Confirmed with Link: [NYR/MTL] Christian Thomas for Danny Kristo

[Trxjw]

It would be nice to have one of those in the forward corps.

Maybe that's why the Rangers have drafted so few goalies in the last few years. When Hank finally starts to get long in the tooth, they're planning on calling MTL about their best goalie prospect.

They did just end up with Zach Fucale...

 

[Punxrocknyc19*]

noticed he took a faceoff. is he a winger/center or just a winger???

 

[Garden Mystique]

noticed he took a faceoff. is he a winger/center or just a winger???

I think the center got chased that's why he took it.

 

[Dagoon44]

I officially dub him The Count

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Very meh on this trade.

I'm sure it's been mentioned about 50x in this thread, but I despised his game at the WJC. Yeah, the selfishness was annoying, but the way he played just didn't look like it would transition to the NHL with much ease. I'm sure he's done some significant developing since then though, so who knows.

Really one of those trades where I'm just going to have to wait and see. Kristo has played less professional hockey then Thomas, so one of the few posts I read that said he's more NHL ready might not be completely correct.

 

[GAGLine]

Very meh on this trade.

I'm sure it's been mentioned about 50x in this thread, but I despised his game at the WJC. Yeah, the selfishness was annoying, but the way he played just didn't look like it would transition to the NHL with much ease. I'm sure he's done some significant developing since then though, so who knows.

Really one of those trades where I'm just going to have to wait and see. Kristo has played less professional hockey then Thomas, so one of the few posts I read that said he's more NHL ready might not be completely correct.

Well, Kristo is older. He played 4 years at UND. He's also bigger than Thomas. Both of those probably factor into the idea that he's closer to being ready.

As far as the selfishness goes, posters who watched him at UND said that he improved a lot in that area. He can't be worse than No-Pass-Nash

 

[TheRightWay]

Very meh on this trade.

I'm sure it's been mentioned about 50x in this thread, but I despised his game at the WJC. Yeah, the selfishness was annoying, but the way he played just didn't look like it would transition to the NHL with much ease. I'm sure he's done some significant developing since then though, so who knows.

Really one of those trades where I'm just going to have to wait and see. Kristo has played less professional hockey then Thomas, so one of the few posts I read that said he's more NHL ready might not be completely correct.

Who is/was closer to NHL ready: Ryan McDonagh straight out of college or Dylan McIlrath after one pro season?

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

almost every sportswriter believes this trade is going to end up as bad for Montreal as the Gomez/Mcdonagh trade.

 

[TheRightWay]

almost every sportswriter believes this trade is going to end up as bad for Montreal as the Gomez/Mcdonagh trade.

If so, I hope it's because Kristo is a multiple time Art Ross winner. Christian Thomas is pure class and I hope he has a nice NHL career.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Who is/was closer to NHL ready: Ryan McDonagh straight out of college or Dylan McIlrath after one pro season?

Definitely a good point, and I wasn't making a definitive statement one way or the other. It was just something to think about.

 

[TheRightWay]

Definitely a good point, and I wasn't making a definitive statement one way or the other. It was just something to think about.

It's fair. Obviously there's a big difference between being a college student and playing some games on the weekend vs. living the full professional hockey lifestyle, dealing with the longer schedule, some pros who have had NHL experience and/or have been in the sport for the long time, etc. And to that extent Thomas is certainly more experienced. Still, we've seen guys like McDonagh, Hagelin, and Stepan jump almost immediately to the NHL level and we've seen guys like McIlrath, Callahan, and Anisimov take a bit of time. There's no blueprint. Every prospect is going to be different. It remains to be seen if Kristo can immediately step in at the NHL level, but at 23, you have to think the Rangers don't see him as far off or else they wouldn't have made a move for him.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

First off, D1 NCAA hockey players aren't "just students that play some hockey on the weekends". And CHL players aren't "professional" hockey players.

D1 NCAA hockey, yes, may only have one-two games per week. But these players are on the ice pretty much every day in practice. They're in the weight room. They're training constantly. And the younger players in the league face older more physically mature players than they would in the CHL. They can't take hand outs. They live on campus and take care of themselves as an adult would.

