Prospect Info: Winter 2016 Rangers Prospect Poll: Final Results

[Beacon]

RW Daniel Bernhardt won round 20.

This was the last round. The 5 prospects who did not make it in the last round are Honorable Mentions, ranked in the same order as the number of votes they get this round. For tie-breakers, we used the round they were added to the poll. The remaining prospects (below) are listed in alphabetical order as Rangers property.


TOP PROSPECTS

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


SECOND TIER

7. C/LW Aleksi Saarela
8. LW Ryan Gropp
9. C Adam Tambellini
10. C Robin Kovacs
11. G Brandon Halverson
12. C/LW Cristoval Nieves
13. C Steven Fogarty
14.D Sergey Zborovskiy
15. G Mackenzie Skapski


PROJECTS & SUSPECTS

16. RW Nicklas Jensen
17. G Adam Huska
18. C Brad Morrison
19. D Calle Andersson
20. RW Daniel Bernhardt


HONORABLE MENTIONS

21. G Magnus Hellberg
22. D Ryan Mantha
23. LW Ryan Bourque
24. D Tommy Hughes
25. C/LW Marek Hrivik


RANGERS PROPERTY

Donnay, Troy
Iverson, Keegan
Kantor, Michael
McCarthy, Chris
Nanne, Tyler
Nejezchleb, Richard
Nicholls, Josh
Noreau, Samuel
St. Croix, Michael

Click to read more...

 

[Rangers in 7]

Why am I not allowed to vote on the poll?

 

[Mac n Gs]

Why am I not allowed to vote on the poll?

I believe you need to be an HFBoards member for 90 days before being able to post threads or vote in polls.

I'm surprised Keegan Iverson didn't get much mention. He seems like he'll develop into a quality depth player.

 

[Rangers in 7]

I believe you need to be an HFBoards member for 90 days before being able to post threads or vote in polls.

I'm surprised Keegan Iverson didn't get much mention. He seems like he'll develop into a quality depth player.

Oo ok, thanks for your help.

Iverson I heard was having a decent year after a down year last year.

 

[Miamipuck]

I wish my body was as lean as this prospect list.

 

[cwede]

I sorta mostly agree.
There's the typical over-faith in the latest picks.

The forwards after Buch (and Lindy),
you could put those 11 guys + Iverson in almost any order
- the group is lean A+/A prospects but deep in B+/B prospects,
or at least guys, each of whom you could argue their potential

Same at D, after Skjei/Graves
No firm basis to choose between Calle, Zbo, Mantha or Hughes

The next major consideration is development,
and man, as we've discussed before, a lot of us don't believe good ol' Kenny G has been thebest guy for the job ...

 

[kovazub94]

I believe you need to be an HFBoards member for 90 days before being able to post threads or vote in polls.

I'm surprised Keegan Iverson didn't get much mention. He seems like he'll develop into a quality depth player.

Same. Nothing else jumps out otherwise.

 

[darko]

Agree on Iverson. Just feels wrong not having him in top-25.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

22pts in 37 games as an overages is solid?

 

[E-Train]

22pts in 37 games as an overages is solid?

Not overage. This is his age 19 season.

Thanks to Beacon on another job well done.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Andrew Shaw didn't light up the OHL, and he turned into a quality depth player. There's more to these players than just point totals.

 

[Beacon]

22pts in 37 games as an overages is solid?

He's not an overager, but his stats are still bad. He's put up the same numbers the last 3 years. They weren't great for a 17 year old, but good enough to get drafted in the third round considering his other assets. But for his final Junior year, the numbers are awful. The Rangers will likely have him do an overager year in the Juniors before deciding whether to offer a contract. If not, then he's headed for the ECHL next season.

To show how bad his stats are, Sam Noreau (a goon who plays defense and has no skills) had about the same points per game at the same age as Iverson is getting right now. Troy Donnay, another good for nothing big defenseman without any skill, got a similar number of points, though that was as an overager.

