Rangers Day One Review

Strangely both images loaded.  Anyway, I was trying to wait till we got the full Gordie on these guys, but looking around I've picked up enought to see what's up. Okay, in a video that was made before the draft but posted during the draft Gorton said every player they take will have speed, skill and character.  So he wasn't joking months ago when he mentioned how he thought the game was changing.  Wathching, you really understood the picks, fast, skillsy and grea kids, all three of them.  With the first pick the Rangers took Russian Wunderkind Vitali Kravtsov. He broke out in the KHL playoffs and has been playing in the men's league since he was 17. Not sure Buch was at 17.  Anyway, apparently Gordie said, in the presser that hasn't been posted that they had Vitali as the second best forward in the draft. That implies that their trade up talks with Montreal were for Vitali. I Also turns out that Vitali is qualified to buy out his KHL contract if he makes the team out of camp, and there's every reason to believe he will.  So the Rangers get an elite talent who might help as soon as this year at 9.  He's big, he's fast and he has great hands.  This is great.

Later in the first the Rangers traded up from 26 to 22 to take D K'Andre Miller, from the USA U18 team. This is another size, speed beast. Not sure who is faster, but K'Andre is now listed at 6'4" and 204.  In commenting on him the Ranger scouts who watched his games said because they had they weren't surprised with what he did at the combine, which was blow it up. Miller took a year off from hockey to just develop his skating at one point, and will head to Wisconsin to grow his game for awhile. Worked for McD and Step. Just another great pick, and I'm not bent that they sent the second of their seconds tomorrow to move up. I think they're getting more, once they make some trades.  This is another big, fast kid with huge upside.

Finally, they stayed at 28 and another favorite skater, slid their way in Swedish RHD Nils Lundkvist. He's not as big as the other two, but he is fast and skillsy and I get the feeling they didn't think he'd make it to 28. The Rangers really need more RHD's so it was good that they got one who can skate.  In some of this tape he looks a little Leetchy.  Hmm.

So there it is. They didn't make any moves involving roster players today, but I think they might tomorrow, which is not to say that they will sell Hayes for a 2 but a 2 might be part of the package cost of getting Hayes. Perhaps the mallest part.  We'll see what happens. Gorton said they still had a bunch of names on their list.  So tomorrow should be fun.

Good first round, by which I mean, good first day.