It was reported late last night that former Rangers prospect Vitaly Kravstov, who has since been dealt to Vancouver for Will Lockwood and a draft pick, is planning on returning to the KHL with his old team, Traktor Chelyabinsk. Kravtsov spent 16 games with the Canucks, which is less than half of the amount of games he played in his years in New York and didn’t really contribute much in the process. Rangers fans have spent so much time talking about Kravtsov since he was drafted in 2018, to the point where I’m almost hesitant to write about him again. While this recent update doesn’t necessarily justify the Rangers inability to develop him, it at least should hopefully give Rangers fans some sense of closure and assurance that trading him for at least something was the right decision long term. Should they have traded him earlier and sold high on him? Yeah, but you know, hindsight and all that.
On the flipside, Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann followed up his career year last season by leading the Peterborough Petes to an OHL championship, potentially signifying that he may be ready to take the next step. Othmann, the Rangers last selected first round pick is without question their most coveted prospect and likely, just what the doctor ordered for this current team. He plays a high intensity, quick paced game and isn’t afraid to get physical. On top of that, he put up 97 points in 66 games last season which despite taking a significant drop to 57 points this season, still speaks volumes to the kind of player he is. The Rangers need for change and cheap contracts to plug into their lineup, along with Othmann accomplishing all he did in junior indicate that Othmann should at the very least, start the season with the Rangers come opening night. Would love to see him play a third line role with Vincent Trocheck as his center and role model to develop and get acquainted with the league under.
Hartford Wolf Pack to New York Rangers Candidates
With all the attention off the Rangers, the Hartford Wolf Pack picked a great time to have one of their most successful seasons since winning the Calder Cup in 2000. After finding their way into the playoffs, the Pack went on to the third round of the playoffs where they ran into the Hershey Bears who knocked them out in three games. While we would’ve loved to have seen Hartford go all the way, it was still a successful season for the Jr. Rangers and with that, it’s worth taking a look at five names who could put up a fight for a job with the Rangers in next years training camp:
(F) Johnny Brodzinski - Brodzinski has been a bit of an unspoken hero for the Rangers organization since first signing with the team. He’s been a fringe fourth liner who with the Wolf Pack, serves a leadership role while contributing at a point a game pace at the AHL level. He’s good for anywhere from 5-25 games a season at the NHL level and always brings an energetic push to the Rangers lineup in his recalls. Brodzinski will turn the big 3-0 this summer so his days of becoming a full time NHLer are winding down, however if the Rangers can’t find what they’re looking for in free agency, he could get a crack at full time fourth line center duties. However, chances are he’s best used in the role the Rangers have used him in the past couple seasons.
(LHD) Zac Jones - The obvious favorite candidate on the back end to make the jump, Zac Jones has experience with the Rangers and had a pretty formative year in Hartford. Not only did he put up 31 points in 54 games played, he seemed to really take the opportunity to be a guy in Hartford and run with it. In several cases, when a young player who is at the level of being a fringe NHL player gets sent down, they tend to dwell on the fact that they didn’t make the NHL and don’t focus on making an impact with the AHL team. Jones wasn’t the case this year. He learned to appreciate the chance he had in Hartford and became their leading defender and hopefully with the playoff experience at the AHL level mixed with another year of seeing top minutes at the professional level will help him take that next step with the Rangers next season if given the chance.
(LW) Will Cuylle - Aside from Othmann, Will Cuylle is one of the more exciting prospects the Rangers have in their system. Cuylle is a big bodied winger who has the skill to back up his power forward style of play. He’s coming off a big year in Hartford, putting up 25 goals and 20 assists in 69 games played with the Pack. He netted his first career playoff goal in their chase for the Calder Cup and recorded two assists in the process. Cuylle also saw his first NHL game this past season, meaning he’s certainly on the Rangers radar, whether it’s strictly for call-ups or the potential to make the team out of camp next season. He will likely benefit from another year in the minors but depending on how he progresses during the off-season, he could turn some heads when it comes to training camp.
(RW) Lauri Pajuniemi - Pajuniemi is one of the longest tenured draft picks still remaining in the Rangers organization. A fifth round pick selected back in 2018, Lauri Pajuniemi has the potential to take a Jesper Fast type of a route to the NHL and could be a candidate for promotion to the Rangers. With 19 goals and 19 assists throughout the regular season, Pajuniemi proved to be a contributing factor at the NHL level and his ability to shoot the puck is certainly intriguing to the Rangers as well as any team looking to develop goal scoring. While it’s unlikely he makes the team out of camp, he could continue to be a call up option throughout next season.
(RW) Will Lockwood - A fresh face and intriguing candidate for the Rangers moving forward, Will Lockwood may just be a Julien Gauthier type of replacement but is worth consideration if looking to give some Wolf Pack names a chance of making the team out of camp. Lockwood was picked up in the Vitaly Kravtsov trade and while he has never played more than 15 games in an NHL regular season, has potential and with a new team, could take this as a chance to jump-start his otherwise slow start to the NHL. With Pajuniemi likely ahead of him in the depth charts, it would take a strong off-season and a really impressive training camp to throw his name in the ring but with a new coach coming into the organization, you never know what could happen come tryouts.
Honorable Mentions - Jake Leschyshyn, who the Rangers picked up off waivers last season, already spent time as an extra skater/fourth liner for the Rangers but has since been sent to Hartford. Many folks considered him to be a guy that Gerard Gallant was fond of and had a history with so given the fact that he is no longer there, I wouldn’t really consider him to be a strong candidate to make the team out of camp but as it will with everyone, depends on who is actually going to be coaching this team come October. Bobby Trivigno is another younger player who had a respected first season in the AHL but would likely benefit from another year or two of development in the minors. Lastly, Matthew Robertson could be in consideration for that third pair defender opening that Niko Mikkola is expected to leave but is likely behind Zac Jones in that fight who has more experience.
Chris Feldman
Comments