Prospect Info: 2018 NHL Draft / Pick #9 - Vitali Kravtsov (RW) - Part IV

[Mugless]

He's wearing the C. Niiiiice.

 

[bl02]

Never been this hyped up for a WJC. K'Andre has set the bar so high after his start to the year at Wisconsin. Just hope he plays a solid game and when is the last time we had a prospect who is playing on the first line of a top team and some feel could be the top player of the tournament? Gonna be a lot of trash talking between many fans for sure lol.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Don’t want him to be a center at all
Our biggest organizational need is scoring winger

 

[Irishguy42]

Don’t want him to be a center at all
Our biggest organizational need is scoring winger

How the Russian National Team uses him has little bearing on how he will be used with the Rangers.

He plays wing with Traktor.

If anything, this just shows versatility.

 

[RGY]

Never been this hyped up for a WJC. K'Andre has set the bar so high after his start to the year at Wisconsin. Just hope he plays a solid game and when is the last time we had a prospect who is playing on the first line of a top team and some feel could be the top player of the tournament? Gonna be a lot of trash talking between many fans for sure lol.

Duclair? Pretty sure he was on the top line with Max Domi.

 

[bl02]

Duclair? Pretty sure he was on the top line with Max Domi.

Not sure. He did have a good tournament but McDavid and Reinhart were on that team as well

 

[EdJovanovski]

How the Russian National Team uses him has little bearing on how he will be used with the Rangers.

He plays wing with Traktor.

If anything, this just shows versatility.

Yea I agree I’m saying it in response to the people saying they hope he transitions to center in the NHL, not in response to him playing center at the WJC

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Yea I agree I’m saying it in response to the people saying they hope he transitions to center in the NHL, not in response to him playing center at the WJC

This team really needs a future #1 center. If Kravtsov can become that guy thats more then fine.

 

[EdJovanovski]

This team really needs a future #1 center. If Kravtsov can become that guy thats more then fine.

Zibanejad is a 1C
Chytil will be a 1C
Hayes is a 2C
Howden will be a 2C
Andersson will be a 2/3C
In terms of wingers in that age group the only one we have is Buchnevich, it’s a much bigger hole than at C. Especially considering the 2019 draft is absolutely loaded at C and severely lacking wingers

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Zibanejad is a 1C
Chytil will be a 1C
Hayes is a 2C
Howden will be a 2C
Andersson will be a 2/3C
In terms of wingers in that age group the only one we have is Buchnevich, it’s a much bigger hole than at C. Especially considering the 2019 draft is absolutely loaded at C and severely lacking wingers

Imo Chytil will be a winger at the Nhl level.
Also, while Mika is awesome hes more of a #2 center on a Cup winning team. I believe that Kravtsov will be a winger in the Nhl but if he can become a dominant first line center that would be amazing

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Never been this hyped up for a WJC. K'Andre has set the bar so high after his start to the year at Wisconsin. Just hope he plays a solid game and when is the last time we had a prospect who is playing on the first line of a top team and some feel could be the top player of the tournament? Gonna be a lot of trash talking between many fans for sure lol.

Duclair? Pretty sure he was on the top line with Max Domi.

Lias centered Sweden’s top line after the first game or two last year

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Don’t want him to be a center at all
Our biggest organizational need is scoring winger

I think it’s too early to be putting guys into slots, the Rangers are still very much in the ‘acquiring assests’ part of rebuilding

 

[nyr2k2]

Zibanejad is a 1C
Chytil will be a 1C
Hayes is a 2C
Howden will be a 2C
Andersson will be a 2/3C
In terms of wingers in that age group the only one we have is Buchnevich, it’s a much bigger hole than at C. Especially considering the 2019 draft is absolutely loaded at C and severely lacking wingers

I still think Chytil is a wing long term and have said so for a while. Seems likely that Hayes will be gone. If you had Kravtsov, Zibanejad, Howden/Andersson down the middle, that could provide the theoretical top-tier center depth we've lacked. And if the team is able to add Panarin for instance to Kreider, Buchnevich, and whatever else, could look good.

