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

[darko]

None of those players are staars

Bit hard to draft stars with late 1st rounders. And then there was a 4 year gap where we didn't even have a 1st rounder.

 

[MikeSteaks]

Wonderful pick.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

I guess we know the Rangers have a scout in McKenzie's panel.

I think that’s safe to say, especially after him rattling off their list before their pick last year

 

[Fitzy]

It took Kuznetsov 4 years post draft to come over. (And NYR ignored him in 2010) Hopefully that isn't the case with this kid.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Well, I'm going to be honest..i'm absolutely LIVID we passed on Walhstorm. And to make things worse now we get to watch him light us up in an Isles jersey for the next 12 years.

I really hope this kid pans out. TSN apparently thinks his upside is just a 2nd line player. Yea the kid had a great playoffs, but that was a very small sample size.

 

[RalphyDanger]

Tonight we went out swinging. If we hit a homer on any of these 3, it will be a big success.

I also think that these guys aren’t necessarily going to be 100% swings or misses K’Andre looks like a big guy who
can move around on the ice pretty well. I like Vitali. I’m not sure about the Lundkvist pick. But to say we went out swinging seems a bit early, seems like last draft.

 

[Mikos87]

It took Kuznetsov 4 years post draft to come over. (And NYR ignored him in 2010) Hopefully that isn't the case with this kid.

He wanted to play for Russia at Sochi and thought his chances would be better off in Chelyabinsk.

As soon as he wasn't named to the team, he can stateside.

I'm curious, Kuznetsov played wing as a teenager.

Is it possible that the Rangers see Vitali as a potential center down the line?

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

It took Kuznetsov 4 years post draft to come over. (And NYR ignored him in 2010) Hopefully that isn't the case with this kid.

He only has a year left on his contract, and it was pretty well known Kuznetzov was going to take a few years to come over, I wouldn’t worry too much about it

 

[Tawnos]

He only has a year left on his contract, and it was pretty well known Kuznetzov was going to take a few years to come over, I wouldn’t worry too much about it

The way it sounds, it’s possible he can come over this year.

 

[AKA Chief]

Mitttestadt isn’t even proven better than Andersson yet, let alone anything like the gap between McIlrath and Tarasenko. Andersson has a great season last year imo.

Also they got Chytil when nobody saw it coming just last year.

I was one of those wanting Tarasenko but I think the Rangers did not have a good idea that he'd come over, which I think affected that pick. Now, that doesn't excuse the Rangers for not taking other players over McIlrath. If you heard the talk about Kravtsov, he seems a slam dunk to come over after next season, and maybe even next season (although less likely).

 

[SnowblindNYR]

very much wanted Dobson, thrilled if we got Wahlstrom then this happened. Trusting the Rangers scouting on this one. Question I have is why did we leave Veleno on the board with the two late 1sr rounders.

What exactly does Veleno bring to the table? Everything I hear of him doesn't jive with here he's rated. Plus we're pretty deep at center prospects.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

The way it sounds, it’s possible he can come over this year.

KHL players have the option to buy out their contracts from teams, I’m not sure familiar with the specifics but I remember seeing there’s some kind of date they need to inform their team of, but it sounds like Kravtsov might be able to

 

[Kakko]

Most people had him 10-15, with some even lower than where we took him. Taking into account that Russians are consistently underrated in the draft, I think it's great value.

 

[Doctyl]

I hate that we didn't trade up for Zadina or take Wahlstrom, but I don't think Kravtsov is a bad pick.

It's just that, like Lias Andersson last year, I don't think he's the best pick. I don't understand why this organization has to go off the reservation so often in the first round. It's like they are trying to outsmart people.

But they need to take a look and realize that their track record of doing this in the first round sucks, and that if they went with convention they'd be much better off, historically. Tarasenko or Fowler over McIlrath. Mittlestadt over Andersson. Probably Walhstrom over Kravtsov.

Stop getting cute, Gordie Clark and Jeff Gorton.

