Now that it's the new year, and the WJCs are done, and ISS has put out their Top 30 for January, and since this site is named "Hockey's future", I'm wondering what fellow draftniks are thinking about with regards to the Rangers and the upcoming draft?
Being a fan of getting big centers who can play with skill, the two names that immediately stood out to me were Colton Gillies and Brandon Sutter. Also, Angelo Esposito has dropped to 10th. And, if the Rangers continued to play erratic hockey, but the bottm doesn't fallout, my guess is that they'll end somwhere in the 15-20 range. Kids like Van Riemsdyk and Kane, which I've seen mentioned before will be out of the Rangers range. But, i'm just trying to get a feel for what some of the more knowledgeable posters are hoping to see in June. (It's NEVER to early to start talking draft, IMO.)
Now that it's the new year, and the WJCs are done, and ISS has put out their Top 30 for January, and since this site is named "Hockey's future", I'm wondering what fellow draftniks are thinking about with regards to the Rangers and the upcoming draft?
Being a fan of getting big centers who can play with skill, the two names that immediately stood out to me were Colton Gillies and Brandon Sutter. Also, Angelo Esposito has dropped to 10th. And, if the Rangers continued to play erratic hockey, but the bottm doesn't fallout, my guess is that they'll end somwhere in the 15-20 range. Kids like Van Riemsdyk and Kane, which I've seen mentioned before will be out of the Rangers range. But, i'm just trying to get a feel for what some of the more knowledgeable posters are hoping to see in June. (It's NEVER to early to start talking draft, IMO.)
On the guys you've mentioned: Gillies is too much of a risk right now. He's a big boy and an elegant skater but the scoring is just not there to warrant a first round selection. At this point in time, the NYR have no time to pick boom or bust types or players without hockey sense. That's why Sutter fits, and Esposito does not. Espo has a lot of slick moves, but tends to have trouble when pressured. Sutter is kind of like a more talented, less goony Dane Byers. He's tall and lanky and he'll do a little bit of everything, score, hit, backcheck, fight. He's playing real well and should be on his way to solidifying a first round spot.
Guys I like: there's a gritty Swede playing for Chilliwack(WHL) who can finish real well in Oscar Moller. Regina Pats D Nick Ross is an intimidating open ice hitter who can handle himself offensively as well, he's a good all around player. Then, there's Billy Sweatt the speedster playing for Colorado College who we saw with U20 USA team the past couple of weeks. Des Moines(USHL) forward Aaron Palushaj is labeled as a creative playmaker and lethal finisher, drawing comparisons to Milan Hejduk.
the biggest problem with talking draft right now is that there is no way you can predict where the rangers are going to finish this year. its to close the race and we are to inconsistent. we could fall completely out or finish 4th or 5th. to tough to determine who would be available to us.
On the guys you've mentioned: Gillies is too much of a risk right now. He's a big boy and an elegant skater but the scoring is just not there to warrant a first round selection. At this point in time, the NYR have no time to pick boom or bust types or players without hockey sense. That's why Sutter fits, and Esposito does not. Espo has a lot of slick moves, but tends to have trouble when pressured. Sutter is kind of like a more talented, less goony Dane Byers. He's tall and lanky and he'll do a little bit of everything, score, hit, backcheck, fight. He's playing real well and should be on his way to solidifying a first round spot.
Guys I like: there's a gritty Swede playing for Chilliwack(WHL) who can finish real well in Oscar Moller. Regina Pats D Nick Ross is an intimidating open ice hitter who can handle himself offensively as well, he's a good all around player. Then, there's Billy Sweatt the speedster playing for Colorado College who we saw with U20 USA team the past couple of weeks. Des Moines(USHL) forward Aaron Palushaj is labeled as a creative playmaker and lethal finisher, drawing comparisons to Milan Hejduk.
Totally agree on the Sutter kid. There are a few like him in the projected later stages of the first round. The Rangers should really take a "safe bet" this year, like a Sutter.
Guys like Van Riemsdyk i could see falling a bit because there some hype building with some other players. He wont fall too much, but it wouldnt be out of the realm of possibility he falls enough to make a trade for that pick, similar to how the Rangers got Staal. So i don't think hes necessarily "out of range" -
I'd love to have him.
Plus who knows where the hell the Rangers finish this year.
