News Article: 2017 Training Camp & Pre-Season Discussion

[Holocene]

Does anyone believe that if we had a different coach last year we do noticeably better and go further in the playoffs? I don't.

In the Ottawa series? I think you could make a strong case. AV was out coached and didn't play his best players when it was necessary. Though this assumption relies on us having had a coach who wouldn't pull the same kind of vets > rookies bs with our defense even though the vets were trash. I'm not sure who was even available either. A coach who can recognize who is playing well and who is not at any given moment probably would have gotten us through that series.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Bereglazov didn't look much like a guy who fits the description you often attach to him. Why wouldn't anyone think he's ready to play in the NHL? Probably because he hasn't? Why do you think he is? He was good in the KHL doesn't mean he is NHL ready.

You are blurring the lines here. The conversation was whether he was more ready than Pionk.

And even on the discussion you are talking about, if you are a #1D in the AHL (a worse league than the KHL) at age 22, no one would suggest you aren't ready for a chance in the NHL. The logical progression for that player would be a spot in the NHL or if the team had a lot of depth, most would at least admit that player deserved a chance, and they lost out due to the depth of the defense. So why wouldn't a guy who's essentially a 1D in a better league than the AHL get a chance to prove himself in the NHL? That doesn't make sense. You don't bring guys over who are very accomplished in the top European leagues to get a chance in your minor leagues. I personally don't know if he belonged on the NHL team, but I can't think it looks good to other UDFA who might want to sign with the Rangers in the future when a very accomplished player in Europe is brought over here with the understanding he'll have a chance to compete for a roster spot, and he doesn't get that chance.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Why are the goalposts beng moved with regard to Bereglazov? All summer long, there were posters insisting that 1) he was the most-polished of the young Dmen vying for a spot and likely most ready, and 2), due to the KHL out-clause he was all but guaranteed a spot on the roster. He didn't have a good TCT, didn't play well enough in camp to merit more than a one game look, and then did little to impress. When one poster pointed out that the alarm bells should should be going off, a bunch of posters shouted him down claiming 'the TCT doesn't mean anything'. Well, here we are. Of the four young Dmen that looked like viable candidates, he was the least impressive.

 

[Levitate]

In the Ottawa series? I think you could make a strong case. AV was out coached and didn't play his best players when it was necessary. Though this assumption relies on us having had a coach who wouldn't pull the same kind of vets > rookies bs with our defense even though the vets were trash. I'm not sure who was even available either. A coach who can recognize who is playing well and who is not at any given moment probably would have gotten us through that series.

Weirdly I think AV outcoached Boucher for at least 3 of the first 4 games of that series...the first game and the two wins. Don't really remember the second game but vaguely have an idea that it was really boring and the Rangers played like crap.

I don't know how much Boucher out coached AV over the next two games and how much Karlsson got loaded up with so many drugs he couldn't feel his teeth anymore and went back to dominating games.

Rangers definitely were breaking the hell out of Boucher's trap system those first 4 games.

e:

You are blurring the lines here. The conversation was whether he was more ready than Pionk.

And even on the discussion you are talking about, if you are a #1D in the AHL (a worse league than the KHL) at age 22, no one would suggest you aren't ready for a chance in the NHL. The logical progression for that player would be a spot in the NHL or if the team had a lot of depth, most would at least admit that player deserved a chance, and they lost out due to the depth of the defense. So why wouldn't a guy who's essentially a 1D in a better league than the AHL get a chance to prove himself in the NHL? That doesn't make sense. You don't bring guys over who are very accomplished in the top European leagues to get a chance in your minor leagues. I personally don't know if he belonged on the NHL team, but I can't think it looks good to other UDFA who might want to sign with the Rangers in the future when a very accomplished player in Europe is brought over here with the understanding he'll have a chance to compete for a roster spot, and he doesn't get that chance.

