I recently moved to Seattle and will certainly be catching a few games this upcoming season. I'll give a few write ups on his play this year assuming he sticks with the T-Birds.
If this kid pans out, looks like the Rangers have their PP guy. Looking at highlights, his goals are not highlight reel goals on the rush. They are goals from someone who is always lurking around the net and seems to know where to be for rebounds and has a laser wrist shot. He really looks like a pure shooter. If only he was NHL ready now. This team desperately needs someone like him. However, he is a kid, so at couple of years, at least.
He reminds me of Brett Connelly, and they said he was not far from NHL duty when he was drafted. Gotta keep some perspective here.
He reminds me of Brett Connelly, and they said he was not far from NHL duty when he was drafted. Gotta keep some perspective here.
"For me the biggest thing was improving my overall game," he said. "Being a 200-foot player, being a guy that can be relied on for the penalty kill late in games when we're up a goal or whatever it may be. My physical play is another thing I'm working on along with my consistency, so there's a handful of things I'm working on."
Organizational assessment: The Rangers didn't have a first round pick but still ended up having a decent draft. Ryan Gropp and Robin Kovacs are two high-pace forwards with skill and physicality. The Rangers system is somewhat thin, and this won't vault them forward, but adding something is better than nothing.
Day 2 picks: Gropp plays the game with speed, intensity, and has physical abilities that can make him a force. Gropp is strong on the puck, and can flash a top-end wrist shot, as well. He can kill penalties well, but that's less due to his anticipation and more about his frame, speed and intangibles. His decisions and pace need work.
Kovacs led Sweden's second-division circuit in goals and points by an under-20 player and was also the leading scorer on his pro team. He plays a fast-tempo type of game with his above-average to high-end speed and great work ethic. He shows a tendency to play the body and plays the game with an edge. At times, he could stand to slow the game down or show better creativity and decision-making.
Zborovskiy is a smart two-way defenseman with size. He skates fine for his size, too. I don't love the offensive skill, but I've seen him make some things happen on the powerplay due to his intelligence.
Saarela came into the season as a touted prospect. However, while he played well generally, he underwhelmed at times, hence the drop. He's a very skilled puck-handler and playmaker and can evade pressure effectively due to his skill and lower-body strength. His off-puck game needs work, as his defense and physical effort aren't the best.
Morrisson is a small and slight player, but he skates real well, with a jump in his step and pressures opponents. His game is built around pace.
Huska has been on the radar for a few years as a big goalie who can move laterally, but technically he could use a lot of improvements.
Corey Pronman gave the Rangers a B
http://espn.go.com/nhl/insider/stor...nman-grades-every-nhl-team-2015-draft#Rangers
Two really good posts. Timing to be in the right place at the right time is a big deal. He is a player that doesn't have to have the puck very much to kill you.
And I get that sitting around until #41--a lot of other guys being picked before him--and your guy can seem almost anti-climatic. The main thing is he becomes a productive player. He has size and skating and what appears to be very strong elements of a goal scorer's kind of killer instinct. Those elements if they're nurtured could give us a really really good player.
And I hated to see Hagelin leave. A very underrated guy IMO.
A 'B' from Pronmann...without a #1? Shocking.
TSN and NHL Network analyst Craig Button was in Seattle earlier this season to take in a Thunderbirds game and had a chance to see Gropp firsthand.
"(Gropp's) skill is undeniable and he's got size," said Button. "When you watch the things that he's capable of doing, it excites. For the New York Rangers there's a lot to like and they're going to allow him time to develop. Much like (current Rangers prospect and former Calgary Hitmen star) Adam Tambellini – he could be that type of development projection."
Obviously the wheels aren't there (yet), but a fair amount of what I saw on his tape offensively is what I think we all want to see out of Kreider more consistently. He's got good size (6'2") for an 18 year old and gets a lot of his action below the hashmarks. His wrister is good but where I see his biggest value (esp. if he fills out) is as a guy who can win battles down low and make a career scoring garbage goals (I say that as a 100% positive thing). We all know we need to have capitalized on many more second chance opportunities than we have in the last 2 seasons; it's very likely the reason we don't have a Cup banner from either run. Maybe this guy changes that.
I don't think his size is going to be something he deploys as a weapon so much as an attribute that makes him very hard to move from his danger zones. I also don't know if I see him as a garbage goal type, so much as a guy who camps in the slot and nails his spots.
I don't see Gropp being a guy who intimidates or punishes people with his size, but rather one who pisses them off because they have to try and dislodge him from the real estate in front of the goalie.