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

[Rempe73]

Without going down a wild rabbit hole here, you don't have to be prejudiced against a certain group in order to make a xenophobic comment.

I think "The Russian Factor" to MOST people is code for the lazy Russian stereotype. Are the first two points you make about the KHL v AHL and Russian being far away valid points? Absolutely. But they aren't what most people think of when they hear The Russian Factor and I think that is why most people believed it was a xenophobic comment.

Ok but I didn’t mean that. To me, it’s just a reason why many Russians don’t come over and why it’s easier for them to stay home.

“Xenophobia everywhere” and “the irony when you look at his username” and “look at Ovi and Kucherov” is just a straw man.

 

[Zine]

Dude at BSB....if hes right...he probably needs to get away from the bad influences in Russia.

His whole hockey-playing life, all he’s heard is how great he is and how he’s destined for greatness. Not making the NHL club out of camp was the first adversity the kid ever had to deal with. He was not able to handle this due to being extremely immature. Now couple that with parents that were barking that he should come back b/c he’s better than the AHL, this was recipe for disaster. His coming over was mutual. The Rangers FO wanted him to come over and Krav had been saying since he was drafted he wanted to come over. I know many here felt he should have made the team out of camp, myself being one of them, but from a VERY close source to Krav, he wasn’t physically ready for North American game. Panarin himself told him that he needs to have some "push-back" in his game in order to be successful in the NHL. Sending him to the AHL for a period of time to get better acclimated to this style was not viewed as setback or demotion but more as a short step in his development. The only one who viewed this negatively was Krav himself and he sulked in Hartford and mentally checked out. This VERY close source has said the kid has simply been getting horrible advice. The FO and his agent tried to convince him to stay and did for a very short period of time but eventually, Krav listened to said "bad advice" and went back which was his right. I’m not sure what has happened over in mother Russia and I’m trying to find out more but if I had to guess, this could be a result of this kid being extremely immature and having smoke blown up his ass his whole hockey-playing life and is just not equipped to handle any adversity.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

This guy said at the time of his return to Russia that his parents are his biggest problem - his agent tried to convince him that it was just a minor, temporary development stop in Hartford but his parents kept telling him he was too good to play in the minor leagues and he should return to the KHL. Well, if that's the case, then getting demoted back home might finally get him to listen to better advice.

Consider Kravtsov's meteoric rise

He went from being nothing overly special (not even Team Russia U18 candidate) to an NHL top 10 pick within about a year…to the big apple of all places
Most 1st round picks have been on the radar for a while, and are likely accustomed to a certain degree of hockey notoriety and praise and can manage their ego accordingly. Everything fell on Kravtsov at once. Color me shocked that a very sheltered kid's head would explode in such a circumstance; especially considering his parents reportedly also went along for the ride.

Not surprisingly, like Traktor GM said, he returned to Chelyabinsk broken and disillusioned. Welcome to the real world Mr. Kravtsov. Time to dig yourself out of the hole.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Consider Kravtsov's meteoric rise

He went from being nothing overly special (not even Team Russia U18 candidate) to an NHL top 10 pick within about a year…to the big apple of all places
Most 1st round picks have been on the radar for a while, and are likely accustomed to a certain degree of hockey notoriety and praise and can manage their ego accordingly. Everything fell on Kravtsov at once. Color me shocked that a very sheltered kid's head would explode in such a circumstance; especially considering his parents reportedly also went along for the ride.

Not surprisingly, like Traktor GM said, he returned to Chelyabinsk broken and disillusioned. Welcome to the real world Mr. Kravtsov. Time to dig yourself out of the hole.

All fair. And you’re absolutely right about your final statement. Let’s see if he can do it.

As I’ve said before, my guess is that within a year or two, this episode ranks up there with Buch’s time out to work on his core strength.

 

[nyr2k2]

I hear “he’s one of our best posters” about different posters all the time. But yea I should have looked at the context and not called him that. Heat of the moment thing. Dumb move on my part. But my point still stands. Also, I apologize @Brooklyn Rangers Fan but I doubt it affected you in the first place. My bad.

Quite big of you to apologize. Not many people do that here. Only our best posters.

Really though, it's all good, I think we all understand where you were coming from and any reasonable person understands you're not xenophobic. Just a difference in how a phrase is defined.

 

[Rempe73]

Quite big of you to apologize. Not many people do that here. Only our best posters.

Really though, it's all good, I think we all understand where you were coming from and any reasonable person understands you're not xenophobic. Just a difference in how a phrase is defined.

Appreciate it. I know myself and I know that I can get pretty heated sometimes unfortunately. Thanks

Now back to the topic of Kravtsov lol

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Kravstov did nothing to earn a spot in the starting line up out of camp. This is an unfortunate situation, but this is all on him.

While I agree that Kravstov didn't earn a spot, I'm not sure what happened leading up to his departure is all on him. We just don't know how the coaching staff handled the situation when he was sent down to the Wolfpack. Kravstov is young and probably needed a little more guidance from the organization both on and off the ice. But, at the same time, it doesn't seem like he's been doing the things a hockey player needs to do to be successful. Sure it's a shock to the system that things didn't work out as planned, but it's not the end of Kravstov's career, just a bump.

 

[Anzi]

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

He just thanked the fans and staff in Chelyabinsk. He will fly probably this weekend

 

[NernieBichols]

That was a smooth tweet

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Good for him. I hope he can put all this behind him and get back on track.

 

[UnSandvich]

Good to have ya back, Vitali

 

[Ghost of jas]

Do a conditioning stint in Hartford with clear communication for all involved.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

This has been the strangest roller coaster I’ve ever been on

 

[NYR Viper]

I am beyond ecstatic with this

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Do a conditioning stint in Hartford with clear communication for all involved.

Conditioning stints are only allowed if the player agrees to it.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Conditioning stints are only allowed if the player agrees to it.

Hence the ‘clear communication’ portion of my post.

 

[17futurecap]

Cue the I'm coming home montage video.

 

[McRanger]

Do a conditioning stint in Hartford with clear communication for all involved.

He wouldn't just be straight up assigned to Hartford?

 

[EdJovanovski]

Excited!!
Hopefully he tears it up and plays his first NHL game against Vancouver in January

 

[Levitate]

He wouldn't just be straight up assigned to Hartford?

Yes I imagine he will be. I think jas was using "conditioning stint" in a way to mean "get him to Hartford to build his game back up" not in the technical way that it's defined in the CBA.

All things considered this may be the best move for him and I hope the Rangers are ready to help him get going and get his feet back under him. Even with Shesterkin and Rykov in Hartford, it seems like he could use a mentor of sorts that isn't a teammate...someone who can better help him navigate the US, NA hockey, etc

 

[Kupo]

 

[RangerBoy]

Kravtsov never should have left. Jeff Gorton got involved and said "enough of this shit". Good for him.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Yes I imagine he will be. I think jas was using "conditioning stint" in a way to mean "get him to Hartford to build his game back up" not in the technical way that it's defined in the CBA.

All things considered this may be the best move for him and I hope the Rangers are ready to help him get going and get his feet back under him. Even with Shesterkin and Rykov in Hartford, it seems like he could use a mentor of sorts that isn't a teammate...someone who can better help him navigate the US, NA hockey, etc

Exactly. I want all involved to avoid what happened last time and learn from the mistakes made.

 

[Hire Sather]

Great news.

Honestly would like to see them just give him a shot with the big club. 3rd line.

 

[bl02]

I’m with all of you very exciting but just throwing caution out there. The chance (hopefully very slim) it doesn’t work out especially if it’s work ethic/attitude reasons it could be much worse than the first time around.