Worst Rangers First Round Pick since the 2004-05 Lockout
- Thread starter Mandar
- Start date
Harbour Dog
Registered User
McIlrath, and it isn't even remotely close. Every other guy was either the obvious choice or there were legitimate arguments for taking them where they did.
NoQuitInNewMexico
Registered User
The process for drafting Andersson and especially McIlrath was hard to justify even at the time. Injuries might have cut into their ability to stick as role players, but still.
eco's bones
Registered User
The McIlrath draft wasn't that strong. Tarasenko, Fowler, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Hayes were the best from the first round we could have taken. There were a lot of busts. One never knows also when it comes to injuries. Was Dan Blackburn a bust? because his career was destroyed by a freak injury. Stefan Cherneski the same. Suffering a displaced kneecap off of a weird hit by Kyle Jean certainly set McIlrath back a lot.
To me Kravtsov is worse in that he has the talent to be a star but no drive. That was also a deeper draft.
To me Kravtsov is worse in that he has the talent to be a star but no drive. That was also a deeper draft.
2003, pre-lockout. Was thinking the same thing
Sorry, I was thinking Huge Specimen rather than McIlrath, same terrible picks, but Jessiman's draft was the best of all-time and we f***ing donked it.
Big Mac and its not close. Everybody other than the Rangers Brass knew to take Tarasenko or Fowler.
That should have been the easiest pick the rangers made until the kakko and laf drafts. It was a no brainer type pick.
Unfortunately we had no brains
That should have been the easiest pick the rangers made until the kakko and laf drafts. It was a no brainer type pick.
Unfortunately we had no brains
Harbour Dog
Registered User
Without hindsight, I think I would still put McIlrath slightly ahead of Jessiman as the worst; just because a huge part of how terrible the latter pick turned out was because of how drastically the game changed once they removed the two-line pass rule.
With hindsight though, the Jessiman pick is gut-wrenching.
Crease
Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
- Jul 12, 2004
- 24,104
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Dylan McIlrath is the obvious #1.
Lias Andersson is my #2. Rangers wanted Elias Pettersson and after he was taken off the board it was like the scouting team went, "well this kid's name is pretty close."
Lias Andersson is my #2. Rangers wanted Elias Pettersson and after he was taken off the board it was like the scouting team went, "well this kid's name is pretty close."
The Crypto Guy
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- Jun 26, 2017
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McIlrath and I don't think it's particularly close.
Lafreniere and Kakko, while disappointing so far, are still decent NHL players and were basically the only picks to make. With Lafreniere, I know people say, "Oh we could have taken Stutzle," but that was never going to be the pick. Every team would have taken Lafreniere and if they didn't, they'd have taken Byfield. Same for Kakko--he was the only choice.
I thought Sanguinetti was a solid pick at the time. Of course missing on Giroux sucks. Varlamov, Foligno, Backlund? I wouldn't lose sleep over that.
Andersson was a tough one. They wanted one of a couple guys that went right before him. Suzuki and Necas are regrets, but were either really considered options at #7? I mean maybe Andersson shouldn't have been either, but it's not like they skipped over a bunch of obviously better players here.
They obviously didn't do enough homework on Kravtsov to find out that he was a little bitch, but again, not a huge amount of impact guys that we missed out on. I hate this player but it wasn't the worst pick--a gamble on tools and some short sample performance. Didn't work out.
McIlrath was just reactionary and made using poor logic.
Lafreniere and Kakko, while disappointing so far, are still decent NHL players and were basically the only picks to make. With Lafreniere, I know people say, "Oh we could have taken Stutzle," but that was never going to be the pick. Every team would have taken Lafreniere and if they didn't, they'd have taken Byfield. Same for Kakko--he was the only choice.
I thought Sanguinetti was a solid pick at the time. Of course missing on Giroux sucks. Varlamov, Foligno, Backlund? I wouldn't lose sleep over that.
Andersson was a tough one. They wanted one of a couple guys that went right before him. Suzuki and Necas are regrets, but were either really considered options at #7? I mean maybe Andersson shouldn't have been either, but it's not like they skipped over a bunch of obviously better players here.
They obviously didn't do enough homework on Kravtsov to find out that he was a little bitch, but again, not a huge amount of impact guys that we missed out on. I hate this player but it wasn't the worst pick--a gamble on tools and some short sample performance. Didn't work out.
McIlrath was just reactionary and made using poor logic.
I was so excited we were getting Fowler since he dropped.
And numbnuts picked McIlrath. That wasn't a horrible choice in hindsight. It was at the time also.
