Prospect Info: Rangers Prospects Thread (Updated: 11.25.21)

[Ola]

LWs should be 4/20 of the picks, Cs 4/20, …LDs 3/20 and so forth.

Do we draft many defenders?

We were very distinctly LD heavy under Gorton before the last draft. LDs should constitute 3/20=15% of the picks. During 2016-2019 we drafted 10/31 = 32% LDs, ie twice it’s share.

During the same period we drafted only 3 RDs. Resulting in that we “only” was D heavy by app 10 percent points.

Is this just a coincidence? I don’t like to believe coincidences. During the same period Gordon traded our top 2 LDs in Skjei and McD and bought out the 3rd in Staal. We talk about taking BPA, but facts are that this isn’t true. So many teams are set at LD and have big holes at RD. RD gets a huge premium in the draft. Often they get picked like 15-20 spots higher than they would if they shot left. But you can still trade LDs, at maybe not a great return, but it can be done. We did it. Is it a coincidence? Maybe, but could also have been a strategy.

 

[Miamipuck]

Draft whoever you think has the best chance of becoming an NHL player. You do that consistently and the organization won't have worry about position. You can trade from a position of strength and rectify positional shortcomings through other means.

Essentially, I couldn't care less if the Rangers draft another 5 or 10 Rd's or Ld's and they are good to great prospects they will get their center regardless.

 

[wafflepadsave]

Draft whoever you think has the best chance of becoming an NHL player. You do that consistently and the organization won't have worry about position. You can trade from a position of strength and rectify positional shortcomings through other means.

Essentially, I couldn't care less if the Rangers draft another 5 or 10 Rd's or Ld's and they are good to great prospects they will get their center regardless.

Unfortunately you are correct. It seems like we should go after centers but if they’re not there, bpa.

 

[bobbop]

Anyone who needs a cautionary tale of why you don’t force position should look at our old friend Don Maloney, who picked Dylan Strome ahead of Mitch Marner because…wait for it…”he‘s a center”.

The rest is history…and so was Maloney in Arizona.

 

[Ola]

Anyone who needs a cautionary tale of why you don’t force position should look at our old friend Don Maloney, who picked Dylan Strome ahead of Mitch Marner because…wait for it…”he‘s a center”.

The rest is history…and so was Maloney in Arizona.

And he had size, and you must have size at center to win in the POs.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Looking for info on players who made their NHL debut last season. What kind of future outlook do these guys have?

Zac Jones
Tarmo Reunanen
Morgan Barron
Justin Richards

 

[Raspewtin]

Looking for info on players who made their NHL debut last season. What kind of future outlook do these guys have?

Zac Jones - Bit of a wild card, he had a very solid collection of NHL games for his first pro experience. Had to fill in on a team completely falling apart right out of college and did not look out of place. To me, seems like an offensively inclined #4 at his peak. His skating is polarizing on these boards with some thinking he's a bit slow, and others thinking he's quick enough and has the positioning to make up for it.

Tarmo Reunanen - If we didn't have a billion D prospects he'd probably be an NHL regular. Probably a bottom pair journey man D. good skater, great shot from the point, good passer, he's, to me, the prototypical bottom pair "offense in a pinch" D. he's good, I think, but he likely has no future here and it's not his fault

Morgan Barron - Also kind of a wild card, the opinions on his potential range a lot on HFNYR. Big, physical, and plays a hard and defensive game. Has a good shot that he's used well to this point. He got PK time and even started taking faceoffs as the year went on. Where he winds up going on this current roster is anyone's guess, but I think he's a lock to be at least a solid bottom half player.

Justin Richards - No idea tbh. Had one game and looked great. Super hard worker and all over the ice forechecking. came out of college being labeled somewhat as a diet chris drury.

there are people here that probably know way more but here's my stab at it.

 

[Joey Bones]

there are people here that probably know way more but here's my stab at it.

I'd say that's pretty accurate...

I think Jones might be a "safe" middle-6 offensive-minded guy but could play better than that given time. Reunanen I think could be better than just that "journeyman defender". Think if given the right opportunity, Tarmo could be a steady bottom-4 defender.

Barron I think you got spot on. Richards seems like a real good candidate to take over the 4C one day.

 

[Fitzy]

The only thing working against Richards being a defensive forward is his size.

