesn't have the space in the top-9 behind Nash, MZA and Cally, and they don't want a rookie getting 4 minutes a game on the fourth line.

Miller will definitely play in the NHL next year. Save for a few errors caused by inexperience, he is way too good for the AHL.

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

I haven't looked at that thread, but I will now. I'm looking purely at the stats and Kristo is leading the team in points (although he's also a -9, which is concerning. Poor back check?). I also saw that Christian Thomas was called up and Kristo is 23, which means he needs to either make it soon or he'll become a Casey Wellman type.


Good to hear about Miller and Fast

 

[Vitto79]

I would say miller in for Richards after the buyout so stepan, brassard, miller at c then I would think they don't rush Lindberg so Moore comes back on a reasonable deal. Would the team want to go w 2 young Cs?

Sounds like fast is ready aswell. Maybe in for ufa pouliott?
Lw,kreider, hagelin then not sure we last spots. Maybe a ufa
I think boyje us gone as a ufa since he will make too much

Rw I think Cally is signed and if not they get acre back now so Nash, Cally, zuc, Dorsett w carcillo likely back as a ufa for under a million

So miller only. Fast has a good shot and Lindberg close. Kristo will get a look eventually as a call up

Mcilrath in d In for Stralman who will cost too much. Allen will battle him in camp but the right shot mcilrath likely wins it

 

[Beacon]

Not only are Miller and Fast ready for NHL duty, but they also look good together. Even though they are young rookies, I think they could be part of The Kid Line.

Maybe Hagelin-Miller-Fast as our third line next season. Would be a good line on both offense and defense.

If we don't acquire anyone to replace Richards, Cally and Boyle, who are all likely goners, this is what our lines will likely look like:

Kreider - Step - Nash
Pouliot - Brass - MZA
Hagelin - Miller - Fast
Carcillo - Lindberg/Moore - Dorsett

Not bad, but not great either. Adding someone like Stastny or a quality LW would make a big difference for this squad.

 

[SKS]

Not bad, but not great either. Adding someone like Stastny or a quality LW would make a big difference for this squad.

or rw for that matter. zucc couldnt care less what wing he plays and from looking at him i havent seen a difference

 

[Doctyl]

Not only are Miller and Fast ready for NHL duty, but they also look good together. Even though they are young rookies, I think they could be part of The Kid Line.

Maybe Hagelin-Miller-Fast as our third line next season. Would be a good line on both offense and defense.

If we don't acquire anyone to replace Richards, Cally and Boyle, who are all likely goners, this is what our lines will likely look like:

Kreider - Step - Nash
Pouliot - Brass - MZA
Hagelin - Miller - Fast
Carcillo - Lindberg/Moore - Dorsett

Not bad, but not great either. Adding someone like Stastny or a quality LW would make a big difference for this squad.

What's your opinion on McIlrath. I see some suggestions of letting Stralman go and him coming up. To me he does not look ready and I think it would be a big mistake signing G to a 5+ mill for 7 years while letting Stralman (who I don't think is that much worse) go when he's probably going to make 3-4 million.

Also for LW, Moulson or Vrbata as UFAs?

 

[slipknottin]

I don't think Kristo or Lindberg are close.

Miller and Fast are.

Mcilrath needs to stop getting injured if he wants to have a chance

 

[doncherrysgrill]

I don't watch the Pack night in and night out (mostly because their camera guy for AHL Live is SO BAD) but I'll repeat what everyone else is saying about Fast and Miller. Both guys are ready for 3rd line duty TODAY but just don't fit in with an already established top 9. Next year there should be enough space to fit them in somewhere. If you drop Callahan and Richards and bring up those two, you should have more than enough space to sign a good RHD to play with McDonagh in the offseason.

McIlrath has played very well in the ~15 games I've seen him, but his ceiling was really never as a top pairing defenseman so it's tough to slot him in anywhere. We have a lot of 2nd and 3rd pairing guys, we really need that #2 to take over once Girardi is gone.

Agree with the earlier poster on Kristo. The guy is an elite scoring talent but he almost reminds me a bit of Zuc in his early days here. Doesn't seem like he quite gets the game like he should at this point. He makes a lot of real dumb plays and would get exposed easily in the NHL. That said, he's the kind of player whose talent and style of play would make him a viable call-up maybe halfway through next year if they needed a guy. Him and Lindberg are clearly the top two guys after Miller/Fast

 

[Raspewtin]

I don't think Kristo or Lindberg are close.