CHL is a teenager league. They're basically in foster homes during the season and are in high school classes during the week.

Not to generalize, but there is a reason why the NCAA sends players to the pro ranks more ready and physically mature than their CHL counterparts.

More practice. More weight room time. Life on their own. Playing older, more mature opponents. No hand outs. Have to maintain GPA.

 

[TheRightWay]

First off, D1 NCAA hockey players aren't "just students that play some hockey on the weekends". And CHL players aren't "professional" hockey players.

D1 NCAA hockey, yes, may only have one-two games per week. But these players are on the ice pretty much every day in practice. They're in the weight room. They're training constantly. And the younger players in the league face older more physically mature players than they would in the CHL. They can't take hand outs. They live on campus and take care of themselves as an adult would.

CHL is a teenager league. They're basically in foster homes during the season and are in high school classes during the week.

Not to generalize, but there is a reason why the NCAA sends players to the pro ranks more ready and physically mature than their CHL counterparts.

More practice. More weight room time. Life on their own. Playing older, more mature opponents. No hand outs. Have to maintain GPA.

It was obviously an exaggeration. Also, last time I checked the Rangers' AHL affiliate, which is where Thomas played last season, does not play in the CHL. Calm down.

 

[LetterJ]

First off, D1 NCAA hockey players aren't "just students that play some hockey on the weekends". And CHL players aren't "professional" hockey players.

D1 NCAA hockey, yes, may only have one-two games per week. But these players are on the ice pretty much every day in practice. They're in the weight room. They're training constantly. And the younger players in the league face older more physically mature players than they would in the CHL. They can't take hand outs. They live on campus and take care of themselves as an adult would.

CHL is a teenager league. They're basically in foster homes during the season and are in high school classes during the week.

Not to generalize, but there is a reason why the NCAA sends players to the pro ranks more ready and physically mature than their CHL counterparts.

More practice. More weight room time. Life on their own. Playing older, more mature opponents. No hand outs. Have to maintain GPA.

The bolded is entirely not true. I have friends that billet kids (including a particular family that billeted Marek Hrvik here in Moncton), and the vast majority do not attend high school courses like most other kids do. Rather, they take correspondence courses, so they have MORE time for the ice.

If you're going to generalize, maybe you should learn a LOT more about the CHL (and by the way, this poster was drafted into the CHL as well).

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

Add:

The schedule "grind" of the CHL is completely overstated and in most cases a fallacy. Take a look at how close most of the arenas are. Especially the OHL.

The NCAA schedule is just as stressful. The student athlete lives an adult life. Not a pampered teenage life.

And between tournaments, regular schedule, and playoffs the difference between the NCAA schedule and the CHL schedule is negligable in different cases.

Thomas was in the OHL from 16 yr to 19 yr.

Whereas Kristo was in the NCAA from 18 yr to 22 yr.

Thomas played that entire span against children. Kristo played that entire span against young adults.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

The bolded is entirely not true. I have friends that billet kids (including a particular family that billeted Marek Hrvik here in Moncton), and the majority do not attend high school courses like most other kids do. Rather, they take correspondence courses, so they have MORE time for the ice.

If you're going to generalize, maybe you should learn a LOT more about the CHL (and by the way, this poster was drafted into the CHL as well).

Great. So you can drop out of high school and play hockey. And, correspondence courses are...not high school courses? Thats the point of correspondence classes. To earn a GED or a deploma.

Its not true? There are homes/families that take in CHL players.

Where does that exist in college?

Let me guess, the next argument is about the number of CHL draftees compared to that of NCAA draftees? You throw enough **** at the wall and there will be enough that sticks.

The NCAA develops quality as opposed to quantity.

 

[Inferno]

personally, I think a player who spends 2 years in a CHL league + 2 years in the AHL will be more "NHL Ready" than the exact same player playing 4 years in college.

That's just my opinion.

I think if the player leaves college earlier, then it's a different argument.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

I disagree.

Its a case by case thing.

Carl Hagelin was nearly 100% NHL ready when he finished in Michigan.

