Prospect Info: With the 9th Overall Pick the New York Rangers Select Vitali Kravtsov

[Amazing Kreiderman]

He should go back another year. Andersson probably should have stayed the full year in Sweden as well.

Chytil was a different story. Lousy league glad he stayed.

The same thing I've been saying all along. For Chytil it made sense because the AHL was a step up compared to the league where he came from. With the SHL and KHL, that's just not the case

 

[Fvital92]

The same thing I've been saying all along. For Chytil it made sense because the AHL was a step up compared to the league where he came from. With the SHL and KHL, that's just not the case

I can't see the difference that could have happen if Lias played his entire season in the AHL or in the SHL for his development to say the truth.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I can't see the difference that could have happen if Lias played his entire season in the AHL or in the SHL for his development to say the truth.

Playing at different levels, being allowed to play for his national team, the SHL was the better option for Lias. In my opinion, there has to be a good reason to take an 18-year old out of his own environment and bring him over. With Chytil, there was a good reason. Extraliga isn't a great league. The AHL is a significant upgrade.

 

[kovazub94]

We will never know if playing well in the AHL helped his case to represent Sweden at the men’s Worlds. Definitely didn’t hurt.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

The same thing I've been saying all along. For Chytil it made sense because the AHL was a step up compared to the league where he came from. With the SHL and KHL, that's just not the case

You're not wrong, but there are benefits to playing in the A over the KHL for him too.

 

[Atas2000]

You're not wrong, but there are benefits to playing in the A over the KHL for him too.

Such as?

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

Just gonna drop this here, Manny has worked on his on conversion rates for Leagues and this is the adjusted PPG for this draft class. Remember that this isn't age adjusted or anything like that, it's League adjusted PPG so take it for what it is...

But also, use only this because Kravtsov is #2 and Wahlström isn't on the list

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Such as?

Better strength training facilities and supervision (nutrition ties into this as well), being able to monitor his minutes/ice time, adjusting to the smaller rinks, being a beast with Chytil.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Just gonna drop this here, Manny has worked on his on conversion rates for Leagues and this is the adjusted PPG for this draft class. Remember that this isn't age adjusted or anything like that, it's League adjusted PPG so take it for what it is...

But also, use only this because Kravtsov is #2 and Wahlström isn't on the list

#QoOMatters

 

[Jonas1235]

Regarding Kraftsov 2018-2019 season, isn't it better to have a kid tag along at the NHL level for his first season (like 60 games) than to play him 9 games and bury him in the minors where he will be unhappy and play with lesser players? lesser facilities, lesser coaches.

Play him 10 minutes a game, 60 games at NHL level. Use him in special situations, play with another Russian linemate. Let him live the NHL life.

Past Russian guys have sulked in the minors and made them want to go back to Russia.

 

[Doctyl]

Regarding Kraftsov 2018-2019 season, isn't it better to have a kid tag along at the NHL level for his first season (like 60 games) than to play him 9 games and bury him in the minors where he will be unhappy and play with lesser players? lesser facilities, lesser coaches.

Play him 10 minutes a game, 60 games at NHL level. Use him in special situations, play with another Russian linemate. Let him live the NHL life.

Past Russian guys have sulked in the minors and made them want to go back to Russia.

If you want to burn a year of his ELC playing him potentially over his head on a team that’s going nowhere, yea sure.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Regarding Kraftsov 2018-2019 season, isn't it better to have a kid tag along at the NHL level for his first season (like 60 games) than to play him 9 games and bury him in the minors where he will be unhappy and play with lesser players? lesser facilities, lesser coaches.

Play him 10 minutes a game, 60 games at NHL level. Use him in special situations, play with another Russian linemate. Let him live the NHL life.

Past Russian guys have sulked in the minors and made them want to go back to Russia.

Eh, if he's on the team for 40+ games, it counts as an accrued season, meaning it brings him to UFA status at age 25. PS: Want to know the total number of players who played in the NHL at age 18 straight out of the draft?

 

[darko]

Wouldn't mind if he goes back to KHL for another season.

 

[Tawnos]

Regarding Kraftsov 2018-2019 season, isn't it better to have a kid tag along at the NHL level for his first season (like 60 games) than to play him 9 games and bury him in the minors where he will be unhappy and play with lesser players? lesser facilities, lesser coaches.

Play him 10 minutes a game, 60 games at NHL level. Use him in special situations, play with another Russian linemate. Let him live the NHL life.

Past Russian guys have sulked in the minors and made them want to go back to Russia.

It’s all a matter of communication and the decision is in his hands, regarding the minors. If the pitch is that he will play in Hartford, that they’ll give him as many minutes as he shows he can handle, that they’ll give him the training room and nutritional support he needs, and he decides to come over... he’s not going to be sulking down there. He might be determined to surprise everyone and make it to the big team, but they have to make sure he’s going in fully informed.

Im fine with whatever decision he makes. To me they’re equal. Either he plays in the better league or he plays in the better development environment. Whichever he decides will be fine. You can see why the Rangers might want him in North America. You can see why he might want to go back to Russia. There’s no right or wrong answer here.