Miller and Fast are.

Mcilrath needs to stop getting injured if he wants to have a chance

Why do you think Lindberg isn't close?

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Miller: he's ready right now. He's flat out dominant at the AHL level. Yes, he makes mistakes every now and again, but they're mistakes of effort and are far outweighed by his dynamic play on the ice.

Fast: also ready right now. As I've said ad nauseum, he was ready defensively out of camp (to the point that AV gave him regular PK time), and has really been turning it on offensively recently, with a goal per game over his last seven. I don't like to make comparisons that seem obviously tied to nationality, but I see a fair amount of Nyquist in his game. If not for injuries, I think he might already have a spot on the Rangers.

Lindberg: may be ready right now, certainly could be ready at the deadline/coming out of camp next year. I mentioned early on when I was watching more full Wolfpack games that he wasn't yet the dynamic force you want to see at the AHL level, but that he was making lots of little subtle plays that were very encouraging. Recently, he's showing more of that dynamism and it's translating on the scoresheet.

Kristo: not ready right now, likely ready sometime next season. The kid is a natural scorer, who just knows how to put the puck in the net, but as others have mentioned, he continues to have WTF? type mistakes - think Brad Richards last year to get an idea of how bad - which I think put him behind all of Miller, Fast and Lindberg on the depth chart of callups. (Actually, if he were on a Buffalo or an Edmonton, I could see him playing in the pros and making those mistakes in the pros.) For those who are worried about his age, remember that he was a four year college kid, who suffered a really bad injury; I wouldn't start worrying too much until about his development until this time next year. By then he needs to be a legitimate call-up option.

Allen: is ready right now. Steady, smooth, unspectacular - not a lot of offense (although he has some potential to develop more), not a lot of grit, but a good skater and smart player who is a very solid defender in the AHL and would not embarrass on the 3rd pairing in the NHL.

McIlrath: is not ready, and may not be ready next year. He definitely has flashes of "wow", primarily in the physical aspects of his game, and he also has started to show offense that encourages you that he could have untapped potential as a bomber from the point that could develop late a la Chara. But he gets beaten to the outside a lot and falls down way too much when trying to pivot - it's not that he's a bad skater (he's actually quite good for his size in terms of speed and agility), but he loses his balance in a way that occasionally reminds me very uncomfortably of Hugh Jessiman. Now, it bears repeating that he's lost a lot of time, including his last several games, to injury (but then again that's a concern as well) and big defensemen can take a loooong time to develop (again, see Chara), so we need to be patient. I also think he feels the pressure to perform and that may play into him trying to do too much, which in turn may translate into some of the falling down and losing his guy. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I have my concerns about him long term.

 

[eco's bones]

Fast's main problem is staying healthy. He is a very smart player--one of the reasons he made the Rangers out of training camp this year. Lindberg--started slow but his game has picked up a lot in the last month or so. Kristo has kinks to work out. Allen has had a good year. McIlrath's been injury prone as a pro--it's slowing his development.

If I were to rank the Rangers Hartford guys--who is the most likely to make the Rangers next year it would be:

1. Miller
2. Allen
3. Fast
4. Lindberg
5. McIlrath
6. Kristo

No one else on the current squad has a shot right now. The Rangers have no players turning pro next year but there's some chance that a CHL/College free agent signee might leapfrog into the group like Allen did this year.

 

[Tawnos]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lindberg was completely ready during training camp next year. One full North American pro season under his belt plus an entire offseason to internalize what he learned.

People need to remember that this is Kristo's first professional season. In some ways, despite him being a year and a half older than Lindberg and Fast, those guys are much further along in their development. The downside of the college route. That being said, if he really turns on the offense, some of those gaffes don't matter so much. Not every player is going to be a great defensive player. That doesn't make them AHL lifers.

As much as we can look at this right now and say who is ready and who isn't, my point about Lindberg and the offseason really applies to all of them. A summer is a long time and a player can improve dramatically over the course of one. In a way, we saw it with Kreider. He made a mental turn in the summer that showed up immediately in Hartford. There's definitely that element to consider.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lindberg was completely ready during training camp next year. One full North American pro season under his belt plus an entire offseason to internalize what he learned.

