Prospect Info: Rangers Prospect Thread (Player Stats/Info in Post #1; Updated 5.24.21)

[Lindberg Cheese]

If Pajuniemi ends up like Cammalleri, I will do cartwheels (And then needing 6 months to recover with a spinal injury or something)

Any other info you can share about Paj, must’ve picked up a thing or two going through his trash

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Any other info you can share about Paj, must’ve picked up a thing or two going through his trash

Leads all players in Liiga in goals since the start of the 2019-20 season

20 points in his last 20 games

Worked on his overall game this season. He is much more composed at even strength which was his big goal. The Rangers wanted him in Finland for 1 more year, when I spoke to him in June. I expect him to sign his ELC this summer and then go 1 of 2 ways:

- Go to Hartford, or
- Back to Liiga on loan, similar to Reunanen in 2019-20

I think Pajuniemi's path to the NHL will take another 18-24 months, not unlike Jesper Fasth's trajectory at the same age. 2022-23 is what I am aiming for to see him in the NYR lineup

 

[Fitzy]

Can Pajuniemi end up as a Cammalleri type?

As in take every shot with a knee on the ice? I hope so

 

[Harbour Dog]

Credit to Giannone and Valley for not laughing while they talked about those pairings.

 

[nyr2k2]

Edström scored. He now has 10 points in 34 games after 9 in 46 last season.

Henriksson with another Henriksson game, no stats in 9 minutes. He's been scratched and getting less TOI lately.

Lundkvist had one shot bit nothing else in 24+.

 

[kovazub94]

Leads all players in Liiga in goals since the start of the 2019-20 season

20 points in his last 20 games

Worked on his overall game this season. He is much more composed at even strength which was his big goal. The Rangers wanted him in Finland for 1 more year, when I spoke to him in June. I expect him to sign his ELC this summer and then go 1 of 2 ways:

- Go to Hartford, or
- Back to Liiga on loan, similar to Reunanen in 2019-20

I think Pajuniemi's path to the NHL will take another 18-24 months, not unlike Jesper Fasth's trajectory at the same age. 2022-23 is what I am aiming for to see him in the NYR lineup

Is he going to earn more in Liiga or Hartford?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Edström scored. He now has 10 points in 34 games after 9 in 46 last season.

Henriksson with another Henriksson game, no stats in 9 minutes. He's been scratched and getting less TOI lately.

Lundkvist had one shot bit nothing else in 24+.

Hugo Ollas is back with Linköping by the way. He was the backup today against Frölunda and Karl Henriksson.

Själin didn't play.

 

[nyr2k2]

Hugo Ollas is back with Linköping by the way. He was the backup today against Frölunda and Karl Henriksson.

Själin didn't play.

Själin left early in his previous game, he is apparently day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

That was the fifth time Ollas has dressed as the backup for Linköping, but he hasn't played. I guess it's nice they have faith in him as a backup, but it would be much better if he could play somewhere. He's only played in nine games this season, in J20 before it was shut down.

 

[Fitzy]

Henriksson is gonna play himself out of an ELC if this continues another year.

I get he was always a 'long play' for 23-24 age, but I was hoping for SOME improvement.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Edström scored. He now has 10 points in 34 games after 9 in 46 last season.

Henriksson with another Henriksson game, no stats in 9 minutes. He's been scratched and getting less TOI lately.

Lundkvist had one shot bit nothing else in 24+.

any chance Henriksson could be better in the AHL than in Europe. hope he aint a bust like Boo Nieves another 2ed round bum

 

[RGY]

I’d give Pajuniemi a straight shot at the NHL right now with the way things are going in our forward group

 

[NYR Viper]

Not to be a jerk, but why do we think Pajuniemi would get more of a shot than Gauthier? The kid who was scoring at a 40g pace in the AHL last year at 22.

 

[RGY]

Not to be a jerk, but why do we think Pajuniemi would get more of a shot than Gauthier? The kid who was scoring at a 40g pace in the AHL last year at 22.

Not being a jerk at all. Youre absolutely right. Its a big part of the problem with Quinn.

 

[Fitzy]

Not to be a jerk, but why do we think Pajuniemi would get more of a shot than Gauthier? The kid who was scoring at a 40g pace in the AHL last year at 22.

Plus Paju is the kind of player who would almost certainly start in Hartford to adjust to the NA playing style.

Lundkvist and Kravtsov are the only straight-to-NHL players I see this season.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

How is Paju's all around game? Is he just a good shot? That's still great for this team and where he was drafted.

 

[Harbour Dog]

any chance Henriksson could be better in the AHL than in Europe. hope he aint a bust like Boo Nieves another 2ed round bum

Unfortunately, I think his game is better suited to larger ice services and larger gaps between defenders.

I don't know how he's evolved in the last year, but before that there was a large divide in how he was playing and how he would have to play, to be an NHLer. He never had size or speed, and a lot of his tendencies were junior-styled.

Again, haven't seen him in the last year. Maybe he's quicker, or noticeably bigger, or has found a nice substitute for his low percentage play attempts. But it's a big hill.

 

[nyr2k2]

Unfortunately, I think his game is better suited to larger ice services and larger gaps between defenders.

