I really like the Straka comparison to Fasth. Based on what I've seen of him that is a pretty good comparison for how he darts over the ice and it seems he is often in the middle of the play where he is needed due to his movement.
New York Rangers traded Mark Savard and 1st round selection (Oleg Saprykin) in 1999 to Calgary Flames for the rights of Jan Hlavac, 1st (Jamie Lundmark) and 3rd (Patrick Aufiero) round selections in 1999.
But without Hlavac we would never have had the Czeck Line
And maybe Kovalev as well, but I can't remember. Straka certainly benefited big-time by playing with some world class players but he certainly did not look out of place either and helped raise Jagr's game.
And maybe Kovalev as well, but I can't remember. Straka certainly benefited big-time by playing with some world class players but he certainly did not look out of place either and helped raise Jagr's game.
He actually reminds me of Hagelin today the more I think about it.
And maybe Kovalev as well (edit: oops, in Pitt), but I can't remember. Straka certainly benefited big-time by playing with some world class players but he certainly did not look out of place either and helped raise Jagr's game.
Last edited by The Sweetness: 02-19-2013 at 04:25 PM.
And maybe Kovalev as well, but I can't remember. Straka certainly benefited big-time by playing with some world class players but he certainly did not look out of place either and helped raise Jagr's game.
The Jagr Nylander Straka line was the most offensively reliable line we've had since Graves Messier Amonte. The Czech line of Hlavic Nedved Dvorak was also very tough to defend but the Nylander line was more productive.
The Jagr Nylander Straka line was the most offensively reliable line we've had since Graves Messier Amonte. The Czech line of Hlavic Nedved Dvorak was also very tough to defend but the Nylander line was more productive.
Great line and such brilliant puck possession players. I forgot they played together to be honest. Nylander was such a little magician with the puck.
While researching David Rundblad to see what has become of him, I ran into an interesting name Maxim Goncharov. From the scouting report:
6'3", 215 lbs, 23 years old, RD.
Was a 5th rd pick by Phoenix in 07.
Can play the point on the PP, has a great shot, plays physical and is sound defensively.
The coyotes have a logjam with their D prospects and the Rangers don't have anybody with PP skills in their pipeline.
If nothing else he can help the whale and hopefully develop into something useful on the PP in a couple of years.
If anybody watches the Portland pirates, I would appreciate a first hand account.
The Coyotes have called four defensemen up from the AHL this year and none of them are named Goincharev. He's beyond forgotten in the Coyote organization and I can't imagine he's not eminently available in a minor league trade. I'm surprised he is still playing in the AHL for a Coyotes affiliate.
Eh, he's all flash, IMO. If he can't do the hard and dirty work to score his points, he won't thrive as a professional. We had Brendan Shinnimin, an UDFA, in our camp a couple years ago. He scored like 130 points in 70 games his final WHL season. But his game isn't really suited to the pros, and he's a middling prospect in the AHL. I don't think St. Croix is a bad prospect, but I don't think he's anything to get excited about.
His offense has dipped this year as well. I will say, in his defense, that he has shown more of a focus on his two way play and defensive responsibilities in the two or three games I've watched this year (HockeyStreams is great, BTW ). He's just kinda "meh" to me. A fourth round pick that looks like a fourth round pick.
He's another guy that I've never been impressed with. He basically plateaued offensively as a 16-year old. The lack of progress is sort of alarming. I do need to watch him though...haven't seen him this year.
Natrually he hasn't progressed as we hoped, but he does at least play a pretty gritty game with a ton of intensity.
He is a tad too small to be a good prospect, but its not atleast impossible for him to make it as anything else than a scoring player.
Kreider ranked #20 on THN Future Watch. Miller at #38.
Top-5 Ranger prospects according to THN:
1. Kreider
2. Miller
3. Fasth
4. McIlrath
5. Thomas
6. Skjei
7. Nieves
8. Talbot
9. Jean
10. St. Croix
Not terrible. A lot of the THN rankings are just wildly bad, but this isn't bad. With Fasth, Thomas and St. Croix ranked so high, it's clear that they gave the ceiling higher value than the risk.
Hrivik should be in the top-10 instead of Jean. If he didn't get injured, he'd have been top-5 on that list because he'd be playing in the NHL right now.
Not terrible. A lot of the THN rankings are just wildly bad, but this isn't bad. With Fasth, Thomas and St. Croix ranked so high, it's clear that they gave the ceiling higher value than the risk.
Hrivik should be in the top-10 instead of Jean. If he didn't get injured, he'd have been top-5 on that list because he'd be playing in the NHL right now.
Looking at a list like this just goes to show that these Swedish players (Fasth/Lindberg) are really the wild cards here. I believe that Kreider and Miller will both be good players. McIlrath should be a solid player. The guys like Skjei/Nieves/Fogarty are too far a way to really have a good idea of what you have... The Swedes will determine if this is a mediocre list or very good list in my opinion.
). He's just kinda "meh" to me. A fourth round pick that looks like a fourth round pick. 