Dale Purinton had better numbers at the same age than Iverson, and while he did make the NHL, 1) he was terrible; 2) he only played because he was a goon; 3) he was a defenseman. Same for Eric Cairns, and he put up much better numbers than Iverson. Jonathan Paiement had far better numbers than Iverson.

Note that these are not some standout offensive guys. All of these were defensemen known for not having any skill except fighting. I'm not even comparing Iverson to forward goons here, I'm comparing him to defensemen goons, and he still is behind them, though most of these were/are just ECHLers.

Nor did I pick random guys while leaving out others. Pretty much everyone who gets drafted, even in later rounds, has over half a point per game in their final Junior season. That includes guys who could barely keep up in the ECHL in subsequent years.

Andrew Shaw didn't light up the OHL, and he turned into a quality depth player. There's more to these players than just point totals.

Everyone knows of the 2-3 guys who make it because he was a late bloomer, but when a literally 99% of the rest fail to make the NHL, usually spending their careers in the ECHL or below, we just don't pay attention to them. That's like saying, "I keep seeing guys on TV who won the lottery, so the odds are pretty decent." Well, no, they just don't show all the lottery losers on TV, but they do show every big-time winner.

 

[darko]

And yes kudos to Beac for doing this.

 

[Beacon]

TOP PROSPECTS

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


SECOND TIER

7. C/LW Aleksi Saarela
8. LW Ryan Gropp
9. C Adam Tambellini
10. C Robin Kovacs
11. G Brandon Halverson
12. C/LW Cristoval Nieves
13. C Steven Fogarty
14.D Sergey Zborovskiy
15. G Mackenzie Skapski


PROJECTS & SUSPECTS

16. RW Nicklas Jensen
17. G Adam Huska
18. C Brad Morrison
19. D Calle Andersson
20. RW Daniel Bernhardt


HONORABLE MENTIONS

21. G Magnus Hellberg
22. D Ryan Mantha
23. LW Ryan Bourque
24. D Tommy Hughes
25. C/LW Marek Hrivik


RANGERS PROPERTY

Donnay, Troy
Iverson, Keegan
Kantor, Michael
McCarthy, Chris
Nanne, Tyler
Nejezchleb, Richard
Nicholls, Josh
Noreau, Samuel
St. Croix, Michael

13 of these 34 prospects graduated, were traded away, dumped or aged out: Lindberg, Saarela, Hrivik, Bourque, Iverson, Nejezchleb, McCarthy, Kantor, St. Croix, Nicholls, Noreau, Mantha, Hellberg. Hughes could be #14 since he was not qualified yet. Bernhardt, Nanne, Morrison and Donnay don't give me much hope for their future. Skapski and Calle both had disappointing seasons.

The Rangers will have 5 draft picks this year, but no picks until #80. Plus they added Malte Stromwall. Either way, the team hasn't faced such a lack of prospects since forever.

Even in the run-up to the Dark Ages, the farm was better with guys like Marc Savard, Mattias Norstrom, Niklas Sundstrom, Mike York, Cherneski (awful injury ended his career) being seen as great prospects, and even Dube, Jeff Brown, Burke Henry seen as top prospects that eventually did not work out. Oh hell, Boulton, Cairns, Purinton, Blouin, Martin, Vasiliev, Goneau, Jarvis were all seen as having decent hope for the future, much more so that most of the guys in the 10-20 range of our farm today.

 

[Inferno]

yeah...our prospect pool is just so barren....the win it at all costs trades have just crushed out future.

 

[offdacrossbar]

iverson is a fringe player. maybe a 3/4 tweeter energy guy.

we specialize in that type of forward.

the guy has zero offensive upside.

