Prospect Info: Rangers Prospect Poll: #6

[Beacon]

Easy win for G Igor Shesterkin in round 5. G Brandon Halverson is added.

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

Please write-in who you think should be added to the poll.

TOP PROSPECTS

1. LW/RW Pavel Buchnevich
2. D Dylan McIlrath
3. D Brady Skjei
4. C Oscar Lindberg
5. G Igor Shesterkin


Igor Shesterkin
Goalie
Born Dec 30 1995 -- Moscow, Russia
Height 6.01 -- Weight 187

2015-16 St. Petersburg SKA KHL 6GP 2.33 0.917

PROSPECTS ELIGIBLE TO BE ADDED:

Andersson, Calle
Bernhardt, Daniel
Bourque, Ryan
Donnay, Troy
Fogarty, Steven
Hellberg, Magnus
Hrivik, Marek
Hughes, Tommy
Huska, Adam
Iverson, Keegan
Kantor, Michael
Mantha, Ryan
McCarthy, Chris
Morrison, Brad
Nanne, Tyler
Nejezchleb, Richard
Nicholls, Josh
Nieves, Cristoval
Noreau, Samuel
Skapski, Mackenzie
St. Croix, Michael
Zborovskiy, Sergey

Click to read more...

 

[Beacon]

Voted for AHL All-Star Ryan Graves because very few rookies who won't be 21 until the season is over become AHL All-Stars. The kid is as big as McIlrath, skates really well, can pass and stickhandle, just a good prospect.

I considered Saarela, but he's injured too much to be ahead of Graves.

This is what I wrote earlier about Graves in the Hartford thread:

Graves is probably closer to Skjei than people give him credit for because Skjei was a first rounder.

- Skjei is 21, Graves is 20. A year matters at this age.
- Skjei is 6'3 206 and Graves is 6'4 220, giving Graves the advantage.
- Skjei is a better skater, but Graves is a good skater too.
- Skjei is a little more polished, but that advantage is at least partially reduced by Skjei being a year older than Graves.
- Skjei has 14 points, Graves has 11. Similar numbers.
- Skjei got called up for a couple of games, Graves was named an AHL All-Star. Similar advantages, maybe advantage Graves.
- Both play in every situation: ES, PP, PK.

These two prospects are very close to each other at this point.

Add Huska. Abused the USHL with 1.65 and .942, then was really good for the very weak Slovakia team that allowed him to get peppered from all sides. Had he started for Russia, Sweden, Canada, US or Finland, people would've called him a big-time prospect because his job would've been so much easier.

 

[Revel]

Graves

Zboro

 

[darko]

Graves add Zboro

 

[Charlie Conway]

Tough call. I like Kovacs a lot, but I think Graves is far more deserving right now.

Add Zboro

 

[Beacon]

Tough call. I like Kovacs a lot, but I think Graves is far more deserving right now.

Add Zboro

Why Kovacs? The league he's playing in is probably about on par with the ECHL and hes not an All Star there. Graves is doing better in a superior league. Easy call.

I really don't have much trust in players performing in lower leagues unless they absolutely dominate Teresa (e.g., Shesterkin in the VHL, which is at lest as good as Swe-1). Kovacs is ok in Swe-1, but by no means a dominant superstar at that level.

 

[Revel]

Why Kovacs? The league he's playing in is probably about on par with the ECHL and hes not an All Star there. Graves is doing better in a superior league. Easy call.

I really don't have much trust in players performing in lower leagues unless they absolutely dominate Teresa (e.g., Shesterkin in the VHL, which is at lest as good as Swe-1). Kovacs is ok in Swe-1, but by no means a dominant superstar at that level.

C'mon Beacon. He was our 2nd pick after Gropp. Obviously the Rangers hold him in high regard. NHL Central Scouting had him as one of the top International Skaters for last year's draft. He also showed up at combines and actually came in 10th out of 120 players on the Wingate test for Peak Power. He's in great shape.

If you watch some of his highlights, you'll see that he's got a hell of a set of hands. He's a shooter, too...which we need more of.

