Prospect Info: With the 9th Overall Pick the New York Rangers Select Vitali Kravtsov

[Pavel Buchnevich]

New York Rangers 1st Round Pick #9 OA - Vitali Kravtsov (RW)

15. Vitali Kravtsov, RW, Chelyabinsk-KHL
Dec. 23, 1999 | 6-foot-2 | 170 pounds
GP: 35 | Goals: 4 | Points: 7 | Shoots: Left
Skating: 55
Puck Skills: 60
Physical Game: 50
Hockey sense: 55
Kravtsov improved as the season went along. After being cut from Russia’s World Junior Championship team, he finished with one of the best postseasons I’ve ever seen from a teenager in a pro league, becoming a go-to player for his KHL team, a member of the second power play and a top nine regular on a team that went to the KHL’s final four. He’s got an interesting toolkit. He’s 6-foot-2, skates rather well, shows flashes of dynamic hands and is pretty coordinated for his size. He can push defenders back with speed and gain the offensive zone with control. His edge work/elusiveness is decent, too. While he can make some nice plays and shows good creativity, I think he’s more of a finisher than a playmaker; someone who could drive his offense in the NHL through leading on zone entries and finishing chances from a distance. His vision looked better to me this season than last, but he’s not going to be a guy who hovers around looking for options. He’ll need work off the puck, too, as he can get pushed off pucks a little too easily for a big man; but when he uses his body, his frame protects the puck well. I’ve seen him be used at center, but he projects most likely as a winger. I watched him a lot this season and truthfully did not think what I saw matched his incredible KHL production, but it’s hard to ignore his progress and he does still have a very good skillset.

Pronman's 2018 NHL draft rankings: Top 74 prospects

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[LastWordArmy]

Scouting Report
Vitali Kravtsov Scouting Report: 2018 NHL Draft #16 - Last Word on Hockey

 

[Calad]

Welcome kid!! KHL rookie of the year

 

[hamzarocks]

Congrats guys you got the best winger from this draft class. He is going to be so damn good.

 

[Lone Ranger]

I was hoping for Wahlstrom but Kravtsov may have an even higher ceiling.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

I mean, I love it. Now get the 10th pick too! xD

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Like the pick, might be a few years away, but the kid is a dynamic talent

 

[Ainec]

i ranked him 9th fwiw

ranked ahead of wahlstrom

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

absolutely disgusted, why would you not trade down and still make this pick? Islanders will come out with steals in this draft.

 

[Gospel of Prospal]

Ladies and Gentleman, Family Guy Presents: Gorton and Clark (Wahlstrom is the boat; Kravtsov is the mystery box):

 

[QJL]

He’s a player I haven’t watched as much. Obviously had an incredible finish to the year. Bummed we left Dobson and Wahlstrom on the board.

 

[Trxjw]

Called it in the prediction thread.

If he pans out, he could be the most talented winger in the draft behind Svechnikov. It's a big "if" though.

 

[Synergy27]

I wanted Wahlstrom but I'm quite ok with this. This is a potential elite talent type of player, not a McIlrath type pick.

Now go get me Farabee.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I like this pick.

I've had this kid in and around my top 10 since January. He ended at exactly 10 on my last rankings.

I said earlier this week that I thought he'd be too much of a reach top 5 because I don't think he's a sure thing, but 6-10, its a quality gamble. Highly talented goal-scorer. Big, excellent skater. Very skilled and can set players up, also.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Look, I'm gonna level here. I wanted the absolute sniping ability of Wahlstrom. Plain and simple.

Kravtsov is an absolute bull with the puck and has that slippery element where he's so big, fast, and skilled that he's tough to contain. He's like a Chris Kreider except with better hands. I don't think he'll be a sniper, but he'll have that ability to dominate defenders 1v1 and wreak havoc in the crease.

Maybe they're trying to get ahead of the curve and going with bigger, faster, skilled forwards as the rest of the league opts for smaller, skilled defenders?

 

[Levitate]

If his finish to last season in the playoffs is how he continues playing and improving going forward, it's a great pick

I guess that's it

 

[offdacrossbar]

Wow

I like me some Russians

Wanted to wahlstrom but this kid was a huge riser. Interesting pick here.