Last edited by HockeyBasedNYC: 01-10-2007 at 11:51 AM.
As i mentioned before in another thread, i think 25 out the 30 NHL teams are over .500 - we all know how close the standings are. last night 7 points separated the Isles in 13th to the Rangers in 4th. With the loss last night the Rangers have dropped to 7th and the Islanders remain at 13 but now 9 teams are separated by 7 points... from 4th to 13th in the conference.
I'm eager to see towards the end of the year if theres any separation (i doubt it) there and which teams might start tanking it towards the last few weeks because 3-5 points might mean the difference between a top 5-10 pick or somewhere in the teens.
i think we should trade up in the draft and finally get a SOLID player... my useless 2 cents.
No, I agree with you there dank. Unless we fall to a top-6 pick, I think we ought to trade up. We have a rather deep system of 2-4th line prospects, but we're really lacking any type of top-end talent on offense. I think it would be wise to trade into the top 5, if we can get our hands on a Cherepanov or Voracek. I know ISS has Van Riemsdyk at #3, but I just have a gut feeling he'll fall from there by draft day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gottokeeponrisin
How about we draft a PHYSICAL DEFENSEMEN. All of our Defensemen love to stand around and get hit. Minus Ward
You can never have too many solid defenseman, but with Staal and Sauer on the horizon, I'd rather sign a nice FA defenseman (assuming we clear some roster space, losing the likes of Malik, Ward, Kaspar et al) and focus our top pick on a high-end scorer. That's something we completely lack in our system.
No, I agree with you there dank. Unless we fall to a top-6 pick, I think we ought to trade up. We have a rather deep system of 2-4th line prospects, but we're really lacking any type of top-end talent on offense. I think it would be wise to trade into the top 5, if we can get our hands on a Cherepanov or Voracek. I know ISS has Van Riemsdyk at #3, but I just have a gut feeling he'll fall from there by draft day.
Yeah, and who do we give up? Lundqvist or Prucha? Doubtful, right?
Who would teams want besides Staal, Montoya or Bobby Sang?
Yeah, and who do we give up? Lundqvist or Prucha? Doubtful, right?
Who would teams want besides Staal, Montoya or Bobby Sang?
All I'm saying is that we explore the possibility. You never know what other GMs will do, or how they feel about or prospects. What if some other GM is in love with Tom Pyatt, and offers to swap his top-5 for our first, Pyatt and some AHL-er? I'm not saying it'll happen, but it's certainly something we need to look at, as it's glaringly obvious that we lack high-impact offensive talent in our system.
The Rangers don't have their fourth round pick in 2007.They traded the selection on Draft Day 2006 to Vancouver for a fifth round pick in 06 which became Tomas Zaborsky
Two 2007 first round picks have been traded:Anaheim's pick was sent to Edmonton for Chris Pronger and the Devils sent their pick to San Jose to take Vladimir Malakhov's contract off their cap(the Devils keep the pick if they fail to make the playoffs)
All I'm saying is that we explore the possibility. You never know what other GMs will do, or how they feel about or prospects. What if some other GM is in love with Tom Pyatt, and offers to swap his top-5 for our first, Pyatt and some AHL-er? I'm not saying it'll happen, but it's certainly something we need to look at, as it's glaringly obvious that we lack high-impact offensive talent in our system.
I don't know, seems like if teams were looking to trade their top 5 pick they'd want legit prospects or established players in return. There are alot of teams who could outbid us at this point. You're right, if a certain GM covets Pyatt then maybe we could have an advantage, but again, you're not getting a top 5 for Pyatt and a pick, its not that easy.
My understanding regarding this draft is that, while there are no Crosby or Ovechkin types, its supposedly very deep. So, you might not have to trade up to get quality players.
I don't know, seems like if teams were looking to trade their top 5 pick they'd want legit prospects or established players in return. There are alot of teams who could outbid us at this point. You're right, if a certain GM covets Pyatt then maybe we could have an advantage, but again, you're not getting a top 5 for Pyatt and a pick, its not that easy.
Top-5 five pick for Pyatt, our 1st, AND some AHL-er . Really though, Pyatt, Bobby Sang and our first? I think it depends on where our first falls. I'm probably guilty of overvaluing our prospects, as I have a tendency (as TomLaidLaw, The Truth and myself were discussing) to buy into all the hype around our guys.