People need to move the F on with the McIlrath thing. There's plenty of blame to go around in recent memory to go worrying about that far back. They blew it on Lias, they blew it on Kravtsov. They took the guys every single one if us would have taken in Kakko and Laf and never gave them opportunity to excel anyway. Coming off a great post season for the kid line, they went out and Cblocked them in the lineup this year by adding Tarasenko and Kane. That creates resentment. Kakko and Laf can directly say that their results are below expectation because they are the only #1 and 2 OA that you can say get no PP time. Because their numbers are down their contracts will reflect that. You can't tell me some GM wouldn't be happy to point that out to them if he wanted to lure them away. McIlrath is in his thirties now. Even if he had worked out he would be in the Twilight of his career. Let's get over it.
apoptygma
2-5-9-11
- Apr 9, 2011
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Voted McIlrath, even at the time it looked bad, NYR was a young team then with other players comming in, but gambling on a big stay at home D instead of a offensive talent felt really wrong.
Lias wasnt a great pick either, but it was the first 1. rounder NYR had in several years, and at the time he was seen as a middle six forward with grit, and we had like no prospects at that time. Getting a young player to the team was very important at that time, and while he looks like a bust there wasnt really anyone else as the we picked 7. in a 6 player draft.
Lias wasnt a great pick either, but it was the first 1. rounder NYR had in several years, and at the time he was seen as a middle six forward with grit, and we had like no prospects at that time. Getting a young player to the team was very important at that time, and while he looks like a bust there wasnt really anyone else as the we picked 7. in a 6 player draft.
Not to exonerate Cigar Face from his stupidity, but to be fair there were a LOT of people in these forums defending the McIlrath selection after that draft. Not so many now lol.
Many people wanted no part of Cam Fowler, calling him weak and one dimensional, saying he won’t survive in the NHL. Plus we already had del Zotto and didn’t need another one.
But to those who mentioned it, you’re right about seeing a guy like Fowler or Zach Parise fall into your lap while you’re watching the draft, but then your ‘brain’ trust passes on them as well.
It’s crazy to see who we could have drafted instead of Jessiman - Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber - but at the time I was hoping to hear Parise’s name, and I didn’t.
Same with hoping to hear Fowler’s name, and hearing the same kind of mistake a few years later.
Many people wanted no part of Cam Fowler, calling him weak and one dimensional, saying he won’t survive in the NHL. Plus we already had del Zotto and didn’t need another one.
But to those who mentioned it, you’re right about seeing a guy like Fowler or Zach Parise fall into your lap while you’re watching the draft, but then your ‘brain’ trust passes on them as well.
It’s crazy to see who we could have drafted instead of Jessiman - Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber - but at the time I was hoping to hear Parise’s name, and I didn’t.
Same with hoping to hear Fowler’s name, and hearing the same kind of mistake a few years later.
HockeyBasedNYC
Feeling it
The Crypto Guy
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- Jun 26, 2017
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It was an awful pick.
14 of the next 15 picks after him have already played more NHL games than him.
Some notables picked soon after him: Necas, Suzuki, Mittelstadt, Vilardi and Thomas. Only saving grace is we got Chytil later in the round.
McIlrath. Fowler and Tarasenko were obvious picks in that spot. Both fell into our lap. We decided to outsmart everyone else and drafted a bust.
The obvious answer is either Mac or Lias.
People forget Mac was still projected to go mid 1st in that draft and was ranked ahead of Tarasenko on a lot of outlets. It seems like they had their mind made up early that they were going to pick him.
The Lias pick seemed like a panic pick to me. Once Pettersson and Glass were off the board they didn't know who to pick so they went with the "safe" option. Stack him up against the rest of the 1st round and he is bottom 3, which is pretty awful.
People forget Mac was still projected to go mid 1st in that draft and was ranked ahead of Tarasenko on a lot of outlets. It seems like they had their mind made up early that they were going to pick him.
The Lias pick seemed like a panic pick to me. Once Pettersson and Glass were off the board they didn't know who to pick so they went with the "safe" option. Stack him up against the rest of the 1st round and he is bottom 3, which is pretty awful.
HockeyBasedNYC
Feeling it
I still find myself intermittently screaming at the TV to draft Fowler.
I also recall the immediate meltdown in here thereafter
If they wanted to go D that year, thats the way they shouldve went
I also recall the immediate meltdown in here thereafter
If they wanted to go D that year, thats the way they shouldve went
Killem Dafoe
Hold my baby, man.
effen
Registered User
- Feb 3, 2018
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You need to separate process from results. The idea was fine.
To take two you cited, Vilardi would be a bad pick as an unnecessary risk as back problems rarely get better (this was false in his case) and he was a poor skater who projected as a wing (this turned out to be true).
Mittelstadt would be a bad pick as he profiled as an empty calories finesse guy and those aren't in short supply and rarely help you win deep in the playoffs without a lot of support. Robert Thomas is something of an extremely rich man's version of that type of player and he's a 1A/1B center, not a true #1.
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The Crypto Guy
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