Bereglazov was given a chance...he got the same chance everyone else in camp did. He didn't look as good as other players and the team realized he wasn't ready for the NHL level. He got a chance and couldn't seize it. He was very clearly outplayed in the preseason game he got and I'd say you also have to remember that the coaches are basing their decisions on how players look in practice as well. From Traverse City to training camp to preseason games, Bereglazov was just outplayed by other players.

Being a good D in the KHL doesn't mean you're ready for the NHL. It's a different style game played on different size ice surfaces (sometimes), lots of players have to adjust, probably moreso for a defenseman who has to be much better about their positioning. I'd say the coaches realized he needed to adjust to the north american game and that's why he was sent down. When you have players who are ready NOW, you don't give the spot to a guy who needs to learn on the job.

Personally I think he's a good prospect who needs some time. That's OK, let's give him that time and see how things look in a few months or whatever. But even if Staal and Holden weren't here, he wouldn't be my choice for the lineup to start the season. Graves, Pionk, and DeAngelo all outplayed him.

 

[Synergy27]

Does anyone believe that if we had a different coach last year we do noticeably better and go further in the playoffs? I don't.

I 100% believe that a very flawed Ranger team beats Ottawa in 6 games max with a coach who had the balls to bench Staal and also play positive hockey for a full 60 minutes.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I went back to look at the comments after the one preseason game on Bereglazov. Here is every comment on his performance once the match was finished.

I think its fair to say opinions were mixed, but it certainly wasn't so obvious to everyone that he was terrible and needed to be sent down after 1 game

"Bereglazov is simply uninspiring on North American ice. I think the skating issue which prevented his being drafted is going to make him a career Euro defender. Imagine he'll drop in our prospect rankings bigly."

"Based on this game, kinda safe to assume Bereglazov, Graves and Kampfer are going to have a hard time to secure a spot in NY..."

"I thought Bereglazov was more noticable in a good way in the 3rd. But as a Stay Home Guy. Not flashy but Pretty effective. Lets see after Another game"

"Yeah I want to see him with a parter other than Kampfer. He made plenty of mistakes with the puck on his stick in this one but I thought his game in his own end was pretty solid."

"I thought Bereglazov and Kampfer both were pretty good. I noticed Bereglazov stays out of the goalies eyeline well too. Who knows. I'm no expert."

"Actually thought it looked like Bereglazov settled in. Dunno, I liked his skating from what I saw, seems smooth for a big guy. Didn't see him have to try to win many races to the puck. I'm not sure he's NHL ready or how fast he'll adapt but I think I see some good potential there especially as a solid anchor for the 3rd pairing with someone like DeAngelo (not this year but in a general sense)."

"Bereglazov seemed to struggle at times."

"I don't like Bereglazov's style. It's just -and I could be wrong, I haven't seen enough of him to make a final judgement- he seems like an unskilled "muh shutdown" type who doesn't actually shut anything down, but coaches love him."

"Bereglazov disappointed, IMO."

"Bereglazov was solid, a few shaky moments early on but mostly settled in, just not very exciting, but later on he made a number of underrated plays defensively."

"rough start; didn't even notice him the second period (did he play?); a positive in the third. Essentially, left me wanting to see him in his next game. Get the sense he'll start in HFD and be the first call up."

"I'd be interested to see them try Bereglazov on the right considering thats where he played quite a bit in the KHL As others said I thought he started to figure it out in the third. Hopefully he builds on it next game, he can be a solid third pairing guy if he gets adjusted"

"Bereglazov looked Staal but with worse positioning, I'd like to see more from him. I wonder if he's having a tough time with the smaller ice."