If we had the 15th pick in the draft (which seems reasonable as a projection), what do you guys think it would take to move into the top 5? I know there are a lot of variables in play here, but just work with me.
Top-5 five pick for Pyatt, our 1st, AND some AHL-er . Really though, Pyatt, Bobby Sang and our first? I think it depends on where our first falls. I'm probably guilty of overvaluing our prospects, as I have a tendency (as TomLaidLaw, The Truth and myself were discussing) to buy into all the hype around our guys.
If we had the 15th pick in the draft (which seems reasonable as a projection), what do you guys think it would take to move into the top 5? I know there are a lot of variables in play here, but just work with me.
I really think theres no way Sather trades Tyutin, Staal or Sanguinetti, so I'll exclude them from this 'experiment'.
Montoya, a forward or two(Prucha, Callahan, Dawes, Cliche, Pyatt) and/or #15 overall.
Montoya is our biggest chip if you exclude those others and Henke.
But so much of the distinction between first and second like players is blurred if you have depth (see Buffalo) so if we end up with a bunch of second line players who work hard and compliment each other, that's also a good thing.
IMO, this organization should be avoiding exactly what it shot for in Jessiman. We can't afford to take homerun swings. We need sure things. At this point, the team should be about restocking for its future. Draft guys who you know are going to play, not guys you THINK just MAY be a superstar. This team should be filling itself out with second, third and fourth line guys. Depth. That's what wins nowadays. You don't need to draft a superstar because you can sign them so young nowadays. Build the foundation, and add the centerpiece when he's 26 and a sure thing instead of 17 or 18 and a pure gamble. Solid, safe players that you're sure are going to become assets that you can either package together for that rare talent or that you know will be regular players. That's what I think. Base hits, not home runs.
IMO, this organization should be avoiding exactly what it shot for in Jessiman. We can't afford to take homerun swings. We need sure things. At this point, the team should be about restocking for its future. Draft guys who you know are going to play, not guys you THINK just MAY be a superstar. This team should be filling itself out with second, third and fourth line guys. Depth. That's what wins nowadays. You don't need to draft a superstar because you can sign them so young nowadays. Build the foundation, and add the centerpiece when he's 26 and a sure thing instead of 17 or 18 and a pure gamble. Solid, safe players that you're sure are going to become assets that you can either package together for that rare talent or that you know will be regular players. That's what I think. Base hits, not home runs.
Actually, I think that's pretty much what they've done since 2004 - Montoya, Staal, Sauer, Sanguinetti, Korpikoski, Dubinsky, Byers, Callahan, Cliche, Dupont, Pyatt - I'm not seeing a lot of high-risk there. Only last year, when they took Anismov, Kveton and Zaborsky did we see the Rangers go for players that could be boom-or-bust. The organization is chock full of grinders, grunts, character players and diggers. The irony is that, if the Rangers had made good selections in the 2nd round of 2002, and the 1st round of 2003, they could actually go after a project like Jessiman or his equivalent in the upcoming draft.
I agree with you jas, and I gotta admit I like it. I have no problem with the management making a mistake, which I haven't conceded that they did yet with Jessiman, but the least they can do is learn from it. I think Free agency going so low is going to drastically change the game and the importance of the draft. The good teams, for example Ottawa, prior to them, Tampa Bay, are going to be forced to fork over major money to keep their star players, but IMO, teams are going to be leeched away at by other teams taking their less heralded guys when the money runs out. This will force you to have younger, cheaper depth players where you can afford to save a few bucks, on your 2-4 lines and 2-3 D pairs. When Tampa has to sign Vinny and Richards to near max money, it has to come from somewhere. I'm getting away from my point. My point is this team should try to have the cupboard stocked all the way full by the time Malkin, Crosby, or whoever the flavor du jour is hits UFA status. Don't laugh, it's not that far away. The kids they draft this year would be what, 23 or 24 when Sid hits that time? Never too early to start planning for tomorrow...
. Really though, Pyatt, Bobby Sang and our first? I think it depends on where our first falls. I'm probably guilty of overvaluing our prospects, as I have a tendency (as TomLaidLaw, The Truth and myself were discussing) to buy into all the hype around our guys. 