 

[eco's bones]

13 of these 34 prospects graduated, were traded away, dumped or aged out: Lindberg, Saarela, Hrivik, Bourque, Iverson, Nejezchleb, McCarthy, Kantor, St. Croix, Nicholls, Noreau, Mantha, Hellberg. Hughes could be #14 since he was not qualified yet. Bernhardt, Nanne, Morrison and Donnay don't give me much hope for their future. Skapski and Calle both had disappointing seasons.

The Rangers will have 5 draft picks this year, but no picks until #80. Plus they added Malte Stromwall. Either way, the team hasn't faced such a lack of prospects since forever.

Even in the run-up to the Dark Ages, the farm was better with guys like Marc Savard, Mattias Norstrom, Niklas Sundstrom, Mike York, Cherneski (awful injury ended his career) being seen as great prospects, and even Dube, Jeff Brown, Burke Henry seen as top prospects that eventually did not work out. Oh hell, Boulton, Cairns, Purinton, Blouin, Martin, Vasiliev, Goneau, Jarvis were all seen as having decent hope for the future, much more so that most of the guys in the 10-20 range of our farm today.

Morrison was drafted at 6-0 164 lbs. He was thought of by a lot of people as one of last year's best sleeper picks. He's now listed at 6-0 171 lbs. He went from 50 points to 62--was third on his team in scoring both years. It's not that his numbers went up fantastically but neither did Ryan Gropp's and Morrison is pretty much a year younger. Also Gropp's Seattle team has a bit more talent than Morrison's Prince George team. Morrison doesn't have a blue chip line mate like Gropp does either. I think this coming season is going to say a lot about Morrison--but if he continues to add a little more weight and gets to a point a game or better then he's going to be worthy of a contract. He's not a perimeter player like St. Croix--he's got a water bug style of game but it's a competitive water bug style.

I think the company he keeps in the off season while training for the next should be a huge benefit to help him take the next step and the step after. He knows what NHL players go through to prepare themselves for the rigors of an NHL season. I have hopes that he could turn into a good player--there's no guarantee but there are at least some reasons to think that he could turn out very well. No way would I compare him with Bernhardt, Nanne or Donnay.

 

[Charlie Conway]

EDIT: Wrong thread. Whoops.

I think this poll ended up being pretty spot-on in retrospect.

 

[nyr2k2]

yeah...our prospect pool is just so barren....the win it at all costs trades have just crushed out future.

The mentality has devastated the prospect pool, but I wouldn't say it has "crushed" the future of the organization in general. Some savvy maneuvering can rectify the problems at the NHL level relatively quickly. The prospect depth will obviously take longer to reestablish.

 

[kovazub94]

Skjei leapfrogged McI, Jensen and Huska probably did the same over Nieves and Fogs. Though it really doesn't matter as there are only two prospects in Buch and Skjei, besides graduates, who look to be sure NHLers. Maybe Mcilrath and Graves. The rest is a crapshoot. Sad but understandable from where this team has been the last 4-5 years.

 

[Beacon]

I think this poll ended up being pretty spot-on in retrospect.

Everyone who got dumped was at the bottom of the poll's rankings. Hrivik was badly underrated here, but everyone else is more or less where they should be, give or take a few spots.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

13 of these 34 prospects graduated, were traded away, dumped or aged out: Lindberg, Saarela, Hrivik, Bourque, Iverson, Nejezchleb, McCarthy, Kantor, St. Croix, Nicholls, Noreau, Mantha, Hellberg. Hughes could be #14 since he was not qualified yet. Bernhardt, Nanne, Morrison and Donnay don't give me much hope for their future. Skapski and Calle both had disappointing seasons.

The Rangers will have 5 draft picks this year, but no picks until #80. Plus they added Malte Stromwall. Either way, the team hasn't faced such a lack of prospects since forever.

Even in the run-up to the Dark Ages, the farm was better with guys like Marc Savard, Mattias Norstrom, Niklas Sundstrom, Mike York, Cherneski (awful injury ended his career) being seen as great prospects, and even Dube, Jeff Brown, Burke Henry seen as top prospects that eventually did not work out. Oh hell, Boulton, Cairns, Purinton, Blouin, Martin, Vasiliev, Goneau, Jarvis were all seen as having decent hope for the future, much more so that most of the guys in the 10-20 range of our farm today.