 

[kovazub94]

Eh, if he's on the team for 40+ games, it counts as an accrued season, meaning it brings him to UFA status at age 25. PS: Want to know the total number of players who played in the NHL at age 18 straight out of the draft?

List of Russians only.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

List of Russians only.

Because we are talking about a Russian prospect. The comparisons are Russians. They have the same background, come from the same leagues. Leagues that don't have an agreement with the NHL about transfers

 

[kovazub94]

Because we are talking about a Russian prospect. The comparisons are Russians. They have the same background, come from the same leagues. Leagues that don't have an agreement with the NHL about transfers

I get it but this turn in discussion (Kravtsov in the NHL next season) is too far fetched, and there’s really nothing here to differentiate Russian prospects from non-Russian. Not many 18-year olds of any background get to stay in the NHL in their draft year.

 

[Atas2000]

Better strength training facilities and supervision (nutrition ties into this as well), being able to monitor his minutes/ice time, adjusting to the smaller rinks, being a beast with Chytil.

Adjusting to smaller rinks. Period.

Better facilities? Are you even serious? North Americans are just amazing at overrating their minors. Do you have an idea what a KHL franchize is?

Nutrition? We have McDonald's in Russia too, regretably. No seriously, do you really think AHL nutrition "experts" can give him something he won't be able to get with a KHL team?

Your obsession with monitoring a player is okay, but not helpful for development. So far Kravtsov made it to the draft top 10 while being "monitored" within Russia's most productive hockey players foundry in Chelyabinsk. People in the NHL get all dizzy at times because they don't have a prospect within an hour drive. Why?

How about playing with and against KHLers who are whatever your bias for Chytil is better for now. Chytil is still a prospect too.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I get it but this turn in discussion (Kravtsov in the NHL next season) is too far fetched, and there’s really nothing here to differentiate Russian prospects from non-Russian. Not many 18-year olds of any background get to stay in the NHL in their draft year.

Yes, there is. Russian prospects aren't playing in a competition with a transfer agreement. Russian prospects have a better alternative than the AHL.

 

[Leetch3]

what does his KHL team look like in terms of depth? how much playing time will he realistically get? ice time in the KHL for an 18 year old certainly isn't a given

 

[Leetch3]

also my interest in getting him to the AHL sooner is directly tied to where chytil is gonna play...if chytil is gonna be in the AHL then the idea of him and kravtsov playing together and developing chemistry is really appealing. but i think chytil will be in ny

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Because we are talking about a Russian prospect. The comparisons are Russians. They have the same background, come from the same leagues. Leagues that don't have an agreement with the NHL about transfers

My favorite is when we are supposed to compare him to Chytil who literally comes from a part of the world farther away from Kravtsov than from New York.

They are all from Eastern Europe. Why not just compare them to each other?

 

[EdJovanovski]

My favorite is when we are supposed to compare him to Chytil who literally comes from a part of the world farther away from Kravtsov than from New York.

They are all from Eastern Europe. Why not just compare them to each other?

The distance from Czech Republic to NYC is twice the distance from Czech Republic to Chelyabinsk edit: just found out he's from some weird port city near North Korea

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I get it but this turn in discussion (Kravtsov in the NHL next season) is too far fetched, and there’s really nothing here to differentiate Russian prospects from non-Russian. Not many 18-year olds of any background get to stay in the NHL in their draft year.

Alright. Let's look at Russians in the AHL then at the age of 18.

Yeah. Great list. A total of 5 Russian 18-year olds have played more than 20 games. The difference between Russians and other European nationalities is that Russian leagues don't have a transfer agreement with the NHL and that Russian players have a better alternative than the AHL. This also goes for Swedish prospects FYI. There's nothing pointing at Kravtsov being in North America being a good thing for his development. It could happen but why not go with what has worked in the past?

Kucherov stayed in the KHL for a year after being drafted, then moved to major juniors before making the NHL. Kuznetsov stayed in the KHL for 4 more years after being drafted. That's what was best for their development. Even Malkin stayed in Russia for 2 years after being drafted. The first year was the lockout season, sure. But he didn't come over in 2005 either. He only joined in 2006. He developed in Russia for 2 years after being drafted.

Unless Kravtsov is ready to contribute, the best place for him is in the KHL. And nothing points to Kravtsov being ready for the NHL. Playing in the KHL, against better opposition is, in my opinion, better for his development.

The Chytil comparison makes no sense because:

A.) Extraliga has a transfer-agreement with the NHL
B.) The AHL is better than Extraliga, making a move better for Chytil's development

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

My favorite is when we are supposed to compare him to Chytil who literally comes from a part of the world farther away from Kravtsov than from New York.

They are all from Eastern Europe. Why not just compare them to each other?

All Europeans are the same haha. Yeah, I hear that a lot. "Oh, you moved to Austria. I thought both the Netherlands and Austria were part of Germany"