People need to remember that this is Kristo's first professional season. In some ways, despite him being a year and a half older than Lindberg and Fast, those guys are much further along in their development. The downside of the college route. That being said, if he really turns on the offense, some of those gaffes don't matter so much. Not every player is going to be a great defensive player. That doesn't make them AHL lifers.

As much as we can look at this right now and say who is ready and who isn't, my point about Lindberg and the offseason really applies to all of them. A summer is a long time and a player can improve dramatically over the course of one. In a way, we saw it with Kreider. He made a mental turn in the summer that showed up immediately in Hartford. There's definitely that element to consider.

Actually, further to your point, we started to see it from Kreider even as early as the last few preseason games and it then carried over to his play on the Pack.

 

[Tawnos]

Actually, further to your point, we started to see it from Kreider even as early as the last few preseason games and it then carried over to his play on the Pack.

Yeah, you're right. I was just thinking about when it was obvious from the scoresheet. But the good things that he was doing in order for it to translate started in training camp.

 

[NYR Viper]

Hagelin played 4 years in the NCAA and then half a season in the AHL. Kristo needs a full year and then after that he is a bust? Kind of silly, no?

 

[Punxrocknyc19*]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lindberg was completely ready during training camp next year. One full North American pro season under his belt plus an entire offseason to internalize what he learned.

People need to remember that this is Kristo's first professional season. In some ways, despite him being a year and a half older than Lindberg and Fast, those guys are much further along in their development. The downside of the college route. That being said, if he really turns on the offense, some of those gaffes don't matter so much. Not every player is going to be a great defensive player. That doesn't make them AHL lifers.

As much as we can look at this right now and say who is ready and who isn't, my point about Lindberg and the offseason really applies to all of them. A summer is a long time and a player can improve dramatically over the course of one. In a way, we saw it with Kreider. He made a mental turn in the summer that showed up immediately in Hartford. There's definitely that element to consider.

Hagelin didnt have a problem coming out frorm college.. it depends on the player...

 

[Tawnos]

Hagelin didnt have a problem coming out frorm college.. it depends on the player...

Having a downside doesn't mean it affects every player. I wasn't even slightly implying that.

 

[Punxrocknyc19*]

Having a downside doesn't mean it affects every player. I wasn't even slightly implying that.

i was not implying that you were.. but look at this guys like Jason Krog and Matt Gilroy won the Hobey Baker award for best college player..and that award does not mean much because they were not NHL regulars at all

 

[eco's bones]

Problem with Kristo besides his defensive lapses is he disappears for stretches on the score sheet. A first pro season is a tough one--you go from playing maybe 50 times a year to 70, 80, 90 against much better competition. A lot of college players these days get to be as old as 25 but the AHL is still a lot stronger, a lot more physical grind. I wouldn't write Kristo off after a year in the minors but it seems to me he still has some hurdles to overcome. I'd like to see this guy who is an offensive player first in the 55-60 point range. He's going to have his work cut out for him hitting 50 this year. I'm thinking he falls short. Both Fast and Lindberg are more complete players who could be slotted in up and down a lineup. They know both sides of the puck. Miller IMO has the most upside of them all--has got the body, the grit, the skating and already a pretty developed understanding of what it takes to play in the NHL.

 

[slipknottin]

Why do you think Lindberg isn't close?

Because he simply is not that good. He is a good ahl player at everything. Which to me translates as a poor nhl player at everything.

 

[Tawnos]

Because he simply is not that good. He is a good ahl player at everything. Which to me translates as a poor nhl player at everything.

I bet you said exactly the same thing about Anisimov.

 

[jwelles17]

If everyone is saying Fast is NHL ready, why is everyone getting so butt-hurt on the potential of Cally leaving? Move Cally for flat out picks and bring up Fast then... Cally doesn't do much offensively, so Fast might actually bring more there... So what, we lose one penalty killer and sparkplug? To me, a few high end picks are worth it.

 

[Boom Boom Geoffrion*]

Because he simply is not that good. He is a good ahl player at everything. Which to me translates as a poor nhl player at everything.

A lot of thought went into this. Clearly.