Mittelstadt looked eerily similar to another huge specimen who dominated high schoolers that the rangers had drafted in the early 2000s over other qualified players. I dont blame them at all for being afraid of him, I was at the time. Andersson is going to be a fine player and Krafts seems to have a crazy high ceiling, so its not like were just picking safe players.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

It took Kuznetsov 4 years post draft to come over. (And NYR ignored him in 2010) Hopefully that isn't the case with this kid.

that's part of the Russian Factor for you.

 

[Pizza]

**** man I love this pick

Yuuuuuuuge upside here

Same with Miller and Lundqvist

Full disclosure. I was pretty surprised by our first pick, but I've been thinking about it.

I'm sure that many of the folks criticizing these picks have performed what they sincerely believe is pretty extensive due diligence.

I absolutely respect that.

But how many trips did they take to Russia to watch this kid and spend time with him in his world?

Not trying to be flip or sarcastic here.

I just feel it's prudent to understand what went into making this pick before you judge it prematurely.

 

[Doctyl]

that's part of the Russian Factor for you.

There is no russian factor.

This xenophobic mindset is how you pick McIlrath over Tarasenko.

 

[NYR713]

When we were doing the poll for the late picks I had brought up how I'd love to get him, even though he wasn't on the list to vote for. Definitely an intriguing prospect but I'd be lying if I said I'm not surprised they went with him at 9, especially with Wahlstrom, Dobson and Bouchard. Let's hope it's the right pick.

 

[and 99 others]

To anyone seriously upset with this pick and for not taking Wahlstrom, please take a look at some of his footage first. Kid's the real deal and will pan out better than Wahlstrom



if you don't want to watch his full game start at 9 minutes 7 seconds.

 

[RalphyDanger]

Reposting this vid to point out epic pass at 3:47. Me and my buddies always try to pull this off in beer league, and maybe succeed 5%.

Once again I’ll say I like the pick. Looks like the guy has quick hands, can make a solid set up pass, and the puck comes off his stick pretty quick when he shoots.

After watching this video it looks like he can freeze some goalies. Hopefully he can improve on his skills, and I can eventually buy a jersey and rep it with pride.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Reposting this vid to point out epic pass at 3:47. Me and my buddies always try to pull this off in beer league, and maybe succeed 5%.

Once again I’ll say I like the pick. Looks like the guy has quick hands, can make a solid set up pass, and the puck comes off his stick pretty quick when he shoots.

After watching this video it looks like he can freeze some goalies. Hopefully he can improve on his skills, and I can eventually buy a jersey and rep it with pride.

That looks like Kuznetsov's patented pass, same pass Zucc made in game 1 of the ECF against Price.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

the problem with player like this is that he is a complementary player, not somebody that you build around kind of like Nash. We needed to get that offensive wizard, sadly I don't think there was an obvious one in this draft.

 

[Pizza]

What are the current vitals on him please?

Height? Weight?

 

[Doctyl]

the problem with player like this is that he is a complementary player, not somebody that you build around kind of like Nash. We needed to get that offensive wizard, sadly I don't think there was an obvious one in this draft.

I really appreciate the deep scouting you've put into this player. 1st overall Rocket Richard winning talent at 9th overall. Great job pointing this out! I feel better about our draft now.

 

[pblawr]

I love this pick.

I would have rated him 2nd or 3rd overall.

He scored 7 points in the KHL this regular season. That compares to 10 for Tarkasenko, 9 for Panarin and 8 for Kuznetsov in their pre-draft years. Kucherov and Buchnevich had 2. Those aren't best case scenarios, those are the most similar players to him based on pre-draft, regular season output. And that's without even accounting for the most impressive part of his resume, which was when he almost put up a point per game in the playoffs. When he played in the VHL and the MHL, the results were borderline laughable.

It's clearly not a case of him putting up points because of the situation he's in. He oozes skill. He dangles and carves through veterans in the 2nd best league in the world. He's 6'4" and he blows by pro-level defensemen with speed. He wins puck battles, controls the puck, makes high level passes, and can beat goalies cleanly with his shot or dekes.

As far as I can tell, the most comparable players to him at this age from the KHL are Tarasenko, Panarin, and Kuznetsov, and they are all perennial all-star, franchise cornerstone players. For me, a guy with that profile is more attractive than anyone else in this draft outside of Dahlin (obviously), and maybe Svechnikov. I think taking him 9th is a home run.