Prospect Info: With the 123rd Overall Pick the Rangers Select Brandon Crawley

[cwede]

i looked in here because i thought there might interesting tidbits or comments about Crawley. Maybe we need a thread for border-line talents and their prospects for a notable NHL career,

 

[eco's bones]

I got a laugh out of the Crawley video last night on the Rangers site. His dad's a Rangers fan?--most of his friends are Rangers fans?---anyway his disparaging remark about the Rangers a few years back and I googled his team preference and it was the Devils. So we drafted the enemy.

Forgetting all of the above nonsense of this post--the London program is arguably the best of all the CHL teams.....and it will be interesting for me to see how Crawley actually does. How he keeps up with the pace--how he handles and moves the puck--being a younger body he might be just fine with those things. I expect he'll be competitive and physical. Maybe it's a wasted pick....maybe not. AT least give him a chance.

To go back to Girardi (who won a Memorial Cup with the Knights)--he was for quite a while a very good player--the game got faster and he couldn't keep adjusting for that. His injuries didn't help him either. **** happens as you get older. You look at some of the other older Rangers like Nash, Lundqvist and Steal and they're having issues with age too.

 

[Bluenote13]

With so many good prospects still on the board I would not have went with an overager. Karow, heading to BC, is also a left dman who's younger and has a higher ceiling, he was still on the board.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

With so many good prospects still on the board I would not have went with an overager. Karow, heading to BC, is also a left dman who's younger and has a higher ceiling, he was still on the board.

After the 2nd round it's a crap-shoot anyway. I wouldn't go with a CHL overager though. If we go overager, go with a European-based player who already plays pro-hockey

 

[cwede]

its not like they decided 123 was the time to pick any 20-year old
in team's analysis, 123 was the time to pick THIS 20 year old
to me that indicates they believe he is ready for the next steps, and to be where the other guys his age are at now.
some guys are having fun with the Girardi comparison, but if kid has half the career G has had, it will have been the right pick

 

[Zil]

They passed up a lot of high ceiling European prospects to take a CHL double overager with limited potential.

 

[nyr2k2]

Lots of people have said nice things about this guy since we picked him. Seemed like an odd pick but what do I know. Let's see what he can do.

 

[Bluenote13]

Lots of people have said nice things about this guy since we picked him. Seemed like an odd pick but what do I know. Let's see what he can do.

This is exactly what you said about Mcilrath.

J/k

 

[Edge]

Can't say I wouldn't have taken a guy like Reedy here, though I am also curious why Reedy seemed to noticeably fall.

As for Crawley, he's definitely a bit of a risk.

He's come a very long way in juniors and ten years ago I would've felt a little more confident about the possibility of him making the successful jump to the pros. With that said, it's not 2007 and I'm just not sure he keeps up with the pro game in 2017.

However, there are a lot of attributes to like here. In some ways he's not all that different than Brendan Smith, though it remains to be seen if he can continue his development.

The Rangers have a good scouting department, though I think people have somewhat forgotten that because a lot of their gems have been traded, along with a lot of picks. Maybe this one is a hit, they've had good luck with overage players in the past. But even if it isn't, our staff is good. No need to get over-dramatic.

 

[eco's bones]

Can't say I wouldn't have taken a guy like Reedy here, though I am also curious why Reedy seemed to noticeably fall.

As for Crawley, he's definitely a bit of a risk.

He's come a very long way in juniors and ten years ago I would've felt a little more confident about the possibility of him making the successful jump to the pros. With that said, it's not 2007 and I'm just not sure he keeps up with the pro game in 2017.

However, there are a lot of attributes to like here. In some ways he's not all that different than Brendan Smith, though it remains to be seen if he can continue his development.

The Rangers have a good scouting department, though I think people have somewhat forgotten that because a lot of their gems have been traded, along with a lot of picks. Maybe this one is a hit, they've had good luck with overage players in the past. But even if it isn't, our staff is good. No need to get over-dramatic.

I remember watching the pick come up at 102 and thinking we should take Reedy or Safin and then it was moved. Then I thought will we moved 21 spots down just to pick up an extra 6th round pick? The only thing I can say is I think the Rangers pretty much had a bunch of guys in mind but to them at 102 the draft had pretty much already turned into a crap shoot and they decided the more picks the better. Though they must have always had Lakatos and Virta in mind and the Sjalin pick would have been fine at 102 too. Which is to say it's a little bit confusing to me.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I remember watching the pick come up at 102 and thinking we should take Reedy or Safin and then it was moved. Then I thought will we moved 21 spots down just to pick up an extra 6th round pick? The only thing I can say is I think the Rangers pretty much had a bunch of guys in mind but to them at 102 the draft had pretty much already turned into a crap shoot and they decided the more picks the better. Though they must have always had Lakatos and Virta in mind and the Sjalin pick would have been fine at 102 too. Which is to say it's a little bit confusing to me.

Wait, we missed out on Safin too with that pick? Oof, that trade is turning out to be a brutal one for me, but that statement is loaded with bias because I was really hoping to take Reedy. I'll give Crawley the chance because London-coached kids usually fare well, but damn we could've added two good forwards at that spot. Grinds my gears a bit like the Daniel Bernhardt pick.

