No.1 should've been Erixon, than McDonagh then Kreider.
in your opinion.
i happen to agree with the way its gone so far.
I think Kreiders immense ceiling barely beats McDonagh who already has played half a season of 2nd pairing minutes including a handful of playoff games. to me Erixon is a pretty distant 3rd behind those 2 guys. at least as of right this minute.
I think Kreiders immense ceiling barely beats McDonagh who already has played half a season of 2nd pairing minutes including a handful of playoff games. to me Erixon is a pretty distant 3rd behind those 2 guys. at least as of right this minute.
Erixon's ceiling beats McDonagh without a doubt. No one is willing to give this guy the royal treatment because we've been on Kreider and McDonagh's jock for at least a year now and have become fan boys.
[QUOTE=Emma Royd;34184187]McDonagh is a core part of our defense right now, and I'd hold onto that known quantity.
/QUOTE]
Everyone felt the same way about Del Zotto at the end of last season. Things change very quickly for young players.
I'm unclear how McD how could have done better than he did last year. As a rookie, he displayed great ice sense, has a great first step, and made very few defensive gaffes.
While Erixon might end up better, he will have to be near all-star consideration in his first year to be better, in my opinion.
Yeah he was as good as you could've expected from a rookie defensively! Absolutely no complains there. However, I don't really see all that much offensive potential. And I just think Erixon might have that. Even though he isn't proven on the NHL level yet, he is two years younger after all and will, by all accounts, make the NHL this year.
Erixon's ceiling beats McDonagh without a doubt. No one is willing to give this guy the royal treatment because we've been on Kreider and McDonagh's jock for at least a year now and have become fan boys.
im not sure how you figure on McDonaghs ceiling being lower than Erixons.... I think McDonagh looks like a sure first 2nd pairing defenseman who could be a first pairing guy in a few years....he already played the top pair this season when Staal went down and played admirably.
I think our top 3 prospects are all very close. Even Thomas isn't that far behind IMO. But I am going with scout opinions here, and they seem to be that Erixon is our top guy. Plus, I am kind of hoping that we have a prospect who can step in and perform even better than McDonagh did.
To have 5 blueliners who play amazing defense would be huge. If McD and Sauer keep improving and Erixon plays as well as they do (he's supposedly flawless on defense), there is a good possibility that the Rangers will give up the fewest goals in the East or maybe the whole NHL. They were #3 in the East (3 goals behind the East-leading Bruins) and tied for #5 in the NHL (13 goals behind league leader Vancouver). Add McD full-time instead of for half a season plus Erixon, and suddenly Lundqvist's job gets a lot easier.
If Erixon comes in with his advertized near-flawless defense, I see the Rangers as one of the top 1-3 defensive teams in the league, and that makes them Cup contenders (look at the defensive squads the debils were putting up in the mid-90s).
And that's why I kind of hope that Erixon will be at least as good as McD. Would mean a lot to our team.
Everyone felt the same way about Del Zotto at the end of last season. Things change very quickly for young players.
That's true, and it is a definite possibility that McDonagh may have a down year. Still, there's a big difference with him (and Sauer) as opposed to Del Zotto. Del Zotto is a very skilled player who doesn't really know how to play the game that well. McDonagh is clearly a very bright player. He understands the game. And I am taking into account the differences that come with being an offense-first defenseman. Being an offense-first defenseman doesn't mean you have to be a poor defensive player, or at least not an adequate one. It doesn't even really give you the excuse that because you take chances you get caught up the ice more frequently, because good offensive defenseman get involved offensively in such a fashion that they manage to keep the negative impact on their defensive contributions limited.
im not sure how you figure on McDonaghs ceiling being lower than Erixons.... I think McDonagh looks like a sure first 2nd pairing defenseman who could be a first pairing guy in a few years....he already played the top pair this season when Staal went down and played admirably.
That was a pretty small sampling, and going back to TOI all the defenseman saw a pretty steady increase, so we can't act like McDonagh stepped into the time that Staal usually does...
I think our top 3 prospects are all very close. Even Thomas isn't that far behind IMO. But I am going with scout opinions here, and they seem to be that Erixon is our top guy. Plus, I am kind of hoping that we have a prospect who can step in and perform even better than McDonagh did.
To have 5 blueliners who play amazing defense would be huge. If McD and Sauer keep improving and Erixon plays as well as they do (he's supposedly flawless on defense), there is a good possibility that the Rangers will give up the fewest goals in the East or maybe the whole NHL. They were #3 in the East (3 goals behind the East-leading Bruins) and tied for #5 in the NHL (13 goals behind league leader Vancouver). Add McD full-time instead of for half a season plus Erixon, and suddenly Lundqvist's job gets a lot easier.
If Erixon comes in with his advertized near-flawless defense, I see the Rangers as one of the top 1-3 defensive teams in the league, and that makes them Cup contenders (look at the defensive squads the debils were putting up in the mid-90s).
And that's why I kind of hope that Erixon will be at least as good as McD. Would mean a lot to our team.
they need to score goals...plain and simple...and it cant be like 9 goals 1 game, and then 1 goal the next 3 for an average of 3 goals a game...they need consistent goal scoring. hence why im a)not looking to upgrade the defense and b)think the rangers need another elite player beyond brad richards.