"Pionk looks way better than Gloves"

"I thought he moved well in general, his passing seemed to be a bit off and if I'm being charitable I say "nerves", seemed like he tried to make plays with the puck and not just Girardi it. I'd like to see more of him and how he settles down into NA size rinks and the NHL game"

"There are more and more PMDs in this league for a very very good reason. Bereglazov is heady with the puck, but he is a stay at home D still of some kind at least. But I think we will start to value that type a bit more though. That is what happened in Sweden (redline offside was removed in 98', 05' in he NHL). I think what we are seing now is a bit of a over-correction. Nowadays teams wants at least one of those bigger defensive capable Ds. It started in the POs. Forwards and most players had gotten smaller. There where still a PF around here and there. They took some liberties. And a bigger D started to step up and took the spot light by being very physical, dominating net battles, being great on the PK. Making the other team keep their head up. Ie all the stuff that isn't noticed 5 on 5 in the regular season 5 on 5, but that still can be valuable. In a sense I think Graves got ability to fill that role better than Bereglazov. But I think the acceptance for a few players -- not fitting the working criteria -- will become a little greater with time."

"Thought Bereglazov settled down as the game went on and Kampfer was fine. Both are ok for the extra D role."

"Bereglazov didn't impress me all that much and you're not wrong about the 2nd period. I don't remember seeing him out there. Maybe he got hurt but I'm sure we were a D short. The big issue yesterday as in the Traverse City games was him and the puck. Bereglazov and the puck at least right now are not working well together."

"A little surprised he's in over Bear-Glaze... but glaze didn't show much last night, but I only caught part of the game, not sure if his play picked up in the second half."

"He didnt really get better... I struggled telling the difference between him and kampfer.. He didn't look any better. He threw a couple solid hits tho"

"All deserved but I'd like to have seen Bere get one more game."

"So AV and Gorton were officially as unimpressed with Bereglazov as I was."

"As for Bereglazov--his play last night wasn't very good. He's got to do more than just defend. He's got to be able to move the puck with some confidence. So far we haven't seen that from him."

"Nope Bear Gloves just wasn't that good. Simple as that."

 

[nyr2k2]

Regardless of what the HFNYR consensus was, the reality is that the guy came in, was given an opportunity, and could not seize it. He was brought in to make the team but was out-played by other players. That's where we're at. Hopefully he sticks around and acclimates. If not, oh well.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

It wasn't the trap vs Ottawa that beat AV, it was his player deployment with the lead late in the 3rd period multiple times.

After Game 2 in Montreal in round 1 when Staal-Holden got pinned for the last 3 minutes straight basically, and Holden broke his stick on a slash and they yielded the tying goal and then we lost in OT, your coach needs to realize right then and there that those two players should not be out defending a lead late.

Then against Ottawa there were two separate games that we ended up losing in OT after leading late in the 3rd . Both of those times he was playing Staal-Holden above Skjei-Smith and that contributed to Ottawa tying those games. Skjei was playing out of his mind well and AV "lost him on the bench" and was playing Staal over him. Sure in game 2 McD and Girardi were out for the tying goal, but Staal-Holden were getting heavy minutes down the stretch and we were just giving Ottawa tons of zone time and chances and they scored twice to tie the game. The he repeats it in game 5. You coach can't make the same types of mistakes 3 separate times in a playoff run, twice in the same series.

If he didn't fall back on his vets and instead played the guys who were "going" that night, I'm pretty confident saying we would've won that series. Then with how banged up Pittsburgh was, I mean Ottawa took them to 2OT in Game 7, there's a strong chance we could've beaten them even with how flawed our team was. I know people look back and blame Hank for being just average in the Ottawa series, but he almost single handed won us the Montreal series so in my mind the team should've been able to lift him up through an average series and I think if AV would've deployed the defense correctly they would've been able to do just that. 2017 will go down as a huge missed opportunity for this team in the Henrik era, more so than 2012 or 2015 in my opinion even though we made it further in those years, simply because the path to the Cup couldn't have worked out better for us and it was really the clearest opportunity of the Rangers and AV beating themselves (taking nothing away from Ottawa) instead of losing to a superior opponent or being out of gas or something like in past seasons.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I 100% believe that a very flawed Ranger team beats Ottawa in 6 games max with a coach who had the balls to bench Staal and also play positive hockey for a full 60 minutes.

x10000000

AV didn't get out coached by Boucher, he got out coached by himself.