I think Virta can turn out to be an interesting player for us, so let's hope he isn't Thomas Spelling 2.0.

 

[Edge]

Time will tell.

It could be one of those trades/picks where everyone saw it coming, or it could be one of those moves where we throw out these names years from now and say, "Wow, I had completely forgotten about him. Remember how ticked we were that we didn't get him?"

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

I'm gonna be a total ****in creepy weirdo and mention how Crawley, Chytil and Andersson (ed: and sjalin, and some of the camp guys) are all following the same sleep doctor now on Twitter

https://twitter.com/crawldiddy14/following

must be an organizational thing

 

[eco's bones]

Time will tell.

It could be one of those trades/picks where everyone saw it coming, or it could be one of those moves where we throw out these names years from now and say, "Wow, I had completely forgotten about him. Remember how ticked we were that we didn't get him?"

It seems to me that if you're one of those who puts a lot of faith in the Hockey New top 100 draft picks or even the CBA's or even a lot of the draft prospectuses out there the Rangers amateur scouting draft is going to drive you nuts. It's not anything new. This has been going on for years. Not so much for first round picks but the 2nd round and on the Rangers don't go according to anyone's script. They have their own particular criteria for the kinds of players they choose and just because Red Line Report or McKean's or TSN suggest this player or that it doesn't make a difference to the Rangers amateur scouts.

That being said we do make some terrible picks but I don't think overall that the Rangers comparatively draft that badly at all.

 

[Edge]

It seems to me that if you're one of those who puts a lot of faith in the Hockey New top 100 draft picks or even the CBA's or even a lot of the draft prospectuses out there the Rangers amateur scouting draft is going to drive you nuts. It's not anything new. This has been going on for years. Not so much for first round picks but the 2nd round and on the Rangers don't go according to anyone's script. They have their own particular criteria for the kinds of players they choose and just because Red Line Report or McKean's or TSN suggest this player or that it doesn't make a difference to the Rangers amateur scouts.

That being said we do make some terrible picks but I don't think overall that the Rangers comparatively draft that badly at all.

The sad thing is that Crawley plays a game that is very easy to like. I'm just not sure how it translates to the pro game.

 

[nyr2k2]

The sad thing is that Crawley plays a game that is very easy to like. I'm just not sure how it translates to the pro game.

Crawley apparently plays a game I love. I always like hard-nosed guys that clear a crease and play defense. Like Graves, I want to like him. It's just that often these guys don't have the mobility and puck skills to translate to the modern NHL.

 

[eco's bones]

The sad thing is that Crawley plays a game that is very easy to like. I'm just not sure how it translates to the pro game.

I don't know either....but for him personally he's got to not try to be someone else and stay with his core strengths and the rough, nasty stay at home style and try to improve on his weaknesses.

Personally I think the later pick Sjalin has a much better chance of turning into an NHL player.

 

[Edge]

Crawley apparently plays a game I love. I always like hard-nosed guys that clear a crease and play defense. Like Graves, I want to like him. It's just that often these guys don't have the mobility and puck skills to translate to the modern NHL.

I would mobility and speed of the game will be the biggest challenge.

But he wouldn't be the first kid who bloomed late and makes it based on his hard work and ability to adjust.

 

[Levitate]

They passed up a lot of high ceiling European prospects to take a CHL double overager with limited potential.

To be honest "high ceiling" in the later rounds isn't a giant crapshoot. Rangers have tried to grab a lot of high ceiling guys in the later rounds and come up empty more often than not (and they hit on a couple as well)

 

[Edge]

When you find a guy in the later rounds or as an undrafted FA, you're labeled a genius.

But the reality is that there's always going to be far more misses than hits.

For every St. Louis, Lundqvist, Gaudreau or even Girardi, there are hundreds, of obscure trivia questions.

 

[cwede]

So who thinks Crawley gets signed, and plays AHL, this year?
Or is the overage year at London a foregone conclusion ...

 

[Matz03]

So who thinks Crawley gets signed, and plays AHL, this year?
Or is the overage year at London a foregone conclusion ...

He could play AHL this year but I think training camp will dictate where he plays. AHL team is thin, they could add some vets. He could also standout and get an ELC at that point, but I don't think it will be any sooner.

 

[nyr2k2]

Unless he really stands out in camp I would assume he goes back for an over-age year. Not sure how many minutes there would be for him in Hartford.

Day
Gilmour
Graves
Pedrie
Pionk
Zborovoskiy

That's six guys probably slated for Hartford that would likely be ahead of him. It's even possible Bereglazov is down there, too, though unlikely. And they may yet add a veteran defender.

 

[Mikos87]

They have Kampfer down there too. You need a vet when you have such a young d-corp.

Day may benefit most from being in the AHL but he's eligible to go back to juniors.

And maybe DeAngelo doesn't make the big club and they send him down to save on the cap.

You could see a core of:

Graves-DeAngelo
Gilmour-Pionk
Pedrie-Kampfer
Zboro

But I'm more than comfortable with Gilmour & Pedrie going down to the ECHL if they don't have NHL futures.

 

[nyr2k2]

Forgot about Kampfer.

Clark mentioned Day as someone he thought could fight for an NHL spot. Sincere or not with that comment, the team has been pretty consistent in their praise of Day. Have to think they want him in the AHL at this point.