I don't know if i'd consider Wrath a prospect at this point anymore either.

How would you even rank our prospects list right now? Here's how I guess I would rank it:

1. Buch
2. Skjei/Shesty
3. Skjei/Shesty
4. Graves
5. Gropp
6. Kovacs
7. Halverson/Rambo
8. Halverson/Rambo
9. Stromwall
10. Huska
11. Zboro
12. Jensen
13. Boo Nieves
14. Skapper
15. Morrison
16. Fogarty
17. Bernhardt
18. Calle
19. Nanne
20. Chapie?

I'm obviously not the most well informed on our prospects, though it is frustrating how barren our pool is.

Out of this pool, 2 or 3 are surefire NHL'ers, and how many of those guys even have NHL potential? A good amount of guys on this list will most likely be in Europe in 2 or 3 years.

There's no debating that this is a Bottom-5 Prospect pool, and it's definitely debatable that it's Bottom-3.

 

[Inferno]

Skjei leapfrogged McI, Jensen and Huska probably did the same over Nieves and Fogs. Though it really doesn't matter as there are only two prospects in Buch and Skjei, besides graduates, who look to be sure NHLers. Maybe Mcilrath and Graves. The rest is a crapshoot. Sad but understandable from where this team has been the last 4-5 years.

the weird thing for me here is that I think McIlrath at his best this season was SIGNIFICANTLY better than Skjei was at any point during his time here. When McIlrath had that 7 or 8 game run with Yandle I felt like he was playing like a 1st pairing defenseman.

Im sure im in the absolute minority here but I felt like for the most part Skjei looked a bit out of his depth...like he needs more time, or significantly easier matchups. the talent is unquestionably there...but i do think some people rush to say player x has leapfrogged player y.

i think Skjei skates better than McIlrath so that makes him more of a favorite with the club...but TBH i think Mcilrath showed a better first pass, a better ability to play the boards, and a bomb from the point. Skjei showed he can carry the puck, and use his feet to get himself out of trouble.

McIlrath is/was more prone to the big mistake because sometimes his feet seem to get in his own way, and he can sometimes take his eyes off the puck and doesnt seem to "feel" it on his stick very well. he seems like a player who needs to look down at his stick before he makes a pass because he just doesnt have a feel for where the puck is...i think thats a skill that can most definitely be honed with practice and coaching.

id say in every way shape or form that McIlrath outperformed Skjei this year...i think people just remember that Skjei played in the playoffs and McIlrath didnt (except in our 1 win).

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I'm not counting McI, Lindberg, Hrivik, Jensen. I don't consider any of them to be prospects.

1. Buch
2. Shesty
3. Skjei
4. Graves
5. Huska
6. Kovacs
7. Halverson
8. Tambellini
9. Gropp
10. Morrison
11. Stromwall
12. Joly
12. Zborovskiy
13. Skapski
14. Nieves
15. Andersson
16. Fogarty
17. Bernhardt
18. Nanne

 

[Mac n Gs]

Shestyorkin over Skjei right now is a tough call because he's unfortunately being blocked at the KHL level. It was absolutely amazing how he dominated the VHL this year, and hopefully he'll get more time with SKA this season.

I'm putting Skjei ahead of him for now because he's shown that he can play in the NHL. I'm really excited for both to continue developing this season. Buch is obviously number 1.

1. Buch
2. Skjei
3. Shestyorkin
4. Graves
5. Huska
6. Kovacs
7. Halverson
8. Tambellini
9. Gropp
10. Nieves
11. Morrisson
12. Skapski
12. Zborovskiy
13. Fogarty
14. Andersson
15. Stromwall
16. Joly
17. Bernhardt
18. Nanne