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The Rangers' Season Hinges on Success of Chytil, Howden, and Andersson


ThirtyONE

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Rangers upgraded seemingly everywhere this season. They got much better across the board and filled their biggest holes. Their shiny new draftees, Kakko and Kravstov, have made everyone forget that there is one position they did not upgrade: center. Behind Zibanijad, the ages of the Rangers centers are 21, 20, and 20 and none of them did particularly well in their rookie seasons.

 

For the Rangers to have any real chance of making the playoffs this year, one of these three former 1st rounders need to take that next step in their development. Good on the Rangers for giving them all that chance, but it's a risk.

 

Having Strome around will prove important, should there become a need for a 2nd line center. Strome can take over the roll on a part-time basis if need be. But the long term answer isn't Strome, and if the Rangers want to be in a good position at season's end, they need something from the three youngsters down the middle.

 

Even if they struggle at times. This season should be a blast to watch. Lots of great storylines already and they haven't even hit the ice yet.

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IMO, THIS season hinges on Kreider, Zibanejad, Panarin, Buchnevich and Lundqvist.

 

Relative success of a rebuild moving forward will have a bigger reliance on Chytil, Andersson and Howden. Will they fill depth roles? Can they fill the middle 6? Or will the Rangers have to go out and spend to fill these positions? The success of vets in a single season can push a team to a playoff birth. This team isnt going with the mindset of one single playoff stint, but are building towards a team that makes the playoffs, and contends for a title every season.

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Rangers upgraded seemingly everywhere this season. They got much better across the board and filled their biggest holes. Their shiny new draftees, Kakko and Kravstov, have made everyone forget that there is one position they did not upgrade: center. Behind Zibanijad, the ages of the Rangers centers are 21, 20, and 20 and none of them did particularly well in their rookie seasons.

 

For the Rangers to have any real chance of making the playoffs this year, one of these three former 1st rounders need to take that next step in their development. Good on the Rangers for giving them all that chance, but it's a risk.

 

Having Strome around will prove important, should there become a need for a 2nd line center. Strome can take over the roll on a part-time basis if need be. But the long term answer isn't Strome, and if the Rangers want to be in a good position at season's end, they need something from the three youngsters down the middle.

 

Even if they struggle at times. This season should be a blast to watch. Lots of great storylines already and they haven't even hit the ice yet.

 

Ready or not, I think Chytil is the 2c. What's different is that he's likely between Kakko and Kravtsov, or Buch and Kreider, or...literally anyone who might be more talented than his more frequent flyers last year like Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Strome.

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One of the beat reporters said something interesting during Traverse City which was that the Rangers are really high on Henriksson and they expected him to be a part of the equation next season. Didn't say he was a lock to make the Rangers or anything but there will at least be someone pushing those three guys if they don't pan out.
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I agree with Pete...I'm not going to expect a Stanley Cup run by any means this year...maybe next year as well. A lot of these guys are very young, and next year we'll have even more young players coming up. Don't get me wrong, I wanna see them play great and hell, if they make the playoffs, that's tremendous, but I'm not expecting or demanding it this season.
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I don't really agree with the premise that the success of the Rangers relies on young players this season.

 

The goal of this season is learning and development.

 

It's a matter of what defines success this season, I guess. If the Rangers are going to make the playoffs and make noise, it's going to rest on the kids to bridge some gaps. I'm not really thinking that's the definition of success this year, though.

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I believe Strome will start the season as 2C. Until one of the sophomores proves they can handle the 200ft game reponsibly, he'll stay there. He may actually thrive there this year. The young Cs need to continue their acclimation as NHL players, work on faceoffs, etc.. The coveted 2C spot should make should make them all a little more competitive, including Strome.

 

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I don't really agree with the premise that the success of the Rangers relies on young players this season.

 

The goal of this season is learning and development.

 

The premise is that the team won't do well in the standings if their young centers don't play well. Whether or not being higher in the standings is the "goal" of the team is a separate point entirely but you'd think if development is going well, at least one of those three players would take a step this season.

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i wouldn't mind a good effort missing the playoffs and being in the top 10 of next years draft which is pretty damn deep from what the reporting says.

 

I think we need to be a little less greedy looking at the 2020 draft, and be thankful for the 2019 luck

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The goal of any season is always the same and that's to win hockey games. Everything that happens during the season is the learning and development, collectively and individually to that goal. If their last in the standings, then there is most likely a problem in their development.

