Final Rangers Prospect List
 

After a month and a half of voting, we got our top-25 list!

The breakdown by position of the top 25 prospects:

C: 5
LW: 7
RW: 4
D: 7
G: 2

The list seems to be very well-balanced, though I would like to see Slats draft a RW in the first round, and a high-risk, high-return center in the second round because we are already really strong on defense and LW.


TOP PROSPECTS

1. C Derek Stepan
2. LW Chris Kreider
3. RW Mats Zuccarrello-Aasen
4. D Michael Sauer
5. D Dylan McIlrath
6. D Ryan McDonagh
7. LW Evgeny Grachev
8. RW Christian Thomas
9. LW Carl Hagelin
10. C Ethan Werek


SECOND TIER PROSPECTS

11. D Pavel Valentenko
12. LW Roman Horak
13. RW Jesper Fasth
14. D Tomas Kundratek
15. LW Ryan Bourque
16. RW Dale Weise
17. C Andrew Yogan
18. G Chad Johnson
19. D Mikhail Pashnin
20. C Chad Kolarik


PROJECTS & SUSPECTS

21. G Cam Talbot
22. LW Brodie Dupont
23. C Max Campbell
24. LW Jason Wilson
25. D Jyri Niemi


HONORABLE MENTIONS

* G Scott Stajcer
* D Dan Maggio
* RW Randy McNaught
* LW Devin DiDiomete
* LW Justin Soryal
* C Danny Hobbs
* Inferno272

Well let's subtract the obvious graduates from this list and we'll get a picture of what our needs are going into the draft.

TOP PROSPECTS

1. [2] LW Chris Kreider
2. [5] D Dylan McIlrath
3. [7] LW Evgeny Grachev
4. [8] RW Christian Thomas
5. [9] LW Carl Hagelin
6. [10] C Ethan Werek
7. [11] D Pavel Valentenko
8. [12] LW Roman Horak
9. [13] RW Jesper Fasth
10. [14] D Tomas Kundratek

SECOND TIER PROSPECTS

11. [15] LW Ryan Bourque
12. [16] RW Dale Weise
13. [17] C Andrew Yogan
14. [18] G Chad Johnson
15. [19] D Mikhail Pashnin
16. [20] C Chad Kolarik
17. [21] G Cam Talbot
18. [22] LW Brodie Dupont
19. [23] C Max Campbell
20. [24] LW Jason Wilson

PROJECTS & SUSPECTS

21. [25] D Jyri Niemi
* G Scott Stajcer
* D Dan Maggio
* RW Randy McNaught
* LW Devin DiDiomete
* LW Justin Soryal
* C Danny Hobbs

In the top 20:

LW: 7
C: 4
RW: 3
D: 4
G: 2

With as much as I don't know about the guys who aren't on the Whale, I'll say mostly.

This kind of makes my argument that we need a RW in the first round and a high-risk, high-return C in the second even more acute.

So we should not draft the better player, but draft the position that will balance out our prospect sheet? Is that how the good teams do it?

It honestly depends who is on the board, and our draft position. Teams don't always select the BPA.

Personally, I like the way (good) NBA teams do it. They create tiers by talent level with no consideration towards position played. Then, when their turn comes up, they discipline themselves to ALWAYS pick a guy from the best tier remaining - even if the only guy remaining plays the same position as their franchise player. (If they don't trade the pick, that is.) However, if there are multiple choices left in the top tier when they choose, they opt for the one that best addresses a need.

This is what I think will be our top-15 next year:

1. [2] LW Chris Kreider
2. [7] LW Evgeny Grachev
3. [8] RW Christian Thomas
4. [9] LW Carl Hagelin
5. [5] D Dylan McIlrath
6. [13] RW Jesper Fasth
7. [10] C Ethan Werek
8. [12] LW Roman Horak
9. [15] LW Ryan Bourque
10. [11] D Pavel Valentenko
11. [14] D Tomas Kundratek
12. [17] C Andrew Yogan
13. [16] RW Dale Weise
14. [22] LW Brodie Dupont
15. [21] G Cam Talbot

This will not necessarily be my list. For ex., so long as Thomas keeps scoring at a 100-point per season pace and Grachev will keep playing as he has over the last month, I will argue that Thomas should be ahead of Grachev, but I expect that most people will outvote me if Grachev is on the verge of cracking the NHL at the end of the preseason and then plays well in the AHL.

This is just the list that I expect a year from today.