I don't know how he's evolved in the last year, but before that there was a large divide in how he was playing and how he would have to play, to be an NHLer. He never had size or speed, and a lot of his tendencies were junior-styled.

Again, haven't seen him in the last year. Maybe he's quicker, or noticeably bigger, or has found a nice substitute for his low percentage play attempts. But it's a big hill.

He's "quick" in the shifty, agile way, but his speed and overall skating ability are still mediocre. He's a bit thicker than in the past, but still undersized, particularly given the lack of overall skating.

He has good IQ and can make some really nice, smart plays, but as you said there's a "junior" feel to him. Like he can be a borderline dominant player against his peers, but against men he does things that just don't work the same way. He has improved his 200-foot game, which is nice, but he's not a Selke-caliber player by any stretch.

Unfortunately, given his size, whether he makes it or not depends on if the offense materializes. The early returns aren't great. He's still quite young and obviously has time to figure it out. We'll see--I'm not particularly optimistic, but there have been bigger surprises before.

Just look at Reunanen--after his D+2 season he was looking dead in the water as a prospect; couldn't stick with a Liiga team, bouncing around between there, Mestis, and the junior league. Then out of nowhere he has an awesome D+3 season, and comes to camp in the fall and looks like he could step into the NHL (and now he's playing at a very high level in the AHL). Of course Reunanen didn't have an issue with his size or his skating, but the point is he was about the very same age as Henriksson when he took his big development jump.

Next year will be big for Henriksson. He'll have a season and a half of pro hockey under his belt and will be another year more developed. He doesn't need to come out and be a dominant force in the SHL, but he does need to start putting some points on the board.

 

[nyr2k2]

How is Paju's all around game? Is he just a good shot? That's still great for this team and where he was drafted.

I've only seen a bit this season, but it has gotten better. He's definitely willing and puts in the effort. He's not going to be the guy who is doing the killer backcheck, winning all the battles behind the net, laying out to block shot after shot, but he is willing to get back and help out. He's not the liability that he was a couple years ago.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Regarding Henriksson: I think we sometimes forget how young he still is. If it wasn't for his injury, he would have been the 1st line center for Sweden at the WJC.

I'm disappointed with how his season progressed but his injury and battling COVID (he missed 2-3 weeks) didn't help.

We have 2 more years after this season to determine whether or not he has a future with us. Pajuniemi at the same age wasn't great for TPS either. Only at age 20 did he find that next gear in his game. I do think Henriksson can benefit from playing time with a different team.

I am not giving up on him yet.

Regarding Pajuniemi: He has improved his overall game. He's not a Lehtinen-type two-way winger by any means, but he is no longer a liability in his own zone. Yes, his game is still mostly focused on, and carried by, his offensive instincts and he needs a year or so in the AHL to work on his game further, or another year in Liiga.

I think Pajuniemi signs his ELC this summer and then goes with one of those 2 options. Rangers management a year ago was pleased with his progression when I spoke to Lauri.

 

[eco's bones]

any chance Henriksson could be better in the AHL than in Europe. hope he aint a bust like Boo Nieves another 2ed round bum

Henriksson's biggest issue is he a smallish player who doesn't have an extra skating gear. He looked pretty good however at the 2019 Traverse City tournament. He's a cagy puck handler with good playmaking skills. That said smallish center without an extra skating gear does not make me think top 6 NHL center......I mean Stepan I guess but Stepan is in the 6' range. I also have the sense that Henriksson when he plays has been moved down to the lower lines which is not going to help him much as far as point production.

 

[nyr2k2]

Henriksson's biggest issue is he a smallish player who doesn't have an extra skating gear. He looked pretty good however at the 2019 Traverse City tournament. He's a cagy puck handler with good playmaking skills. That said smallish center without an extra skating gear does not make me think top 6 NHL center......I mean Stepan I guess but Stepan is in the 6' range. I also have the sense that Henriksson when he plays has been moved down to the lower lines which is not going to help him much as far as point production.

This year he has played the vast majority of his time on Frolunda's top line with Joel Lundqvist and Max Friberg. He was getting close to the total TOI as Raymond. However, he just hasn't put up points. And he has seen a number of scratches, and games where he starts on the top line and i later dropped. Last game he was nominally on the top line but only played a handful of minutes.

He has definitely had opportunities to produce this year, he just hasn't. His line usually plays better when he's replaced by Linus Nassen.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I'm sure i missed it somewhere previously, but how come Zac Jones and Massachusetts haven't played since Jan 30? And they only have 1 game left on Tuesday?

 

[Fitzy]

I'm sure i missed it somewhere previously, but how come Zac Jones and Massachusetts haven't played since Jan 30? And they only have 1 game left on Tuesday?

Greg Carvel's boys are back playing again soon

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I'm sure i missed it somewhere previously, but how come Zac Jones and Massachusetts haven't played since Jan 30? And they only have 1 game left on Tuesday?

Due to COVID the schedule is a bit of a mess and teams usually schedule something last minute.

 

[Machinehead]

I'm a Brett Berard Believer.

7 points in 13 games so far as an undersized freshman. Has Gaudreau at center written all over him.