I did say his would be a heavy euro draft

Go get me alexeyev and merkley

 

[mike14]

HP had him at #6. Some select quotes:
"Kravtsov is a highly-creative winger who has some of the most dynamic puck-skills featured out of any forward in this
draft class. We have seen him make plays from his knees that most players can’t make from a standing position to
demonstrate his level of puck-handling ability."
"The kid plays with ice in his veins and rarely looked out
of place in the KHL by showing the ability to read the play in advance and act quickly."
"One of Kravtsov’s more notable skills is his ability to manipulate his frame in order to re-open his shooting
and passing lanes when they are closed off. He’s a crafty player who has learned how to exaggerate his movements due
to his high-degree of agility and dexterity,"
"Although he’s capable of
making highlight-reel finesse plays, he’s not afraid to score an ugly goal or make a simple play when it calls for it either,
which is an important aspect of why he’s efficient on the ice in the offensive-end."
"Although offensively gifted, he does have some room for improvement in terms of his physical development and play
away from the puck. He was featured on the penalty-kill in spurts and was good at clogging his shooting lanes but
occasionally was late to react to identifying where he needed to be in order to receive a pass from a defenseman when
transitioning back up the ice."
"Kravtsov has one of the highest offensive-ceiling’s in the draft and has an energetic demeanour on the ice where he’s
usually smiling, it’s noticeable when he’s having fun out there. His energy and poise when combined with his skill-level
makes him one of the more exciting prospects in this class."

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

If his finish to last season in the playoffs is how he continues playing and improving going forward, it's a great pick

I guess that's it

I think its more complicated than that.

Its not like he played bad, and all of a sudden produced. KHL teams don't give big roles to 17/18 year old kids that often. He got more ice time towards the end, and he produced. He played with better players in a bigger role.

Do I think he was as good as he showed in those first two series? No, but I also think he was better than he produced this season. The P/GP stat doesn't really give a good idea of his production because he wasn't playing all that much per game.

 

[Good Intentions]

Fun to look back on now -

Post #1 - Kuznetsov went 24 OV in 2010. We won't get Kravtsov at 26, but I don't think it's out of the possibility that we take him at 9. In fact, I'd put him in a Top 10 'likely' scenario for us. Note: Both Kuznetsov and Kravtsov were part of the same KHL club, Chelyabinsk. Kuznetsov's first full NHL season was at Age 22, 2014-15.
Post by: Alexei Kovalev 27, Jun 8, 2018

Post #2 - 72 hours ago, guys here were jumping off a bridge if we took Kravtsov 9th, now they would give up their wives for a shot at him with a mid-1st.
Alexei Kovalev 27, Monday at 7:59 PM

Post #3 - re: @ GoAwayStaal: I would have to look back on it to last week (or what seems to be 40 pages)..re: I brought up Kravtsov as a true dark horse for the 9th OV slot. In recent days, the Kravtsov temperature has risen. Don't know if that's credible reasoning or simply the repetition of the name/highlight clips, etc
Alexei Kovalev 27, Monday at 8:31 PM

 

[Fvital92]

The guy is awesome. Rookie of the year in the near future.

 

[mas0764]

I hate that we didn't trade up for Zadina or take Wahlstrom, but I don't think Kravtsov is a bad pick.

It's just that, like Lias Andersson last year, I don't think he's the best pick. I don't understand why this organization has to go off the reservation so often in the first round. It's like they are trying to outsmart people.

But they need to take a look and realize that their track record of doing this in the first round sucks, and that if they went with convention they'd be much better off, historically. Tarasenko or Fowler over McIlrath. Mittlestadt over Andersson. Probably Walhstrom over Kravtsov.

Stop getting cute, Gordie Clark and Jeff Gorton.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Kravtsov's contract is up after this upcoming season. It'd be dumb to even try to get him over here this year. Let him have a good season, play in a bigger role in the second best league in the world.

After that, bring him over at the same time as Shestyorkin and Rykov.

And if for some reason SKA beats us to his signature, we wait about the time we waited to get Buchnevich over to the NHL.

There's no reason for a rebuilding team to rush players who aren't ready. Kravtsov might not even be ready after one more season.

 

[Ghost of jas]

I know we fall in love with these kids, but, people need to understand, a lot of times, the difference in some of these kids is minimal. This is a kid with a very high end. It's now on the Rangers to develop that high end. If he maxes out, this is the high-end skill we've been craving.