Either way, I fully expect that half of our top-10 list next year will be LWs. Throw in Dubinsky, Wolski, Prust, Boo, Dupont, Didi, etc., and we look very much set at LW. Our left wings are as strong as our defensemen, maybe even more so.

All the recent clubs to win Cups didnt draft by position, in fact a lot of those teams were criticized for taking positions they already had covered, they just took the BPA.

Basketball drafting can not be compared to hockey. Different 'game' entirely IMO.

So you don't see these players play you just rank them by hearsay and stats, is that right?

:yo::yo::yo::handclap::handclap::handclap:


lol

I think that's an obvious one. If you have one player who's significantly above other remaining draftees, take him. But usually there are 3-5 players who are more or less the same. In these cases, I would really prefer that they go with a RW.

Callahan, Zuccarello, Thomas, Fasth and Weise are a nice bunch, but if we add a guy like Kreider (but a RW intead of a LW) to this bunch, it will be really set for the future because at least one of the high-risk, high-return guys should become a first liner, and then Zucca, Cally and Weise can round out the right wing.

I really think we should add a couple more RWs like Thomas and Fasth this draft.

Obviously in the first round take BAP.

You can pick by need and take risks in the later rounds. I think the Rangers really need some more playmaking centers in the system, and some right wing talent. No more 3rd-4th liners in the later rounds, shoot for the any top 6 scoring talent projects there may be.

Hearsay is a statement by someone who does not have personal knowledge. That would be, "Bob told me that he saw a murder, but I didn't see it myself."

Evidence/testimony is a statement of what you saw: "I saw the murder." That's how juries decide guilt or innocence.

Judging prospects based on the testimony of scouts is not completely illegitimate.

But that's not the only way they were judged. It's really a combination of seeing some/most of the prospects at some point (WJC, AHL, NHL, CHL), stats and scouting reports.

That's how a GM would judge a prospect anyway. Do you really think that before Sather comes up with his pre-draft list of desired 18-year-olds, he goes out and watches hundreds of them play several dozen times?

No, he relies on scouting reports and stats plus personally watching a game or two at times.

You mentioned stats when saying you'd rank Thomas higher if he got another hundred points next year, why? So many players, good or bad, could do that, can't just be so black and white with a young players progress.

Stats don't mean everything.

I think the posters poll on these boards are always the worst judge of our prospect pool. Most don't even know what these players are, they see points or NHL size and go from there.

I only expect Kreider and Grachev to have 30+ goal potential within the span of their careers. The rest I'm not very sure about.

I agree, we need to start targeting pure talent/risky players, rather than gritty 3/4th line guys with character.

I like the idea of picking BPA/need in a away. If they have 2 players rated the same, one is a C, the other being a LW, then I want them taking the C, but I dont want them reaching by a better player to pick based on a need.

I hope I managed to make my sentence make sence =)

Depth wise I think the organization is at a place now where they can pick for needs if they want too. I always feel they pick best available and let the chips fall where they may. That is why they draft McIlrath, he filled a need. Center is a concern, though not as much as before. Several players that we have as Centers in the organization potentially can fit the bill. Werek been hurt and that has slowed his progress. Stepan is having a good rookie season and should improve as he gets more experienced. Horak is a solid 2 way center that should be a year or so away.

Definitely think Thomas has 30 goal potential, maybe more. He will have 50-60 goals in juniors this year. It doesn't "prove" anything, but it definitely shows ability to score.

I can also see Horak and Fasth scoring 30 some day, though their odds aren't as good.

Again, none of this is guaranteed, but I'm really talking about "possibility" and not necessarily any kind of a guarantee.

Someone proposed that we add Tysen Dowzak to the honorable mentions. What do people think? He's big (6-foot-5 215 pounds), but can't skate, which is why he's all the way down in the single-A level Central Hockey League.

Does anyone think he should be added? Personally, I'm leaning against it, but I'll go with the general opinion.

Dowzak sucks. He has zero chance at becoming an NHL player. The CHL is a death sentence for a prospect.

As soon as his SPC is up, he's gone.

I would move Chad Johnson and Cam Talbot down on that list. No need to have a goalie anywhere near the top of the list.

Can someone tell me why our articles are always seemingly dead last on this site in terms of being porduced and now our top 20 article they didn't even bother making yet they moved on to discuss college and euro players for two teams already?

The way he compared it works. There are many things you can't compare but what he said about basketball applies even more so to hockey.
If you've got a spot filled there are 4 lines so who cares if you get two big time centers. Just because you have Brad Richards or Joe Thor doesn't mean you pass up Sid.

But if the players are even talent and two different positions you take the better fit. pretty common sense for any sport.