 

[Mac n Gs]

x10000000

AV didn't get out coached by Boucher, he got out coached by himself.

Did you change your username recently? The new format doesn't allow for scrolling over someone's name to show what their old username was.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Did you change your username recently? The new format doesn't allow for scrolling over someone's name to show what their old username was.

Yes this is Geoff.

 

[Holocene]

x10000000

AV didn't get out coached by Boucher, he got out coached by himself.

This is more or less what I meant. Going to the Staal-Holden pairing to defend a lead ended up losing us, what, 4 games?

 

[member 116805]

He really shouldn't be speaking to the media.

Why does he need to speak to them? If I was running the organization, I would impose a rule where rookies can't speak to the media. Maybe they can do an interview with their local paper or if they are not from NA, some big paper in their home country, but they shouldn't be subjected to the same guys who are picking fights with savvy NHL vets like Dan Boyle, especially when they struggle to even understand basic English. Just not much good that can come from it, in my opinion.

What? Why wouldn't he be? Every player speaks to the media on the team.
Didn't see this kind of posts from you last year when it was Buch's interviews

 

[Irishguy42]

Chytil can speak to the media if he wants to.

I am pretty confident the Rangers don't force their players to talk to the media if they don't want to. And I am confident that the players are mature enough to tell the media to go away if they don't want to be interviewed.

It's not like Chytil is facing the "big bad media" alone.

 

[Draft Guru]

The media is the link between the players and the fans. "Shielding" a rookie from the media is one of the most absurd things I've read on these boards

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

What? Why wouldn't he be? Every player speaks to the media on the team.
Didn't see this kind of posts from you last year when it was Buch's interviews

Yeah, thats because Buchnevich didn't speak to the media. He did so I think once or twice last year, only talked to the Russian media, besides that. But that pretty much makes my point. Was he allowed to speak to the media? Probably, but he didn't. There was no good reason he had to. I would think it was because he wasn't completely comfortable with the language and didn't want his words twisted. We'll see what Chytil does, I don't think he seems too comfortable with those interviews, and I don't know why we need to hear from him. He shouldn't need to worry about giving quotes to Larry Brooks stories, let the kid play and learn the language.

 

[Revel]

Yeah, thats because Buchnevich didn't speak to the media. He did so I think once or twice last year, only talked to the Russian media, besides that. But that pretty much makes my point. Was he allowed to speak to the media? Probably, but he didn't. There was no good reason he had to. I would think it was because he wasn't completely comfortable with the language and didn't want his words twisted. We'll see what Chytil does, I don't think he seems too comfortable with those interviews, and I don't know why we need to hear from him. He shouldn't need to worry about giving quotes to Larry Brooks stories, let the kid play and learn the language.

PB, I remember Buch speaking to the NY Media several times last year. He had to use a translator, though. At first, it was a woman (who was terrible)...then he switched to some dude that was a much better translator. You don't remember?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

PB, I remember Buch speaking to the NY Media several times last year. He had to use a translator, though. At first, it was a woman (who was terrible)...then he switched to some dude that was a much better translator. You don't remember?

Some of that was before the season, rookie camp, traverse city, etc. Bobrov did that translating, and then he obviously has a job to do during the season, so they brought in a woman to do translating, but I'm pretty pretty sure he only did so twice during the season. His first game and his first goal. Maybe he also did so after he returned from the long break, but towards the end of the season, I'm nearly sure that his only interviews were to Russian reporters.

But thats a translator, its different to give your own interviews. I'd prefer rookies not be giving any interviews to begin with, as I mentioned. Translator is more acceptable for a kid who's not from NA, easier on the player that way (as long as the translators give accurate quotes), but why do people need to hear Chytil give canned answers (even more canned than most hockey players because of his lack of English vocabulary).

