RW Andreas Thuresson won round 19 and C Casey Wellman is added to the poll.
Please let us know who else should be added as an honorable mention.
Rangers property eligible to be added as prospects:
Lee Baldwin
Francois Bouchard
Chris Chappell
Tommy Grant
Sam Klassen
David Kveton
Randy McNaught
Jason Missiaen
Jyri Niemi
Jason Wilson
Lukas Zeliska
TOP PROSPECTS
1. LW Chris Kreider
2. D Tim Erixon
3. C J.T. Miller
4. LW Carl Hagelin
5. D Dylan McIlrath
6. RW Christian Thomas
7. RW Jesper Fasth
8. C Michael St. Croix
9. RW Mats Zuccarello
10. C Steven Fogarty
SECOND TIER
11. C Andrew Yogan
12. RW Shane McColgan
13. C Oscar Lindberg
14. D Blake Parlett
15. D Pavel Valentenko
16. LW Ryan Bourque
17. D Samuel Noreau
18. G Chad Johnson
19. RW Andreas Thuresson
Andreas Thuresson
Right Wing
Born Nov 18 1987 -- Kristianstad, Sweden
Height 6.01 -- Weight 211 -- Shoots R
2011-12 Connecticut Whale AHL 46 9 6 15
Voted for Ceresnak because he is still young and has a shot at the NHL. The rest are pretty much crap.
Randy McNaught deserves to be on that list as the final honorable mention.
I voted for Ceresnak too.
I don't understand it, but what the voting here always seems to prove is that people prefer career minor leaguers, who will never have more than a cup of coffee in the NHL, over prospects with upside.
I don't understand it, but what the voting here always seems to prove is that people prefer career minor leaguers, who will never have more than a cup of coffee in the NHL, over prospects with upside.
It seems like about half of any team's draft picks on the average won't even make it the AHL--and Ceresnak is hardly a lock to get a pro contract. Subpar Traverse City tournament and his year in Peterbourough has hardly been spectacular.
It seems like about half of any team's draft picks on the average won't even make it the AHL--and Ceresnak is hardly a lock to get a pro contract. Subpar Traverse City tournament and his year in Peterbourough has hardly been spectacular.
A longshot for sure... Dan Maggio, Trevor Konerko & Dalyn Flatt were D-man with good size also. But I still think that a prospect with potential upside, like a Ceresnak, despite being a longshot, is more valuable than someone who's already most likely reached his ceiling. It's rare, but every now & then an unheralded young player turns into a Girardi or Callahan or Lunqvist. Journeymen minor leaguers and fringe NHLers are readily available every summer & the fact that it's that Andreas Thuresson and Chad Johnson are already pros means little to me when I'm looking for real, long-term value.
Guys like Thuresson and Wellman, you already know they can be AHLers. With some good fortune, they may have some type of NHL career. Someone like Ceresnak, he could end up an NHL player or he could be Jyri Niemi. The uncertainty is too much for me. At this point, how do we even know he has upside greater than those likely career AHL players? I haven't been impressed by anything I've seen.
People always talk about upside with the guys we haven't been significantly exposed to. I think the tendency is to overstate the upside of those "unknown" quanities based on nothing more than blind optimism.
Not saying that in reference to anyone in particular, but it's something I have noticed.
Ceresnak has good size and might develop. He also might decide to chuck the whole North American thing and go back home to more familiar surroundings. There's a lot we don't know--and it's not all about what's going on on the ice for him. The Rangers saw something and that's why they drafted him but at best he's several years away.
In any case making it in the AHL is a big step for 99% of prospects (those non-elite who don't make the jump right into the NHL). Even establishing yourself as an AHL professional takes lots of gumption and some talent.
The Rangers overall prospect depth this year is the lowest it's been in several years. That's just an opinion. After our top 11 guys and maybe or maybe not McColgan I don't see a lot to get excited about.
