Your Biggest Hits and Misses

[silverfish]

I'll throw another miss in for Balej. Thought he would an awesome dangler and make the NHL. Looking back, I think I was just memorized by the hair.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I'll throw another miss in for Balej. Thought he would an awesome dangler and make the NHL. Looking back, I think I was just memorized by the hair.

Did the Rangers have the choice between Balej and Plekanec?

 

[frozenrubber]

Did the Rangers have the choice between Balej and Plekanec?

That was the rumor at the time. Rangers also just moved Nedved at the deadline and weren't looking to add any new mock turtlenecks, so they chose Balej.

Josef Balej was probably the first Ranger prospect who got the YouTube player evaluation treatment.. Boy did he have some highlight reels from the AHL.

 

[RiffyNYR61]

Miss: I was really upset when NYR took JT Miller over Mark McNeill in 2011... looks like they probably made the right call. I also thought Stanislav Chistov was going to be the next Bure... nope.

Hit: I saw Zach Parise play for team USA at the world juniors in Finland in 04. Knew he was a stud and was dying to have him in blue. Couldn't believe it when we passed him up. Also, as some others have mentioned, I really like Carlson in 08 over Del Zotto.

 

[Machinehead]

Hits:

While actually watching the draft I said 'yay' Parise fell to us' followed by 'Hugh who?'. Then a few years later while actually watching the draft I said 'yay Fowler fell to us' followed by 'Dylan who?'

I'm on these boards criticizing the Mac draft pick the next day saying I wanted Fowler, Tarasenko or Gormley, so to date im two out of three there!

Hated the Redden signing from day one and argued with those trying to rationalize it - no he did NOT just need a change of scenery.

Hated the Boyle signing.

Critized constantly trading all those draft picks

Said here the Yandle trade would be short term gain long term pain. Not enough gain.

Hated the Staal trade - those of you in the trade thread applauding it have some 'splainin to do!

Misses:

When zucc first came over and went back to Europe without accomplishing much I thought he would never be a factor.

Liked the Gomez signing.

Thought the Nash trade would put us over the top.

Someone mentioned Ric Bennett - I thought for sure he was going to be a star too

Pavel Brendl - I totally bought into it

Wouldn't call that a miss.

He was really good here and then we traded him for McDonagh before he started to suck. It could not have possibly gone better.

 

[chosen]

Hit- Pavelich. Excellent player for a short while, who for whatever reason didn't want to play after a while.

Miss - Sandlak. Had a decent career, but I thought he could end up a great power forward.

 

[Dijock94]

Hit: Lundqvist...... Best goalie in franchise history in the late rounds? Win

Miss: Zherdev...... Thought he had the physical talent to be a dominant player, he just didn't care (I hate him for that) biggest waste of talent I have ever seen.

 

[Edge]

Wouldn't call that a miss.

He was really good here and then we traded him for McDonagh before he started to suck. It could not have possibly gone better.

Gomez was one of those times where we actually traded a guy as he started to slide, rather than waiting until he had severely diminished value.

The fact that we were able to land McD is almost equivalent to felony armed robbery.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Wouldn't call that a miss.

He was really good here and then we traded him for McDonagh before he started to suck. It could not have possibly gone better.

I'd call the Gomez signing a miss. I think time has been a little kind here. He had a good first year here. But beyond that I don't think he was really good.

That they got Gaborik and McDonagh seems have sugar coated Gomez's Ranger career.

 

[mti79]

I remember thinking we hit the jackpot when we took Brendl and then Lundmark. Unfortunately, I was not correct in that assessment.

Hit: Not sure if it's a hit or not as I didn't know anything about him when I decided I liked the guy, but Jesper Fast is a guy I've been high on since we drafted him. Liked his name and the fact that the only picture of him around looked like a facebook picture and not a generic headshot, did some research and realized that he could end up being a late round gem. Not a Lundqvist type gem, but a good solid player.

