Prospect Info: Rangers Prospect Poll: #2

[Beacon]

LW Chris Kreider easily won round 1 and D Brady Skjei is added to the poll.

Please write who you want added to the poll, and give a reason for it. This makes the discussion here more lively.


THE RULES

WHO IS A PROSPECT: We can't all have different standards based on what we each want personally. We are on the HF board, so let's follow their rules. The standard for what's a prospect is here: http://www.hockeysfuture.com/whatmakesaprospect

* Please don't write that so-and-so should or should not be a prospect. It's not up to each individual here to decide, it's up to the HF rules.

HOW TO RANK PROSPECTS: Based on their value in a hypothetical trade or waiver draft. This takes into consideration a prospect's ceiling, how close he's to making it, his health, work ethic, the whole deal. Imagine there was a prospect waiver draft and you could keep only one prospect. That guy is our #1 prospect. Then imagine we had one more waiver protection. That guy is our #2 prospect.


TOP PROSPECTS

1. LW Chris Kreider


Chris Kreider
Left Wing
Born Apr 30 1991 -- Boxford, MA
Height 6.03 -- Weight 230 -- Shoots L

2012-13 Connecticut Whale AHL 33 5 7 12 55

Click to read more...

 

[Beacon]

Hagelin is the clear choice here. Last year as a rookie, he was #21 in the NHL in points per 60 minutes played. He's fast, he's not big but not small, and he's still improving. The guy is already a very good third liner, and has a reasonable chance to become a quality top-6 forward.

Add Marek Hrivik. Established himself as an AHL first liner in his rookie season after being absolutely phenomenal in last season's playoffs when he joined the team after his QMJHL team was eliminated. Good size, good hands, decent skating, excellent defense, very teachable. Once he improves his shot and adjusts to the pro game, this kid will be in the NHL. This should come sooner rather than later. He has top-6 potential and should almost certainly be in the NHL in one capacity or another.

 

[NYRSchrute217]

Hagelin, add Hrivik

 

[The Gloaming]

Hags. Add Hrivik.

 

[Jabroni]

Hags.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Hagelin, I also say add Hrivik. Lindberg is close.

I am actually a bit higher on our pool overall compared to the summer.

 

[silverfish]

Thought the board would go for JT Miller here.

Hagelin, add Lindberg

 

[nyr2k2]

Hagelin, add Lindberg.

 

[Beacon]

Thought the board would go for JT Miller here.

Hagelin having a good full season in the NHL is worth more than Miller having a nice few games at the WJC. Hagelin had more points per game for the Rangers last year than Miller got for the Whale this year, and it's not as if he's a slouch defensively. Hagelin all the way here.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Is Hagelin even considered a prospect anymore? Add Hrivik

 

[Kakko]

Hagelin, I also say add Hrivik. Lindberg is close.

I am actually a bit higher on our pool overall compared to the summer.

As I said back in August

 

[NYR Viper]

Hagelin add Lindberg

 

[Kane One]

Hagelin, add Lindberg.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Hagelin, obviously.

I was a huge supporter of Hrivik the last time we did this poll and remain so today - I was voting to first add him and then rank him for rounds prior to his selection. He will likely be my next add in this poll.

Still, you gotta give it to Lindberg for what he's been doing in the SEL. 5th leading scorer in arguably the third best league in the world - and he's a faceoff monster? That ranks him above Hrivik at least today, IMO.

 

[Jxmarts]

Miller, slightly ahead of McIlrath because I see Miller as less of a project. Although I do think McIlrath can be very valuable if he pans out... Add Lindberg.

I know the rules are the rules, but I have a hard time having Hagelin on this list. He's a proven NHLer whereas everyone else is a project of some kind... apples & oranges.

That said, I think Hags is slightly overrated here. I love him as a great two-way third liner, but I just don't think he has the hands to improve much over last year as a top 6 forward. The sentiment here seems to be that if he scored 14 goals as a part time 23 year old, the sky's the limit for him. I just don't see him as a sure-fire finisher on a scoring line.

 

[Beacon]

Hagelin, obviously.

I was a huge supporter of Hrivik the last time we did this poll and remain so today - I was voting to first add him and then rank him for rounds prior to his selection. He will likely be my next add in this poll.

Still, you gotta give it to Lindberg for what he's been doing in the SEL. 5th leading scorer in arguably the third best league in the world - and he's a faceoff monster? That ranks him above Hrivik at least today, IMO.

Wow, didn't realize he was top-5 in SEL. That's pretty amazing, regardless of the fact that he's playing with the two highest scorers in the league.

I guess this is a question of do we prefer a 21-year-old first liner in the AHL or the SEL. Close call, but I'm going to go with the guy I am watching on a regular basis over someone about whom I have to hear from second-hand sources.

Ola, what do you say? How good is Lindberg looking?

 

[mas0764]

Its too bad Alexei Cherepanov had to die.

 

[mas0764]

Miller, slightly ahead of McIlrath because I see Miller as less of a project. Although I do think McIlrath can be very valuable if he pans out... Add Lindberg.

I know the rules are the rules, but I have a hard time having Hagelin on this list. He's a proven NHLer whereas everyone else is a project of some kind... apples & oranges.