EP has this to say:
A speedy winger that likes to agitate opponents and then strike quickly. Possesses great stickhandling ability and creativity, and is potent on the power play and penalty kill, as he recognizes scoring chances and is quick to act. Loves to play a puck-possession game and can pick his spot like no other when ripping his shots. All-in-all, an all-around winger that players hate to play against due to his skill level and the effectiveness of his agitation. (Curtis Joe, EP 2015) - See more at: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=85693&lang=en#sthash.I89cSKIi.dpuf

He was over PPG last year in the same Elite J20 tournament that Daniel Bernhardt couldn't even start in this year.

Kovacs deserves our attention, IMO.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Saarela. Add Nieves.

 

[E-Train]

Graves, add Zboro

 

[eco's bones]

Graves. Nieves.

 

[Ail]

Graves over Saarela? AHL hype train is out hyping the WJC hype train. Graves probably tops out at Kevin Klein, Saarela could be Derek Stepan 2.0. Actually better because Saarela went to the front of the net more times in the WJC than Derek has in his entire NHL career.

Double Edit: Add Zboro, oops thought Zboro was already added.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

Graves, add zboro.

By the way, why is Gropp listed as a C? I thought he was a Left Winger???

 

[cwede]

Bodie no longer eligible i guess,
add nieves,

after the goalies,
maybe ZBo or fogarty, Iverson or morrison, Bernhardt or mantha will shine
the rest of the skaters are longshots

maybe Berhardt gets the ice time in London and makes the most of it

 

[Beacon]

Graves over Saarela? AHL hype train is out hyping the WJC hype train.

Being an AHL All-Star is more of an achievement than scoring a point per game as a WJC second liner, albeit on the gold medal team.

Graves probably tops out at Kevin Klein

Graves could be much more than Klein. Graves is 3 inches and 24 pounds heavier. He shoots over 100 mph, far harder than Klein. He's a smoother skater than Klein, and can stickhandle and move the puck better. Ryan's tools are all-around tremendous: he's as big as McIlrath, has a slap shot as hard as Ovechkin's (Ovechkin was clocked at 101 mph, while Graves at 103 mpg), can skate as well as any Rangers defenseman not named McDonagh.

Saarela could be Derek Stepan 2.0. Actually better because Saarela went to the front of the net more times in the WJC than Derek has in his entire NHL career.

Based on what can Saarela be better than Stepan? Step was a man among boys in the WJC, it just didn't look fair. Stepan had 15 points in 7 games, Saarela had 7. Stepan was the team captain, Saarela a second liner. As a 19 year old, Stepan was a dominant NCAA player at over 1.3 points per game despite being younger than most college players. Even as a freshman, he was still second on his team in scoring. Stepan showed signs of being a tremendous prospect from the second we drafted him.

Saarela is an ok player in the Finnish league, which is a step below KHL/SHL/AHL. He's 6th on his team in scoring, 7th in points per game. The kid is a solid prospect, but he's nowhere near Stepan level, it's not even close. If we had Saarela as a prospect the same time Stepan was a prospect, he would've an afterthought nobody paid attention to.

 

[Ail]

Being an AHL All-Star is more of an achievement than scoring a point per game as a WJC second liner, albeit on the gold medal team.



Graves could be much more than Klein. Graves is 3 inches and 24 pounds heavier. He shoots over 100 mph, far harder than Klein. He's a smoother skater than Klein, and can stickhandle and move the puck better. Ryan's tools are all-around tremendous: he's as big as McIlrath, has a slap shot as hard as Ovechkin's (Ovechkin was clocked at 101 mph, while Graves at 103 mpg), can skate as well as any Rangers defenseman not named McDonagh.



Based on what can Saarela be better than Stepan? Step was a man among boys in the WJC, it just didn't look fair. Stepan had 15 points in 7 games, Saarela had 7. Stepan was the team captain, Saarela a second liner. As a 19 year old, Stepan was a dominant NCAA player at over 1.3 points per game despite being younger than most college players. Even as a freshman, he was still second on his team in scoring. Stepan showed signs of being a tremendous prospect from the second we drafted him.

Saarela is an ok player in the Finnish league, which is a step below KHL/SHL/AHL. He's 6th on his team in scoring, 7th in points per game. The kid is a solid prospect, but he's nowhere near Stepan level, it's not even close. If we had Saarela as a prospect the same time Stepan was a prospect, he would've an afterthought nobody paid attention to.

I might be underselling Graves, but we'll see on Saarela!

 

[Beacon]

Next round: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2010541