For those of you who took in the matchup between the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL and the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL; welcome to our world and why we just love covering the prospects.In a game that was a combination huge upset and excellent thriller; the Rimouski Oceanic defeated the Windsor Spitfires 5-4 and pushed the Spits to the brink of elimination from the Memorial Cup.
If you did not watch this game and could have then shame on you because you missed out on seeing a great hockey game between 2 very good hockey games.
There are enough people who are going to write up the game so instead we wanted to focus on a member of the Oceanic who we would like the Rangers to consider as a first round pick.
The biggest need the Rangers have going into the upcoming draft is a big scoring forward. The problem though is that the options offered for this position are very limited when the Rangers select at 19.
We see 5 possible players with 2 (Zach Kassian and Carter Ashton) gone before the Rangers pick. Of the 3 remaining , Jordan Caron is perhaps the best option as he is also the closest to being NHL ready.
At 6'2 205 lbs, Caron is the goal scoring creator the Rangers need to try to offset the loss of Alexi Cherepanov. If you watched Caron against Windsor as well as Kelowna then he has already answered the questions about whether he could handle heavy physical play.
That is why we moved him to the front of a list that includes Chris Kreider (Andover HS 6'2 200 but college bound) and Drew Shore (6'2 170 heading to Denver U). Of course we then have to address the problem as to who will be running the Ranger draft in Montreal.
If Glen Sather is making the picks then forget Caron as the Sather track record when it comes to selecting players from the QMJHL is really bad. In 21 years with the Oilers and 8 more with the Rangers, Glen Sather has only picked someone from the "Q" in the first round 3 times.
On the other hand John Tortorella won a Stanley Cup with a couple of players who just so happened to have once played for Caron's Rimouski Oceanic in Vincent LeCavalier and Brad Richards. There was this other player who did not play in the QMJHL who was from Quebec by the name of Martin St. Louis.
If the Rangers are serious about getting Tortorella his kinds of players then the Rangers just might want to consider a player like Caron. He fits the mold of the offensive minded attack that Tortorella wants to use and has the size the Rangers also need.
The Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark is also from the QMJHL area which also helps the cause of a Jordan Caron. However the key is who will make the pick as if the Rangers are truly in a transition towards a Tortorella kind of team then get his kind of players.
In any event what we would hate to see the Rangers wind up with another puck moving defenseman or a smallish forward. If this is the time for a change then why not a Jordan Caron?
(Caron courtesy of the Rimouski Oceanic)
2 comments:
What do Marty St. Louis, Eric Perrin, Patrick Sharp, Tim Thomas, Torrey Mitchell all have in common?
They played right under the nose of Slats here in Burlington. Did he think to draft anyone of these kids that would have been so very easy to scout?
Still shaking my head over his arrogance. Oh, and he left UVM without so much as saying a word after nearly a decade of training here.
i'm totally into it! i was reading about him just the other day and he seemed like he definitely be available when the rangers pick.
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