Prospect Info: Rangers Prospects Thread (Stats in Post #1; Updated 5.29.18)

[LaffyTaffy]

By the way I am very bored at worked and checked on Cornell, they have played 2 exhibition games in which Morgan Barron had a 2 assist night in one game and was held pointless on another but had 4 SOG.

 

[nyr2k2]

Reunanen did have a 4 point night in the U20 game that he played so he hopefully doesn't stay down there for long. I am very happy with how Gettinger and Ronning are progressing, not too worried about Day not being a ppg at his level, as long as he stays healthy and sound defensively I just want him to be ready next season to go pro. All three of those guys deserve it, I am still hoping to get NHL players out of all of them.

The problem with Reunanen is that he's getting pushed out of the lineup by guys that aren't even heralded young players. TPS has some vets that are obviously going to play--Henrik Tallinder, former Ranger Ilkka Heikkinen, and Jani Forsstrom. Olli Juolevi is 19 but is a stud, so no shame playing behind him. But Elmeri Eronen and Lucas Ekestahl-Jonsson, who are 22 and 21 respectively and aren't special players, Tarmo should be able to push them if he has any NHL ambitions. Yes he's 19 and younger than those two guys but if he has an NHL future he shouldn't lose a spot in Liiga to a couple bottom-pair guys in their early 20's.

I'm not saying it's over for Tarmo but he really needs to start taking some positive steps forward. He's a guy who supposedly has puck skills who didn't show them in the relatively weak Mestis League and did nothing in Liiga but lose his roster spot. I gave him a pass last year coming off surgery, but he needs to start stepping it up if he wants a contract.

 

[Irishguy42]

I don't put any stock into NCAA exhibition games, especially when it's against CIS teams.

I also just remembered that Cornell is ECAC, so I'll be able to watch them semi-regularly (at least when they go against RPI).

 

[nyr2k2]

By the way I am very bored at worked and checked on Cornell, they have played 2 exhibition games in which Morgan Barron had a 2 assist night in one game and was held pointless on another but had 4 SOG.

Their schedule confuses me. A lot of the other teams have played like 6 games already and Cornell doesn't actually open their season until this weekend. I wonder why the delay?

 

[Irishguy42]

Their schedule confuses me. A lot of the other teams have played like 6 games already and Cornell doesn't actually open their season until this weekend. I wonder why the delay?

This is very typical with the Ivy League schools. They always have a delayed start due to academic reasons.

It sucked as a fan of an ECAC school, since pretty much all of them are in our conference :/

 

[LaffyTaffy]

I think it's for academic reasons, I know a few people at Cornell and they've been fairly busy to start the year with a lot of events in general. Easy to forget sometimes that these kids are still students.

 

[nyr2k2]

Yeah that makes sense. I guess I never realized since most of our NCAA prospects are usually in the Big 10 or Hockey East or similar conferences. Still though, I imagine the kids are practicing and if they can play exhibition games, why not real ones? I guess it doesn't matter in the end, other than maybe compressing the rest of their schedule.

 

[Irishguy42]

ECAC will rise from the ashes and become the best NCAA conference eventually. Represent!

 

[coz21]

Yeah that makes sense. I guess I never realized since most of our NCAA prospects are usually in the Big 10 or Hockey East or similar conferences. Still though, I imagine the kids are practicing and if they can play exhibition games, why not real ones? I guess it doesn't matter in the end, other than maybe compressing the rest of their schedule.

The incredibly stupid Ivy League rules only allow teams to play 7 non-conference games.

 

[nyr2k2]

The incredibly stupid Ivy League rules only allow teams to play 7 non-conference games.

That does seem pretty stupid. What's the rationale behind that?

 

[coz21]

That does seem pretty stupid. What's the rationale behind that?

Basically because "Academics" despite the fact that other excellent academic schools don't do this and that most Ivy League athletes aren't exactly lining up for the most difficult curriculum.

Here's a link to the rules if you care. http://ivyserver.princeton.edu/ivy/downloads/rulesummary/ivysummary.pdf

 

[coz21]

It doesn't compress their schedule as you mentioned it just shortens it. Also hockey is the only sport that the Ivy league is competitive nationally in that it really affects.

 

[Revel]

It doesn't compress their schedule as you mentioned it just shortens it. Also hockey is the only sport that the Ivy league is competitive nationally in that it really affects.

There's a reason for that...

 

[coz21]

There's a reason for that...

I'm not sure what you mean.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

It doesn't compress their schedule as you mentioned it just shortens it. Also hockey is the only sport that the Ivy league is competitive nationally in that it really affects.

This isn't actually true. Of the traditional "four major" sports, yes, but they compete in other, arguably more popular sports (certainly in terms of US youth participation) such as soccer and lacrosse.

There's a reason for that...

I'm not sure what you mean.

They don't offer athletic scholarships.

 

[nyr2k2]

Tarmo Reunanen made it back into the lineup for TPS on the third pair.

Lias Andersson and Frolunda play a bit later.