Toews did pretty well for himself after two years at UND.

Even Kreider was able to step in and make an impact in the playoffs.

 

[LetterJ]

Great. So you can drop out of high school and play hockey. And, correspondence courses are...not high school courses? Thats the point of correspondence classes. To earn a GED or a deploma.

Its not true? There are homes/families that take in CHL players.

Where does that exist in college?

Let me guess, the next argument is about the number of CHL draftees compared to that of NCAA draftees? You throw enough **** at the wall and there will be enough that sticks.

The NCAA develops quality as opposed to quantity.

puck,

Respectfully, you said ``they are in high school classes during the week.``

That`s just not true, as these kids don`t go to school like normal kids (for good or for bad!!). And I never said they DROP out of school. We may graduate from high school unconventionally, but we still graduate. (And Sidney Crosby graduated locally (via correspondence despite playing in Rimouski) from here in Moncton.)

As I said previously, I have friends that billet kids locally (including two kids that billeted that are in the NYR pipeline).

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

I still would have preferred Miller to have gone to UND instead of play in Plymouth. UND staff would have developed his defensive game more.

Skjei bulked up and matured over the last year in a way i don't believe he would have in the CHL. Kreider came out of BC at 6-3, 230 lbs.

Hagelin was able to focus on his conditioning and nutrition at Michigan.

Stepan played with a handful of budding NHL stars while at Wisconsin.

The big difference between the NCAA and CHL is at the top of the talent pool. The top CHL players may be better then the top NCAA players. But i'll take teams like BC and Minnesota over some of the more promenant CHL clubs like Kitchener or London.

 

[LetterJ]

And, for the record, I`m not arguing one way or another towards the CHL versus the NCAA. Each has it`s own benefits, depending on the player.

A very good friend of mine went on to play NCAA hockey and had a very successful career in the NHL. I was not so fortunate.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

puck,

Respectfully, you said ``they are in high school classes during the week.``

That`s just not true, as these kids don`t go to school like normal kids (for good or for bad!!). And I never said they DROP out of school. We may graduate from high school unconventionally, but we still graduate. (And Sidney Crosby graduated locally (via correspondence despite playing in Rimouski) from here in Moncton.)

As I said previously, I have friends that billet kids locally (including two kids that billeted that are in the NYR pipeline).

I admit i may have a biased point of view. For personal reasons i prefer the NCAA route.

Sid also went to an American school for a short period, same one Stepan went to. Shattuck St. Mary's.

I'm not a fan of the exploitation and professional treatment that goes on in the CHL. Granted i didn't go through it.

I prefer the amature status and strict policies the NCAA employs. I like that the players have to resort to physical training and practice to make up for less games.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

And, for the record, I`m not arguing one way or another towards the CHL versus the NCAA. Each has it`s own benefits, depending on the player.

A very good friend of mine went on to play NCAA hockey and had a very successful career in the NHL. I was not so fortunate.

Agree. There are pros and cons to each.

I'd love to see sponsored tournaments pitting some CHL teams against NCAA teams.

 

[LetterJ]

I admit i may have a biased point of view. For personal reasons i prefer the NCAA route.

Sid also went to an American school for a short period, same one Stepan went to. Shattuck St. Mary's.

I'm not a fan of the exploitation and professional treatment that goes on in the CHL. Granted i didn't go through it.

I prefer the amature status and strict policies the NCAA employs. I like that the players have to resort to physical training and practice to make up for less games.

Listen,

First, Sid went to SSM at 14 years old.

Second, I completely understand your point of view. I have a younger sibling that played both junior hockey and university hockey (I myself only was drafted in the CHL). But I think you might be fooling yourself by thinking that any of these guys are amateurs (in the true sense of the word).

 

[MrEctions]

almost every sportswriter believes this trade is going to end up as bad for Montreal as the Gomez/Mcdonagh trade.

I get the feeling that it could. Kristo is underrated and I have a funny feeling that hes gonna be a real solid Nhl'er for a long time. Then again that feeling might just mean I need to take a ****, could go either way.