Larry Brooks: Vitaly Kravtsov headed back to the KHL

[NikC]

Many questioned this selection at the time, they knew full well of the ramifications bringing players over from Russia... patience.

Rangers are shooting themselves in the foot with this clown coach. He is ruining this rebuild before it even starts.

 

[aufheben]

Can we pin this post to the top of the thread?

I would but we can only pin the first posts.

 

[Caser]

I know that, as a teenager, I was completely unprepared, psychologically, to go to college 4 hours from my home. I mean completely... and it was just a 4 hour drive!

I don't know if there's a similar thing going on with Kravtsov, but it definitely seems like a bigger possibility than him just bailing.

And then imagine that after every mistake you'd get thrown out of the classroom, would make you real confident, right?

 

[True Blue]

At what point do we all take our rose-colored glasses off and acknowledge this organization has an issue developing its own high draft picks?

Marc Staal, Michael Del Zotto, Chris Kreider, JT Miller. McIRath was a bad pick and had nothing to do with development. So too was Sanguenetti. Skjei's play deteriorated all on his own. Jury is still out on Chytil, Andersson & Kakko. I am going with it is a little early to state that the organization has failed to develop Kravstov just because he is going back to the KHL as a teenager.

 

[Tawnos]

And then imagine that after every mistake you'd get thrown out of the classroom, would make you real confident, right?

That's likely not what happened. A more apt analogy would probably be "imagine if not doing the coursework also meant you weren't allowed to attend lectures."

 

[Anzi]

He has every right to go back, he negotiated for the clause to do so. It's not a good PR move for him, but it is what is.

I think if he stuck around a little longer, people wouldn't be as upset. Today was the first day he could use the clause, and he immediately exercised it.

I'm a little surprised he didn't stick it out a bit more, considering Shestyorkin and Rykov are in the same situation as him

Shestyorkin and Rykov only have the option in the 2nd year. Kravtsov is the only one that got it for this year I think.

 

[NikC]

Why did they trade all their veterans?

To give our high draft picks the chance to play not retreads and converted defensemen at wing!!

Lol, this franchise is cursed...with stupidity

 

[TheBloodyNine]

So next year he'll still need to adjust to the NA game, which I thought this year was for. Cool.

 

[Tawnos]

Why did they trade all their veterans?

To give our high draft picks the chance to play not retreads and converted defensemen at wing!!

Lol, this franchise is cursed...with stupidity

They traded all their veterans to get more assets for the future. Nothing else.

 

[nyr2k2]

When you send a kid back to the OHL, do you assume their deficiencies are are being addressed by going back, or do you assume you are sending them back because they aren’t ready to address those deficiencies and need more time to mature?

If their deficiencies are that they're not strong enough, or haven't yet adapted to the speed of the pro game, then why would you send them back to the OHL? Sure, if a defender needs to work on his skating and gap control, that would be fine.

If Kravtsov needs to work on his strength, sharpen his decision-making with the puck, and adjust to having to play faster, is it ideal to send him back to a place where none of those things will be issues for him? I would think the answer is a pretty obvious no, but I guess it's out of the Rangers' hands.

You know just as well as anyone that different development paths are better for different players. Someone like K'Andre Miller who has immense physical tools but is very raw is served well playing NCAA hockey. A guy who is a well-rounded player known for his grit and defensive acumen coming out of NE Prep might be best-served honing his offensive skills in the OHL. A guy who just came from the KHL, who showed he's not strong enough and quick enough in his decision making to succeed in North America, going back to the KHL after a month? Yeah, don't know about the last one.

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Kravtsov needs to be in a role where he can get as much playing time as possible, if thats in the KHL fine. Not the best look from either but whatever.

 

[Peltz]

This is not a good look for him. He’s better off learning the NA game and style of play. Suck it up. This makes him look like he’s entitled and hard to coach. What’s the big deal? Suck it up, ride the bus and work on your game and if you bang the doors down you’ll get called up soon enough. Instead he runs at the first sign of trouble. Not a good look. I guess I can call him Kraptsov for the time being.

It's one thing to say that as a fan. It's another when you are a player who has a limited shelf life (as all pros do) and want to make a decent wage while you can that will need to last you in retirement.