 

[nyr2k2]

Virta had two assists, on the GTG and GWG. TPS came back to win 5-4 after failing behind 3-0. Virta is tied for 12th in scoring in the league and most of the guys he's tied with have played one or two more games than him.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Hopefully Virta can turn into a solid 4th liner for the Rangers

Would be nice to have another guy like Fast that is cheap and can play the 4th line

 

[Opak]

The problem with Reunanen is that he's getting pushed out of the lineup by guys that aren't even heralded young players. TPS has some vets that are obviously going to play--Henrik Tallinder, former Ranger Ilkka Heikkinen, and Jani Forsstrom. Olli Juolevi is 19 but is a stud, so no shame playing behind him. But Elmeri Eronen and Lucas Ekestahl-Jonsson, who are 22 and 21 respectively and aren't special players, Tarmo should be able to push them if he has any NHL ambitions. Yes he's 19 and younger than those two guys but if he has an NHL future he shouldn't lose a spot in Liiga to a couple bottom-pair guys in their early 20's.

I'm not saying it's over for Tarmo but he really needs to start taking some positive steps forward. He's a guy who supposedly has puck skills who didn't show them in the relatively weak Mestis League and did nothing in Liiga but lose his roster spot. I gave him a pass last year coming off surgery, but he needs to start stepping it up if he wants a contract.

As a TPS fan, I really don't agree with this sentiment at all.

First of all, Tarmo HAS taken positive steps forward. The jump from Mestis to Liiga is big, especially for a young defenseman like him. Despite that, he has been able to bring his puck-moving skills to the "big league", at times looking like a Liiga regular. The bad news is that his defensive skills aren't fully developed yet (-3 tonight), which is why he gets less ice time than some of the other guys. That sort of stuff happens to a lot of young defensemen out there, time and patience are the only things that can fix that. You can't set up a laundry list of demands that a prospect defenseman needs to fill in a certain amount of time in order to become an NHLer, that's just not realistic at all. Tarmo is and has always been a long-term project for both TPS and the Rangers, I'd say it'll take a few years to really see what kind of upside he really has.

Secondly, Eronen is a rock-solid all-around defenseman. The reason why you've never heard of him is because he's 5'9'' and he ended up being a late bloomer. His ATOI is 12th highest in the entire Liiga, plus he's been the ice-time leader for TPS for the past few games (27 min tonight, 28:33 vs Ilves) -- a guy like that is not coming off the lineup for Tarmo. The TPS fanbase has pretty much accepted the fact that Eronen will be gone very soon -- whether it'll end up being the NHL or the KHL, it remains to be seen. Ekeståhl-Jonsson already has a "higher" pro resume from Sweden, so it'll be tough for Tarmo to compete against him as well. LEJ isn't a defensive stalwart either, but as long as he keeps putting up points, they'll likely keep him in the lineup. If he has bad games, I'm certain that they'll throw him into the pressbox.

Lastly, Tarmo hasn't lost anything yet. Sure, he played one U20 game, but that sort of stuff happens all the time here. He will get more Liiga games and ice time this season, but don't expect him to be a regular just yet. TPS is a win-now team, it's always tough for a prospect to be in that kind of environment.

 

[nyr2k2]

Well, I'm glad to hear that you disagree with my assumptions, since I obviously want him to succeed. And thanks for filling me in on a guy like Eronen. I obviously don't watch Liiga, or follow it closely, so this is good info.

That said, the fact that his defensive game is still heavily a work-in-progress while his offensive contributions are nonexistent doesn't exactly augur well for him. I understand he's young, and a defenseman, and on a team with a lot of competition, but he still needs to start showing he excels at something.

 

[Ori]

I`m happy that we have Lias A. so promising for the future for us - when NHL hockey in RangerTown miss predictions this season, and we`ve issue with depth this year. Hopefully Lias will be recalled early next year in 2018 - if we will miss playoffs, I don`t mind him get some NHL experience before next year training camp.

 

[coz21]

This isn't actually true. Of the traditional "four major" sports, yes, but they compete in other, arguably more popular sports (certainly in terms of US youth participation) such as soccer and lacrosse.



They don't offer athletic scholarships.

I guess I wasn't clear. I didn't mean that hockey is the only sport they compete nationally in. I meant it's the only one they do that the scheduling rules affect.

As for the scholarship issue, it's become easier to get around that as an Ivy with every Ivy other than Dartmoujth giving free tution below a certain threshold.

 

[nyr2k2]

Andersson and Frolunda starting soon. They're playing Vaxjo, who feature our old buddy Brendan Shinnimin.

 

[nyr2k2]

Virta with an assist so far for TPS. He's been racking those up with 11 in 17 games.

Reunanen is a scratch, continuing that unfortunate trend.

Lakatos is also playing at the moment.

 

[nyr2k2]

I don't know if I missed it originally or they changed the scoring, but Virta also has a goal as TPS is up 2-1. He'll have a minimum of 15 points in 17 games which will easily put him top ten in Liiga scoring.