 

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Tell me why this is a bad idea. I think Kaako should move to center. He is the closest to a sure thing that we've ever had. He has all the attributes of a quality C. He is 8 years younger than Zibanejad, with plenty of time to grow into the position. Shouldn't the best player be groomed to be the eventual 1C, the most important position?

 

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The premise is that the team won't do well in the standings if their young centers don't play well. Whether or not being higher in the standings is the "goal" of the team is a separate point entirely but you'd think if development is going well, at least one of those three players would take a step this season.
I kind of get what you're saying, sure.

 

To that point, I'd say the goalie play is probably more vital, IMO.

 

The goal of any season is always the same and that's to win hockey games. Everything that happens during the season is the learning and development, collectively and individually to that goal. If their last in the standings, then there is most likely a problem in their development.

 

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I don't quite agree. The goal of every game is to try to win, but if they don't win and the kids develop, then that's OK.

 

Tell me why this is a bad idea. I think Kaako should move to center. He is the closest to a sure thing that we've ever had. He has all the attributes of a quality C. He is 8 years younger than Zibanejad, with plenty of time to grow into the position. Shouldn't the best player be groomed to be the eventual 1C, the most important position?

 

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I don't disagree with this. Even if it happens next season, or mid season.

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Tell me why this is a bad idea. I think Kaako should move to center. He is the closest to a sure thing that we've ever had. He has all the attributes of a quality C. He is 8 years younger than Zibanejad, with plenty of time to grow into the position. Shouldn't the best player be groomed to be the eventual 1C, the most important position?

 

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I don't necessarily disagree with this later down the road. He really has most of the attributes you look for in a 1C, but I think at the moment I'd just let him play his game as a winger rather than throw the defensive responsibility of playing center onto him.

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I don't necessarily disagree with this later down the road. He really has most of the attributes you look for in a 1C, but I think at the moment I'd just let him play his game as a winger rather than throw the defensive responsibility of playing center onto him.
As long as there is no apparent shoo-in for 2C, I don't see a reason to wait too long. He would almost immediately make the 2nd line credible, if not dangerous - and he wouldn't have to learn much more D than Chytil still has to at this point. While there is talent in the rest of the herd, the competitive framework has changed for everyone - forwards and Ds. The sooner we get the foundational people in the right places - and let the rest compete - the quicker the build will go.

 

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Tell me why this is a bad idea. I think Kaako should move to center. He is the closest to a sure thing that we've ever had. He has all the attributes of a quality C. He is 8 years younger than Zibanejad, with plenty of time to grow into the position. Shouldn't the best player be groomed to be the eventual 1C, the most important position?

 

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He's a sure thing as a winger, but not as a C. If the responsibilities of being a C limit his playmaking, then it would be silly to move him.

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I don't necessarily disagree with this later down the road. He really has most of the attributes you look for in a 1C, but I think at the moment I'd just let him play his game as a winger rather than throw the defensive responsibility of playing center onto him.

 

agree completely. no need to rush this. let's see what he is first playing with the big boys.

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I don't necessarily disagree with this later down the road. He really has most of the attributes you look for in a 1C, but I think at the moment I'd just let him play his game as a winger rather than throw the defensive responsibility of playing center onto him.
Fair, but he doesn't need to be a Selke candidate. Not all centers are Bergeron. There are a ton of centers who lean offensively... You only need to be competent defensively.
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One of the beat reporters said something interesting during Traverse City which was that the Rangers are really high on Henriksson and they expected him to be a part of the equation next season. Didn't say he was a lock to make the Rangers or anything but there will at least be someone pushing those three guys if they don't pan out.

 

He is still under contract in Sweden, they let him come here for Traverse City and then he is going back. Hopefully next year he can come over.

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Fair, but he doesn't need to be a Selke candidate. Not all centers are Bergeron. There are a ton of centers who lean offensively... You only need to be competent defensively.

 

While true, we're already transitioning two wings to center in Chytil and Andersson.

 

I think Kakko can get a few cracks at center toward the end of the year to get a sense for whether it'd be a thing or not, but I'd probably not bank on it. He just looks the part of a wing to me.

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He's a sure thing as a winger, but not as a C. If the responsibilities of being a C limit his playmaking, then it would be silly to move him.

 

At this stage, it's hard to identify a lot of fundamental limitations in the kid. Rather than speculating on what they might be, I'm more inclined to think of Kakko as an exceptional piece of wood or clay. How do you carve or sculpt it to best fit the long term needs of the team. Happy to go slow and let him get his bearings, but that end product ought to be in mind. We have an elite playmaking wing for a long time; perhaps two as Kravtsov matures. A bigger marginal benefit looks to me like legit center depth.

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