I hear you on your need for wing depth, though, and I don't want to get too "Roster-Buildy" so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Lias centered Sweden’s top line after the first game or two last year

Buchnevich was a top line player for Russia, Lias centered the top line, Chytil as well.

 

[One Winged Angel]

Buchnevich was a top line player for Russia, Lias centered the top line, Chytil as well.

Correct on all 3 accounts. Buchnevich didn’t do so on his first rodeo, but he was in his last tourney.

Lias and Chytil were both top liners last year. Chytil even played with Zadina and they were disgusting together.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Correct on all 3 accounts. Buchnevich didn’t do so on his first rodeo, but he was in his last tourney.

Lias and Chytil were both top liners last year. Chytil even played with Zadina and they were disgusting together.

This is Kravtsov's last tournament as well. But Kravtsov is a more well-rounded player than Buchnevich at the same age

 

[One Winged Angel]

This is Kravtsov's last tournament as well. But Kravtsov is a more well-rounded player than Buchnevich at the same age

I agree, mind you, I don’t have access to KHL games, so you might be able to speak to this more than I would, but from what I’ve seen of them in clips and Buchnevich at the WJC games I watched, Kravtsov seems like the far more skilled player of the two. The plays he makes and the smarts he has sometimes just leave me wondering how the hell he does certain things.

Buchnevich always seemed to me like he was a good shooter and play maker and was skilled, but was moreso opportunistic. Kravtsov seems like he can create his own offense out of nowhere.

Just my own analysis. What do you think?

 

[Fvital92]

Buchnevich was a top line player for Russia, Lias centered the top line, Chytil as well.

Actually, Chytil was a 2nd liner last year, the first line was Zadina-Necas-Kaut. And he also wasn't in the 1st PP unit.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I agree, mind you, I don’t have access to KHL games, so you might be able to speak to this more than I would, but from what I’ve seen of them in clips and Buchnevich at the WJC games I watched, Kravtsov seems like the far more skilled player of the two. The plays he makes and the smarts he has sometimes just leave me wondering how the hell he does certain things.

Buchnevich always seemed to me like he was a good shooter and play maker and was skilled, but was moreso opportunistic. Kravtsov seems like he can create his own offense out of nowhere.

Just my own analysis. What do you think?

The way Kravtsov dictates the play at such a young age is completely different from Buchnevich. Cherepovets had more depth and was an all-round better team than Traktor this year. Kravtsov creates chances, which could be seen as opportunistic so I don't think there's much difference there. What really stands out is Kravtsov's 2-way play. He's always backchecking which is great to see. At the end of the day, it depends on how Kravtsov develops from here, but at 18, he's probably closer to Kuznetsov than he is to Buchnevich.

 

[Kovalev27]

Actually, Chytil was a 2nd liner last year, the first line was Zadina-Necas-Kaut. And he also wasn't in the 1st PP unit.

Yup we complained about it the whole tournament.

 

[Fvital92]

Yup we complained about it the whole tournament.

With reason. I would bet that if he went to WJC this year he would still be on the 2nd line behind Necas, even though he is playing 1st line minutes in the NHL while Necas is in the AHL.

 

[LaffyTaffy]

Don’t want him to be a center at all
Our biggest organizational need is scoring winger

If Kravtsov can become a 1C then Chytil is his scoring winger, along with Kaliyev

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Actually, Chytil was a 2nd liner last year, the first line was Zadina-Necas-Kaut. And he also wasn't in the 1st PP unit.

Right, the only time he was on the ice with them was on a ~30-40 second 5 on 3 where Chytil set up the only good chance

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

I’m a big Chytil fan, but he didn’t exactly light it up at the WJC last year. His linemates didn’t do him any favors, but he wasn’t that great.

There have been plenty of other far worse cases of Rangers getting the shaft at the WJC, despite playing great.

 

[Inferno]

We're getting jack Hughes...so he's our number 1 center.

#gobigorgohome