He doesn't want to take a pay cut to learn the North American game and I honestly can't really blame him. Hopefully, he is ready for the NHL next year.

 

[aufheben]

I’m not concerned about Kravtsov, I’m concerned that the organization did not correctly assess the readiness of a top prospect. I remember being surprised he was already coming over. Maybe they were aware it was a risk but had reasons for taking it. When you have a situation involving a group of adults and teenager, you blame the adults.

Were you all leaders of men at 19?

 

[Kupo]

Why did they trade all their veterans?

To give our high draft picks the chance to play not retreads and converted defensemen at wing!!

Lol, this franchise is cursed...with stupidity

Fox. ADA. Andersson. Hajek. Howden. Kakko.

There's a lot of youth playing. Would have been nice to see Lias and Kakko with more time, but that will come with time. Chytil won't be down in Hartford for long either imo.

Listen, it pisses me off too that Vitaly is heading back to mother Russia. But you can't strictly blame the organization for that. Like I mentioned, I think both parties are responsible. Maybe Vitaly does have maturing to do? And maybe the leash was too short and too tight in what's supposed to be a developmental league?

I think if Gorton or JD truly felt like Kravtsov was being screwed, they would have stepped in and made adjustments. Maybe they know something we don't.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Many questioned this selection at the time, they knew full well of the ramifications bringing players over from Russia... patience.

Rangers are shooting themselves in the foot with this clown coach. He is ruining this rebuild before it even starts.

It's Quinns fault he bolted for Mother Russia?

 

[NikC]

They traded all their veterans to get more assets for the future. Nothing else.

Assets for the future? Please...
1/8OA...this is bad all around.

It shows either they cant access talent at the draft, or cant develop talent properly.

Gordie Clark has plundered this organization

 

[Anzi]

Kravtsov needs to be in a role where he can get as much playing time as possible, if thats in the KHL fine. Not the best look from either but whatever.

He'll probably get more minutes in a more featured role in the KHL than in the AHL. Only issue is he's probably not going to be able to work on the dump and chase hockey that the coaching staff wants him to work on as well in the KHL.

 

[Kaapo Cabana]

This isn't a cause to riot in the streets but there is nothing positive about this.

He was supposed to be ready, and he was not. Now we are pushing his development down the road. It's not ideal, regardless of whether or not its the right decision.

 

[Leetch3]

what size rink does his new team play on?

 

[Tawnos]

Assets for the future? Please...
1/8OA...this is bad all around.

It shows either they cant access talent at the draft, or cant develop talent properly.

Gordie Clark has plundered this organization

I wasn't aware that this signals the end of Kravtsov as a Ranger.

 

[Anzi]

what size rink does his new team play on?

Olympic rinks. He'd get to play some games on NA rink sizes on some road games but not ideal.

 

[Kupo]

I’m not concerned about Kravtsov, I’m concerned that the organization did not correctly assess the readiness of a top prospect. I remember being surprised he was already coming over. Maybe they were aware it was a risk but had reasons for taking it. When you have a situation involving a group of adults and teenager, you blame the adults.

Were you all leaders of men at 19?

I had a wife, 2 kids, and fought in 3 wars by the time I was 13.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

The coaching staff in HFD should all be fired.

Excellent job they did with our #2 prospect. Bravo boys.

 

[broadwayblue]

Just another in a string of poor draft picks led by Gordie Clark. What else is new? He let the Islanders get Wahlstrom and Dobson who are both on the NHL team while he drafts a player who flees to the KHL at the first sign of adversity. This does not bode well for his future. You'd like to see him fight through struggles and get used to the game rather than just quit and go back to his comfort zone. We've seen this before from other European players too. Mikhail Grigorenko, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Nail Yakupov all went back to Europe after struggling out of the gate to the pro game in the NHL and haven't seen the NHL since. Val Nichushkin went there, came back, and hasn't scored a single goal in 62 games since then. Late firsts are when you gamble on these type of guys. With a top 10 pick you need to go with more of the sure thing as opposed to the player who has options outside of the NHL.

This is so knee jerk.

 

[Leetch3]