I feel bad for the kid watching a video like that, he clearly is not comfortable with the language, you can see him struggling just watching the video, one question he didn't understand, so he answered a different question. The last video of him being interviewed was the same thing, struggled understanding the questions. He has enough to worry about learning enough English to converse with his teammates and understand the team concepts, let him worry about that. He doesn't need to deal with giving public statements in a language he doesn't yet grasp. He doesn't owe any quotes to anyone, its not rude to the media for him to not talk to them on the record, how about people think about his situation for a second? When he's ready, he can give interviews. Until then, I would hope the team tells him he doesn't have to give any interviews in English.

 

[Revel]

Some of that was before the season, rookie camp, traverse city, etc. Bobrov did that translating, and then he obviously has a job to do during the season, so they brought in a woman to do translating, but I'm pretty pretty sure he only did so twice during the season. His first game and his first goal. Maybe he also did so after he returned from the long break, but towards the end of the season, I'm nearly sure that his only interviews were to Russian reporters.

But thats a translator, its different to give your own interviews. I'd prefer rookies not be giving any interviews to begin with, as I mentioned, translator is more acceptable for a kid who's not from NA. Why do people need to hear Chytil give canned answers (even more canned than most hockey players because of his lack of English vocabulary). I feel bad for the kid watching a video like that, he clearly is not comfortable with the language, you can see him struggling just watching the video, one question he didn't understand, so he answered a different question. He has enough to worry about learning enough English to converse with his teammates and understand the team concepts, let him worry about that. He doesn't need to deal with giving public statements in a language he doesn't yet grasp. He doesn't owe any quotes to anyone. When he's ready, he can give interviews. Until then, I would hope the team tells him he doesn't have to give any interviews in English.

Thanks for the info on translators.

I do agree that it's uncomfortable to watch Chytil interview. He doesn't comprehend what's being asked, and gives answers unrelated to the questions.

 

[Mikos87]

With Alain... yeah he does out coach himself... yeah he failed to adapt versus Boucher... versus Cooper... versus Sutter.... versus Julien...

IMO for a meticulious planner and a guy to values fatigue... him shortening the bench... especially with weaker players was stupid... just as it was to ice guys who never played together to protect leads in the final minutes. Glass-Step-Zucc were out there for a last minute goal against.

But there were a lot of last minute goals against all season... and during many periods.

In hockey circles that is a sign of a mentally soft team... one that keels over. They are a soft bunch... a weak bunch that struggles when the moment is big.

That has a lot to do with weaker character, and poor leadership. Something that AV needs to supplement, since you have a lot of young urban professionals on the roster.

This is one of the reasons I love the Lias Andersson pick... he's a hockey guy... a pure hockey guy that competes.

Same with Tony D.

You won't hear these guys muse about the fine arts, or whatever the hell these kids fresh out of college like these days. This team needs more of those good old boys from the wilderness with a 9th grade education who know that their only lot in life is the game of hockey and nothing else.

 

[Inferno]

They blow leads because our moron coach puts horrible hockey players on the ice to protect leads...we also go into a shell.

 

[Revel]

They blow leads because our moron coach puts horrible hockey players on the ice to protect leads...we also go into a shell.

Occam's Razor.

 

[Machinehead]

Does anyone believe that if we had a different coach last year we do noticeably better and go further in the playoffs? I don't.

With a competent coach, we beat Ottawa in 5.

 

[Vitto79]

They blow leads because our moron coach puts horrible hockey players on the ice to protect leads...we also go into a shell.

Hard to argue since Staal was on for big goals nor Skjei and even worse Glass on when Brsssard kicked it in

 

[darko]

I'm starting to wonder exactly how much better the KHL is than the AHL. As recently discussed in the Shesterkin thread, the KHL is dominated by a handful of teams that slaughter the rest of the league. One could make an argument that Bear Gloves is accustomed to playing against crap competition in an overrated league. It might not just be the size of the rink that's giving him issues; it could be the quality of the competition. He may not perform much better in the AHL.

Kovalchuk and co is what makes KHL better than AHL. AHL has better depth but doesn't have those top guys.