Stepan still has to be viewed as a prospect as well as the addition of MZA and the drafting of The Undertaker.
As Fitzy mentioned, the starts from Horak, Werek and Thomas are going to help elevate the Org. But I also think that addressing the crease clearing monster that we didn't have in the system at this time last year will also help.
Additionally, the start that Stajcer has had is also something to be noted.
Finally, both Max Campbell and Carl Hagelin are doing very well for their college teams it looks like we have a very very nice stable of kids in the system.
It really comes down to what kind of stock the put in the early season starts for these kids.
Of our current top-5, only Stepan has really been strong out of the gate. McDonagh, Kreider, Grachev and MZA are all off to somewhat slow starts.
You look at the "second tier" and a lot of those guys are having great starts. Thomas, Haeglin, and Werek are all doing very well.
Then you have guys like Horak and Bourque who are outside of the top 10, and are outperforming guys who are in the top 10. Of course it's all relative to the league/age/skillset, but it's really tough to judge all the way around.
You have to take the current HF ratings into account. That's how the system works. Horak/Werek/Thomas's fast starts won't have any impact.
You don't even need to wait for the list, really. Just look up the 10 teams who haven't been listed yet and look at their top 20 prospects. I'm sure there's a bit of subjectivity, but if you did something like adding up the square of the top 10 prospects rating, you probably wouldn't be far off.
Of our current top-5, only Stepan has really been strong out of the gate. McDonagh, Kreider, Grachev and MZA are all off to somewhat slow starts.
You look at the "second tier" and a lot of those guys are having great starts. Thomas, Haeglin, and Werek are all doing very well.
Interesting post.. I did not really realize that the top ranked prospects are off to a slow start but then the second prospects seems to be off to great starts... It really just goes to show that it is so difficult to predict which prospects make it and succeed at the NHL level.. For all we know, Kreider can disappoint or bust and then a player such as Hagelin or Horak become the next home grown first line player for the Rangers.
Interesting post.. I did not really realize that the top ranked prospects are off to a slow start but then the second prospects seems to be off to great starts... It really just goes to show that it is so difficult to predict which prospects make it and succeed at the NHL level.. For all we know, Kreider can disappoint or bust and then a player such as Hagelin or Horak become the next home grown first line player for the Rangers.
Yep, which is why I try to encourage people to do their own research and not get too mixed up in the rankings or the YouTube highlights.
There are some excellent players in the NHL today that were ranked as average, or even downright lousy prospects. I believe HF had Ryan Kesler as a 5.5C at one point. Just goes to show you that it really boils down to an educated guessing game. People often talk about how important the 1st and 2nd rounds of a draft are, but quite often the later rounds are equally as important. If you have a quality scouting staff, like the Rangers do, there's no such thing as "just a draft pick."
From what I've seen over the last few years, the Rangers have and continue to have greater depth in their prospect pool than other teams. They, of course, don't have the sure shot Kane-Crosby-Doughty type of player. I love the depth and the fact that they continue to pull guys like Horak out of the 5th round. I wouldn't be surprised if they are as high as 5th.
Yep, which is why I try to encourage people to do their own research and not get too mixed up in the rankings or the YouTube highlights.
There are some excellent players in the NHL today that were ranked as average, or even downright lousy prospects. I believe HF had Ryan Kesler as a 5.5C at one point. Just goes to show you that it really boils down to an educated guessing game. People often talk about how important the 1st and 2nd rounds of a draft are, but quite often the later rounds are equally as important. If you have a quality scouting staff, like the Rangers do, there's no such thing as "just a draft pick."
Case if point.
Hank was a 7th rounder
Callahan was a 4th rounder
Girardi was a free agent signing?
Kreider is 19. He will be fine. He may even get the ice time he needs in the second half of the season. He will also play in the WJC. His coach has no interest playing and developing players that aren't staying in BC for 3-4 years. Its not a great situation currently. But it can change. Something has to give eventually.
We have three 20 year olds on the NHL roster. Things like that don't happen unless your a consistent dead last team, or unless you draft well. We've been drafting well.
i say 7-8, we have alot of potential but not many surefire nhl players.
Grachev could be great along with kreider,undertaker, and thomas. too many boom or bust to be 6 and up.