That said, I think Hags is slightly overrated here. I love him as a great two-way third liner, but I just don't think he has the hands to improve much over last year as a top 6 forward. The sentiment here seems to be that if he scored 14 goals as a part time 23 year old, the sky's the limit for him. I just don't see him as a sure-fire finisher on a scoring line.

I think you are correct here.

I think it's awesome that Hagelin is a very nice player for us to have here but I don't see a ton of offensive upside. He's kinda a hustle player, he'll present matchup problems for other teams due to speed, but not a gifted playmaker or scorer.

I think Miller ends up the better top-6 player.

Basically if Hagelin is our 2nd best forward prospect than we are in some kinda need for top 6 prospects in our organization.

 

[TheRedViper]

Hags, Lindberg

 

[bmoak]

Hags, add Lindberg

 

[Beacon]

Basically if Hagelin is our 2nd best forward prospect than we are in some kinda need for top 6 prospects in our organization.

Bing-Bing-Bing, we have a winner!

Yes, we do have an issue with our prospects having top-6 potential. The only 3 guys I see who have a good shot at being above average second liners are: St. Croix, Thomas and Fast, and I'm not particularly excited about any of them.

Sure someone like Miller or Lindberg can make it, but they are far more likely to be good third liners.

This is why I was advocating that we go for the high-risk, high-return guys who have some kind of a flaw (small size, injury, may not come over to the NHL) that caused them to slip to us from the top-5. There are always guys with top-5 level talent who slip because of other issues. They don't look great on paper because it is easier to draft a 6-3 200 pound guy and pretend that he has the skill that he really doesn't have than it is to draft a highly-talented player who's 5-9 170. You can imagine skill that doesn't exist, but it's hard to imagine height that isn't there, so fans inevitably prefer big players.

Nobody ever wonders: if they are equally as talented, how come a 6-3 player is ranked the same as a 5-9 player? Shouldn't he be ranked significantly higher? Oh, but of course the 6-3 player who is ranked the same as a 5-9 player isn't nearly as talented. But we can't see talent and we can see size, so let's draft size!

I really hope we take another Christian Thomas type in the second round. Regardless of how Thomas developed, eventually one of these types of players will make it and we'll strike gold. Seriously, how many tweeners do we need?


CENTERS

1. Brad
2. Step
3. Boyle
4. Miller
5. Lindberg
6. St. Croix
7. Nieves
8. Fogarty
9. Yogan

More than enough players, but none of the players except for St. Croix has the potential to be an offensive dynamo in the top-6.


LEFT WINGS

1. Nash
2. Kreider
3. Hagelin
4. Hrivik
5. Bourque

This should be enough, and it's possible that Miller will play LW as well. But again, besides Kreider, what other prospect has high offensive potential?


RIGHT WINGS

1. Callahan
2. Fast
3. Thomas
4. Jean
5. McColgan
6. Spelling

Not great, but not due to the lack of depth. Adding a third liner isn't going to do a lot of good here because it would still require us to trade for or sign a first line RW. We need to swing for the fences with another Thomas-type.

 

[mas0764]

So Miller doesn't project as a 2nd line player?

 

[NYR Viper]

Bing-Bing-Bing, we have a winner!

Yes, we do have an issue with our prospects having top-6 potential. The only 3 guys I see who have a good shot at being above average second liners are: St. Croix, Thomas and Fast, and I'm not particularly excited about any of them.

Sure someone like Miller or Lindberg can make it, but they are far more likely to be good third liners.

This is why I was advocating that we go for the high-risk, high-return guys who have some kind of a flaw (small size, injury, may not come over to the NHL) that caused them to slip to us from the top-5. There are always guys with top-5 level talent who slip because of other issues. They don't look great on paper because it is easier to draft a 6-3 200 pound guy and pretend that he has the skill that he really doesn't have than it is to draft a highly-talented player who's 5-9 170. You can imagine skill that doesn't exist, but it's hard to imagine height that isn't there, so fans inevitably prefer big players.

Nobody ever wonders: if they are equally as talented, how come a 6-3 player is ranked the same as a 5-9 player? Shouldn't he be ranked significantly higher? Oh, but of course the 6-3 player who is ranked the same as a 5-9 player isn't nearly as talented. But we can't see talent and we can see size, so let's draft size!

The Rangers have had a philosophy of filling in their depth from within. They feel they can acquire a few top end players to offset the hard working blue collar players they develop. I don't see how it hasn't worked up to this point.

The drafting philosophy you want to divert from was the reason the Rangers were able to acquire Nash and not skip a beat.

They want players who will play Ranger hockey. That's hard nosed, 2way hockey. They take chances on players later in the draft and use their higher picks to draft more sure fire players. Size is a factor because of the necessity to play that style I described above. Unfortunately a player like Grimaldi would find that difficult

 

[Beacon]

So Miller doesn't project as a 2nd line player?

Maybe as a two-way guy, but not as someone who's a significant offensive threat. I see him more as a tweener, someone like Anisimov (not in terms of style, just ability).

 

[Callagraves]

voted miller before seeing hagelin. my bad.