Side note: the only draft I remember watching intently was the Cherepanov draft. As he fell down the board, I kept hoping beyond hope that he would slide to us. I remember being ecstatic when we drafted him. I also remember being devastated when I found out he died. I was at Stout with a buddy before a game when someone told me.... That must have been the reason I got so drunk that night. ha ha.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Hit: I liked the Stepan pick a lot after doing some reading on him when we took him. Thought he'd be a top 6 center.

Miss: Had high hopes for Christian Thomas.

 

[Edge]

Hit: I liked the Stepan pick a lot after doing some reading on him when we took him. Thought he'd be a top 6 center.

Miss: Had high hopes for Christian Thomas.

Stepan got a lot of crap from people who thought he was going to be Darin Olver, but the two were always very different players. I remember having a few arguments defending Stepan back then.

 

[Bluenote13]

Stepan got a lot of crap from people who thought he was going to be Darin Olver, but the two were always very different players. I remember having a few arguments defending Stepan back then.

I admit I was upset, but mainly cause I think he could have been grabbed in the 3rd round, and it wasn't Olver I was scared of, it was Billy Ryan, Lee Falardeau, Kenny Roche, Randy Hillier.....

 

[Made Dan]

I'd call the Gomez signing a miss. I think time has been a little kind here. He had a good first year here. But beyond that I don't think he was really good.

That they got Gaborik and McDonagh seems have sugar coated Gomez's Ranger career.

You're absolutely right, but looking back I can't fully understand why. By all means, his first season in New York was a successful one. Looked like, though not a dominant one, #1C who just left you wanting a little more. His second season is when he began to get **** from the fans, but still had a decently productive year with 58 points.

 

[Edge]

Miss
Sean Haggerty - Thought he'd be a similar player to Ryan Smyth.
Eric Fichaud - Thought the Islanders had a heck of a young goalie.

Hit
Tyler Toffoli - Thought the kid was the type of guy winning teams had knew he'd be a real good NHL player. Thought he'd be a first rounder, didn't quite think he'd score 30 in the NHL.

 

[yarre]

Hit:
Lundqvist - I really took notice of him in 2003 I think and thought he could become the best Swedish goaltender ever. He delivered. And then some.

Misses:
MZA - I didn't believe he could manage the transition from SHL to NHL.
Erik Karlsson - I didn't see why he would go first round. Small defenseman with decent offense. Yeah I was very wrong.
Johan Franzen - I thought he would become a decent second line player in SHL but nothing worthy of the NHL.
Niklas Hjalmarsson - He looked good in SHL but not good enough for the NHL. Wrong!
Erik Andersson - he looked like a super promising center in the SHL. I thought for sure he could become a good center in the NHL. I don't believe he is even playing in the SHL now.

I am not a good scout

 

[Edge]

Even if you're exceptionally good at identifying talent, you're almost always going to have more misses than hits.

It's kind of the same approach to being a HOF hitter in baseball - you're one of the best ever if you fail 66 percent of the time.

 

[Roo Returns]

I always though Mike Mottau was going to have a better career. Thought he could be a better defensive version of Marc-Andre Bergeron.

I was sort of wrong/sort of right on Korpikoski. Never saw much upside in him thought he'd have a similar career to Jan Erixon. He has had a nice career but is no defensive wiz.

I really liked Balej and thought he would be a perenial 20-goal scorer. He looked good at the end of 2003-04 and really good for Hartford in 2004-05. Something happened with him during 2005-06. He was very distant and just seemed unhappy being a Ranger during training camp and preseason 2005. I think Leslie said he seemed distant as well. After that he never made the team, got shipped to Vancouver, and had the Kidney injury that forced him to leave NA. I have no factual information but back on the Hockey Rodent and other Stone Age message boards, there were rumors that a young sniper in the Rangers organization was upset with them bringing in Nylander, Straka, Rucinsky, and Ruccin and felt it diminished his chances of making the club. Always thought that was Balej.

