Hockey's Future continues their NHL organizational rankings in terms of prospects by ranking the Rangers #12...
12. Rangers
Strengths: The Rangers have excellent depth at both center and on defense. New York has been very successful in drafting top talent players in the middle of the first round, and Chris Kreider, who was drafted out of prep school in 2009, looks to be another of those gems. Weaknesses: The Blueshirts biggest organizational weakness is on right wing. There are only two wingers on the right side in the entire organization, and one, David Kveton, may never again play in North America. There is also uncertainty between the pipes. Chad Johnson has played well in his first professional season, but his upside is still uncertain. University of Alabama-Huntsville netminder Cameron Talbot was signed recently. However, it is unclear whether there is a true NHL backup to Henrik Lundqvist within the system, let alone a starter. Top 5 Prospects: 1. Evgeny Grachev, C; 2. Derek Stepan, C; 3. Chris Kreider, LW; 4. Bobby Sanguinetti, D; 5. Ilkka Heikkinen, D. Lost to graduation: Artem Anisimov, Michael Del Zotto.
...second time in less than a week an article talks about the Rangers lack of goaltending prospects. Who cares? The Rangers won't have to worry about this position for at least five more years. And as far as a backup goes, I'd much rather a veteran than a youngster learning on the job.
...got to be excited about the rest of the prospects though. This ranking doesn't even mention Bourque, Stepan or McDonough among others.
3 comments:
The rangers need some sort of backup goaltender. The King is indeed the king, but that only takes you so far. He needs someone pushing him to get better. Moreover, he doesn't have a consistent track record, particularly at the end of the season. Burnout? Who knows, but he needs to be able to go to Torts and say he needs a night off without fear of a "well who do we pull up from Hartford for the weekend."
Hank is our best player, but being the best player on a mediocre team doesn't necessarily say much. We need some depth in net, especially as Hank gets older.
stepan was listed as the #2 prospect
Would be good if I actually read what I posted.
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