Reunanen, again, really could onbly find a home on a team in desperate, desperate need of a PPQB. He's very much like Bobby Sanguinetti in that he'll never be good in the physical element of the game.

I actually think Reunanen could work in a Dick Tarnstrom role where he just sort of stands in on a very powerful PP and moves the puck around, but is a liability at even strength. We don't need that, but someone else might, including all the NY Ranger teams from 2005 to 2008.

 

[Joey Bones]

The only thing working against Richards being a defensive forward is his size.

Reunanen, again, really could onbly find a home on a team in desperate, desperate need of a PPQB. He's very much like Bobby Sanguinetti in that he'll never be good in the physical element of the game.

I actually think Reunanen could work in a Dick Tarnstrom role where he just sort of stands in on a very powerful PP and moves the puck around, but is a liability at even strength. We don't need that, but someone else might, including all the NY Ranger teams from 2005 to 2008.

Is he really a liability at even strength? Think he has a severely small NHL sample size. We know he was pretty good in Hartford albeit with some off days, but as the No. 1 defender there he did a pretty good job.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Joey, I watched every Hartford game this year in which Reunanen played. I like the player. Good offensively. Very good passer, effective QB on power play, good shot that never gets blocked. But he is not a dynamic skater, doesn't carry the puck into the offensive zone. As far as defense? Not so good. Didn't play one second of penalty kill all year. That should tell you something. I saw him beat with speed several times and he is not very strong. I think he can be a bottom tier defenseman in the NHL playing sheltered minutes. But I don't see it with the Rangers.

I like Zac Jones much more than Reunanen.

Is he really a liability at even strength? Think he has a severely small NHL sample size. We know he was pretty good in Hartford albeit with some off days, but as the No. 1 defender there he did a pretty good job.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Richards is only a 4C. Not much offense even in Hartford. Hard worker. Good penalty killer. Decent skater. I think he has a shot. Agree with Fitzy that he would be more valuable if he were bigger and more physical.

I'd say that's pretty accurate...

I think Jones might be a "safe" middle-6 offensive-minded guy but could play better than that given time. Reunanen I think could be better than just that "journeyman defender". Think if given the right opportunity, Tarmo could be a steady bottom-4 defender.

Barron I think you got spot on. Richards seems like a real good candidate to take over the 4C one day.

 

[Joey Bones]

Joey, I watched every Hartford game this year in which Reunanen played. I like the player. Good offensively. Very good passer, effective QB on power play, good shot that never gets blocked. But he is not a dynamic skater, doesn't carry the puck into the offensive zone. As far as defense? Not so good. Didn't play one second of penalty kill all year. That should tell you something. I saw him beat with speed several times and he is not very strong. I think he can be a bottom tier defenseman in the NHL playing sheltered minutes. But I don't see it with the Rangers.

I like Zac Jones much more than Reunanen.

That doesn't really pinpoint being a liability, though. He was effective some days and was cold some other days. Still thought he did relatively well with what he was able to do.

Agreed on Jones...

 

[Fitzy]

I like Zac Jones much more than Reunanen.

Jones has a much higher ceiling. Tarmo tops out as a #7. I think that's understandable.

One of the two should be gone this offseason. There's no room for both.

 

[Edge]

I think Reunanen is going to be more a specialist if he makes it, though I think he's better than a 7th defenseman or someone who is strictly sheltered.

His future is probably elsewhere based on how this team is shaping up, but I also find him to be a bit underrated on these boards as well.

 

[nyr2k2]

Reunanen looked pretty weak physically and was not particularly adept positionally. I remember his coach at TPS sitting him a few times his last stint there for defensive effort. I'm just not sure he has what's needed to be successful defensively as a pro in North America.

Which leads you to his offense. I know his point totals were impressive and I'm not going to argue he wasn't effective (he was) but he really wasn't a catalyst in terms of moving the puck up ice on a consistent basis. He makes a decent first pass and is probably at his most effective with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. He can be a good PP option for sure.

The problem again is that it seems unlikely that he'd get regular PP time on our current squad and he's not going to be in the lineup for his defensive prowess. He could probably carve out a regular role on a team with less at defense, but for us, I'm not sure he'll be able to find that regular role.