I expected more of Cory Hirsch, and I liked Vorobiev, Johnan Whitehall, and Daniel Gonaeu. Vorobiev I never understood why he was sent down (his ppg at the NHL level was pretty good given the small sample size). Whitehall was fine, he was sent down based on reputation only, and Gonaeu was apparently very immature. Sucks he never made it back to the dance.

 

[FLYLine27*]

I admit I was upset, but mainly cause I think he could have been grabbed in the 3rd round, and it wasn't Olver I was scared of, it was Billy Ryan, Lee Falardeau, Kenny Roche, Randy Hillier.....

Ryan*

I was actually going to include him... I thought he would at least have a good AHL career. Didn't even come close to that.

 

[Bluenote13]

Ryan*

I was actually going to include him... I thought he would at least have a good AHL career. Didn't even come close to that.

Randy Hillier was just as bad, but at least he made the NHL

 

[Ghost of jas]

Miss
Sean Haggerty - Thought he'd be a similar player to Ryan Smyth.
Eric Fichaud - Thought the Islanders had a heck of a young goalie.

Hit
Tyler Toffoli - Thought the kid was the type of guy winning teams had knew he'd be a real good NHL player. Thought he'd be a first rounder, didn't quite think he'd score 30 in the NHL.

That one still pisses me off. Christian Thomas,

 

[Edge]

I always though Mike Mottau was going to have a better career. Thought he could be a better defensive version of Marc-Andre Bergeron.

I was sort of wrong/sort of right on Korpikoski. Never saw much upside in him thought he'd have a similar career to Jan Erixon. He has had a nice career but is no defensive wiz.

I really liked Balej and thought he would be a perenial 20-goal scorer. He looked good at the end of 2003-04 and really good for Hartford in 2004-05. Something happened with him during 2005-06. He was very distant and just seemed unhappy being a Ranger during training camp and preseason 2005. I think Leslie said he seemed distant as well. After that he never made the team, got shipped to Vancouver, and had the Kidney injury that forced him to leave NA. I have no factual information but back on the Hockey Rodent and other Stone Age message boards, there were rumors that a young sniper in the Rangers organization was upset with them bringing in Nylander, Straka, Rucinsky, and Ruccin and felt it diminished his chances of making the club. Always thought that was Balej.

I expected more of Cory Hirsch, and I liked Vorobiev, Johnan Whitehall, and Daniel Gonaeu. Vorobiev I never understood why he was sent down (his ppg at the NHL level was pretty good given the small sample size). Whitehall was fine, he was sent down based on reputation only, and Gonaeu was apparently very immature. Sucks he never made it back to the dance.

Ah, Corey Hirsch.I remember at the time being pissed that the Rangers didn't move Healy and make Hirsch the backup. For one season at least, it looked like a horrible trade for the Rangers.

But then the wheels fell off and Hirsch was relegated to being a AAAA kind of player.

In hindsight, Hirsch was a good but not great prospect who seemed to end up on really good teams early in his career/

 

[NYGBleedBlueNYR]

I'm not much of an NHL draftnik but I do remember standing in front of my tv dumbfounded we passed on Tarasenko.

My hits imo was that I was ahead of the curve on trading Staal & Girardi both rather than extending. Though I did think G's contract numbers better than anticipated I was sure Stralman could take his place & Klein could take Stralman's ... Maybe that should be another hit lol

 

[NickyFotiu]

2002
Rangers-Lee Falardeau. With other more known prospects with higher ceilings on the board we picked a dud.
Hit-Loved Alex Steen. Was a hug fan of his Dad Thomas when he played for the Jets. Jim Slater too.

I need to get some more sleep. My brain must have froze in time. I half way thought it was Thomas Steen still playing for the Blues today lol

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Grachev was the first guy I ever hyped up.

Duclair was the second.

So I feel like I'm 1 and 1.