After a month of voting, we now have our Winter 2012 results.
Centers: 5.
Left Wings: 4
Right Wings: 5
Defensemen: 5
Goalies: Only 1, but two more were Honorable Mentions.
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
20. C Casey Wellman
HONORABLE MENTIONS
(Ranked based on the number of votes they got in the last round.)
21. D Mikhail Pashnin
22. G Scott Stajcer
23. D Peter Ceresnak
24. G Cameron Talbot
25. C Danny Hobbs
26. RW Randy McNaught
OTHER RANGERS PROSPECT
(Listed in alphabetical order.)
Lee Baldwin
Francois Bouchard
Chris Chappell
Tommy Grant
Sam Klassen
David Kveton
Jason Missiaen
Jyri Niemi
Jason Wilson
Lukas Zeliska
imo Hagelin is #1 right now if he is considered a prospect.
A rookie with blazing speed, who is defensively responsible on a 50 point pace.
Sure, Kreider has hype, but we've seen Hagelin's ability and from here it can only improve.
I think he's right about where he should be. Just being in the NHL and playing well doesn't autmatically make you the team's best prospect. Kreider has first line upside...Erixon 1st pair potential. Hagelin could be better then them both...but he's not projected to be.
I think he's right about where he should be. Just being in the NHL and playing well doesn't autmatically make you the team's best prospect. Kreider has first line upside...Erixon 1st pair potential. Hagelin could be better then them both...but he's not projected to be.
Yeah, I would have put big Mac ahead of him too. Otherwise, I'm pretty much in agreement with the list, save a small reversal here or there.
rangers really dont have much talent there to be totally honest. some "good" players...but not many gamebreakers in the making.
The top 8 are very good. After that, I'm not excited about anyone. I don't see any of them becoming top-6 forwards or top-4 defensemen. We might get a couple role players from the players ranked 9 and below, but it won't be anything great.
That's the difference between this year's rankings and those of a couple of a years ago. I remember we were discussing how great the prospects were when we were already around #15.
In the current crop of prospects, I expect about 7 of the top-20 prospects to make the NHL, with 3 second liners and 2-3 third liners, plus maybe another 1-2 marginal players.
The top 8 are very good. After that, I'm not excited about anyone. I don't see any of them becoming top-6 forwards or top-4 defensemen. We might get a couple role players from the players ranked 9 and below, but it won't be anything great.
Fogarty doesn't excite you in the least? That kid has a ton of potential.
Fogarty doesn't excite you in the least? That kid has a ton of potential.
I would like to see what he can do at a higher level. Almost any third rounder, especially a physically dominant one, can do well at a lower-junior level. I want to see him get at least 25 points next season in college before I get excited about him for having "tons of potential."
Christian Thomas is still ranked 2nd best prospect by Hockeys Future. I think people soured a little on him based on a real small sample in the Traverse City tournament, but he has really picked it up in Juniors.
rangers really dont have much talent there to be totally honest. some "good" players...but not many gamebreakers in the making.
That could soon be even less if Columbus have their way.
Hagelin is up already ergo #1 "prospect" I don't see him as likely to go down anytime soon, except if he cools or tires, he might get a refresher down in HFD, and come back up.
Kreider is your gamebreaker and after that it's all 2-3-4 line fodder. Thomas is the wildcard.
Would you guys have voted Wellman higher if the Rangers traded for him earlier in the voting process? He's looked good in Hartford so far. Point producer.
Would you guys have voted Wellman higher if the Rangers traded for him earlier in the voting process? He's looked good in Hartford so far. Point producer.
From the little I know of him, I'd slot him around at the 11-15 area.
Talbot was certainly playing like an honorable mention before the playoffs! I am glad he made his stock rise a bit, but he has to turn a hot playoff streak into a good season next year.
This is the reasonable outcome of our prospect pool:
1. Kreider and Hagelin: one very good top-6 forward, one decent one.
2. Thomas, Fasth or MZA: one good second liner.
3. Miller and Michael St. Croix: one second line center
4. Fogarty, Yogan, Lindberg: one bottom-6 center.
5. Erixon, McIlrath, Noreau, Ceresnak: two second-pair blueliners (obviously most likely McIlrath and Erixon, but there's a risk with them, and there's some potential with others).
RESULT:
1 first liner
3 second liners
1 Boyle-quality center (not same style, just same quality)
2 second pair defenseman
U-30 FORWARDS
Top-6 (consistently over 45 points even in their bad seasons plus good all-around): Callahan, Stepan, Kreider, Thomas/Fasth/MZA, Miller/MSC (5 total)
Tweeners (35-50 points, depending on the season): Dubinsky, Anisimov, Hagelin (3 total)
Quality Bottom-9 (not much scoring, but good all-around): Boyle, Prust (if re-signed), Fogarty/Yogan/Lindberg, and maybe McColgan/Bourque (2-4 total).
In addition to these 10-12 young guys, we'll have Brad Richards for a while. Assuming the UFA age goes up, which should happen, the Rangers won't be in cap trouble for a while. That said, if Gaborik leaves in 2 years without being replaced by a similar scorer, the team will be in a lot of trouble offensively. Keep in mind that Brad will be 34 by then, so he will probably start to slow down.
We need to draft some offense-first players. I hope every pick this year is another version of Thomas, St. Croix and Fasth. Swing for the fences and hope you get a 30-goal scorer.