 

[Joey Bones]

I think Reunanen is going to be more a specialist if he makes it, though I think he's better than a 7th defenseman or someone who is strictly sheltered.

His future is probably elsewhere based on how this team is shaping up, but I also find him to be a bit underrated on these boards as well.

This is my take too. Well said!

 

[SnowblindNYR]

And he had size, and you must have size at center to win in the POs.

He probably also was good at faceoffs and by good I mean a couple of percentage points above 50% because the range of faceoff percentages is tiny.

 

[cwede]

iClinic Bratislava Capitals·
BRATISLAVA - In the new season of Ice HOCKEY LEAGUE, the hockey club iClinic Bratislava Capitals will strengthen the striker Marc-Olivier Roy and defender Tyler Nanne.
′′ Tyler Nanne is a defender who has high-quality skating, dexterity, quarterback and we are waiting for him, in addition to defensive activities, active support of the attack. This is how our defense is now complete.
...
25-year-old Nanne was drafted in 2014 in round 5. by the New York Rangers team. However, he collected his experience mainly in the NCAA for Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota. IClinic Bratislava Capitals coming from the South Carolina Stingrays team at ECHL. For Nanne, iClinic Bratislava Capitals is the first place outside the USA.
...

 

[Fitzy]

Good for Nanne

 

[nyr2k2]

Yeah he couldn't really crack the AHL last year, so that's good that he found a pro-level gig overseas rather. Weird that they mention he spent time at OSU considering he never actually played there with the myocarditis and everything. Anyway, the ICE Hockey League is...not great, so he could find a lot of success there.

 

[nyr2k2]

Tärnström to Rögle's J20, which had been rumored for a while, is official. He'll have a chance to force his way onto the big club but that will be tough. Rögle is where Edström plays.

Oliver Tärnström ny i Rögles J20

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Tärnström to Rögle's J20, which had been rumored for a while, is official. He'll have a chance to force his way onto the big club but that will be tough. Rögle is where Edström plays.

Oliver Tärnström ny i Rögles J20

Of course I hope for the best but I have a hard time seeing Tärnström making any noise this upcoming season. He was meh in Ettan last season so for him to crack the line-up of a team 2 divisions higher (and a contender for the championship) would be the biggest turnaround in years for a prospect.

I never understood the pick to be honest.

 

[Roo Returns]

Nanne and Tanrstrom not good picks.

As for what @bobbop said, I get that you don't draft centers just because they are centers, but at some point the Rangers need to address this problem. If you're always importing centers from other teams it's a losing battle because of the cap, mileage, and often teams aren't going to part with their best centers unless there are red flags.

The time to go crazy with centers is rounds 3-4 with the as of now 5 picks. You'll be able to throw stuff against a wall and something will stick.

I hate this whole defeatist "the Rangers can't draft a good center because they haven't in a long time" angle.

I always say, do the work. Figure out what you've been doing wrong and use analytics. If a guy has a fixable flaw (skating stride/can't play defense/etc.) but is Yannic Perrault between the dots, I'm game.

It doesn't take a physicist or advanced linear algebra PHD to know that drafting goalies in round 2 isn't going to help you on faceoffs or score goals.

 

[nyr2k2]

Nanne and Tanrstrom not good picks.

As for what @bobbop said, I get that you don't draft centers just to have centers, but at some point the Rangers need to address this problem. If you're always importing centers from other teams it's a losing battle because of the cap, mileage, and often teams aren't going to part with their best centers unless there are red flags.

The time to go crazy with centers is rounds 3-4 with the as of now 5 picks. You'll be able to throw stuff against a wall and something will stick.

I hate this whole defeatist "the Rangers can't draft a good center because they haven't in a long time" angle.

I always say, do the work. Figure out what you've been doing wrong and use analytics. If a guy has a fixable flaw (skating stride/can't play defense/etc.) but is Yannic Perrault between the dots, I'm game.

It doesn't take a physicist or advanced linear algebra PHD to know that drafting goalies in round 2 isn't going to help you on faceoffs or score goals.

I liked the Nanne pick. Skilled guy with good bloodlines who was going to the USHL, so you knew you'd have probably four full years at least to watch him develop. Unfortunately he had myocarditis and missed another year after due to NCAA transfer rules. For a fifth round pick, he fit the profile of the kind of player I like to take.