Scratching the Head

History is going to eventually judge how good or bad the New York Rangers did with their selections at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft turned out to be. For now when looking at the selections there are some that do leave us scratching our heads and wondering why.

Day 2 in our eyes got off to a promising start when the Rangers selected Ethan Werek of the Kingston Frontenacs. Werek is a player we do like because he is what we wanted out of the first round; a rugged hard working player willing to get his hands dirty to make plays.

Werek is coming off a good rookie season with Kingston but we think he is going to have an even better 2009-10 season now that he is understanding what he needs to do as a top level player.

Even better was how Werek ended his rookie season with the Frontenacs as despite not making the playoffs, Werek played his best hockey in February (6-7-13 -1, 6 PIM). Werek is coached by Doug Gilmour who took over as the coach of Frontenacs last November and from that point forward Werek became a player (26 goals).

Werek needs work on his defense as well as his hockey sense but the presence of Gilmour is going to help mature Werek.

Werek is listed as a center but we do see his future out on the wing as his willingness to play a physical game will open up the ice for his linemates. Look for him at Hartford in 2 years.

Ryan Bourque is an interesting pick as the son of Ray Bourque is going to have to listen to how great a player his father was. Stop those thoughts right there because other than the last name and the drive to work hard there is nothing in common.

Bourque nobody is going to question his offensive skill but if people were worried about Prucha or Dawe's size then Bourque is even smaller. In a division where physical play is on the upswing then Bourque who is 5'9 170 is going to need to a bodyguard.

Bourque is going to be a playmaker at the NHL level if he gets there but there are concerns about his ability to play defense as there have been with anyone who is Bourque's size.

Bourque is going to play for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL rather than attend the University of New Hampshire. It is a move we like because Bourque will get a chance to show he can play against the goons and be forced out of a comfort zone.

Roman Horak was taken by Rangers with the 127th pick (5th rd) and we will be honest we do not know anything about him. Nobody has a solid scouting report so we are going to wait to see who picks him in the CHL Import Draft as the team (league) that selects him will give us more of a clue about him.

The Rangers say that Scott Stajcer will get to spend the next couple of years playing at Owen Sound growing and developing but if the Rangers really wanted a goalie at this spot then Brandon Maxwell is who we would have taken.

We are just not sure that Stajcer is as promising as the Rangers do. Yes Stajcer was the 5th rated goalie in North America on the final ranking from Central Scouting.

What the Rangers are not saying is that Stajcer dropped from being the 2nd ranked goalie at the midterm ranking. We also disagree that Stajcer was the Attack starter because it looked more like Stajcer split time with Tyler Beskorowany (2008 2nd Dallas).

Stajcer has a lot to prove but the advantage he does have is that in the OHL goalies are always at a premium so if he does not start for Owen Sound then odds are good that he will be traded and given other chances to earn a starting role. We will be impressed if Stajcer actually gets to stay with Owen Sound for the next 2 years.

In the 6th round the Rangers selected a project defenseman from the Sudbury Wolves in Daniel Maggio. This in our eyes is a project player worth gambling on for a number of reasons.

We will start with his size (6'2 200), Maggio is a stay at home defender who will play the body and he plays for Mike Foligno who has a proven track record of producing NHL talent. There is also one other detail which encourages us; our experience with teams that have former Ranger defensemen as assistant coaches.

The Wolves just hired Jeff Beukeboom from the Barrie Colts to become an assistant coach. We have no doubt that if Maggio's knee is sound and he works as hard as his new coach used to then the Rangers might have themselves a steal here.

For the Ranger's 7th round pick we will direct you over to Lauri at Beyondtheblueshirts as her take on Pashnin is the best and most objective out there. We know little about him other than what we read at Lauri's site.

In checking our notes from the previous World Junior Championships Pashnin's name did not come up very often but this is a no lose pick for the Rangers. Without a transfer agreement the Rangers will hold on to Pashnin's rights forever as it stands now.

If the KHL falls apart and Pashnin decides to try the NHL then the Rangers will have first crack at him. If not then considering where the Rangers were selecting at that point (200th) then they really did not lose anything here.

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Post Draft Thoughts

Maybe it was because the Rangers did so well with the 2008 that our overall grade here after looking at everything is B-. Sather talked about how important the draft is but yet some of these picks were suspect when you see what the other options were.

Time as we said at the start will tell whether these picks will pan out.

The trade for Chad Johnson is a sign to us that the Rangers are not so sold on the future of Miika Wiikman who lost his starter's job to Matt Zaba. Johnson we saw play against Michigan is a good trade as he brings size and some skill to the position.

The other deal for Brian Boyle smacks of Sather doing an old friend a favor (this case Dean Lombardi) and trying to fix the career of a first round pick that has gone nowhere. Think Sather is 0 for all of them as a Ranger GM.

The Islanders had a chance to walk away from this draft a franchise to fear in the next couple of years. They started strong with Tavares, did not need to pay extra to get a solid defender in De Haan but then went goalie crazy.

The Rangers should send Garth Snow a huge thank you because the Islanders should have had 5 solid picks in the first 2 rounds and came away with just 2.

And the Winner is

In our eyes the Colorado Avalanche came out of this draft with the best prospects. Duchene at the top is a Sakic clone, Ryan O'Reilly of Erie gives them leadership, Stefan Elliott a strong defender, Tysen Barrie a power play QB, and a goalie who is going to help Windsor repeat as Memorial Cup Champs in Brandon Maxwell.

Be happy the Rangers only face the Avs twice a year.

(Pictures: Werek and Stajcer: Aaron Bell/OHL, Bourque: USA Hockey, Maggio: Sudbury Wolves and Pashnin: Day Life/Euro Sport)

At Any Other Point

It is not that Chris Kreider is a bad prospect; it is not that Chris Kreider is going to be a bust but biggest problem with the New York Rangers selecting the youngster out of Boxford Mass. is that the Rangers need him sooner not later.

If the Rangers were a team in the kind of position like the Detroit Red Wings where they are annually a cup contender then the Rangers could afford to sit back and wait to see Kreider develop.

But they are not the Red Wings.

If the Rangers were a team like the Chicago Blackhawks or St. Louis Blues who are still young but climbing up the ladder to the top of the NHL then a Kreider would be a good pick to compliment an already established youthful core.

But the Rangers do not have the young talented core that the Blackhawks or Penquins have.

This is not about disliking Kreider but more about wondering what the Rangers are thinking with this pick. For a team that swears it is committed to building a core from the draft you seriously have to question a pick like this one.

The Rangers needed to use this pick better than they did as while Kreider just might become a productive player; the issue is when will that happen. We disagree with Gordie Clark when he says the Rangers see him as being ready in 2-3 years.

Sorry it is very doubtful to expect someone to go from Kreider's high school level to the NHL in that length of time.

We will use Clark's own beliefs against him here. Clark believes players need to dominate at the level they are at before advancing to the next level. If Clark's 2-3 year prediction is to be true then Kreider will have about 100-120 games of experience under his belt.

If Kreider was coming from the USHL, any of the Canadian Junior "A" leagues or even out of the United States National Developmental Program then the tranistion to the NCAAs would be different. At least in those leagues prospects play close to the same number of games played at the NHL level.

It also is a concern that in the video interview Clark did here that when asked if Kreider was the best skater, Clark said no the fastest. Speed is a great thing but you need more than just speed when skating and Clark appeared unwilling to say more than just Kreider was fast.

The Rangers called Kreider an "elite athlete" but did not go into specifics such as how well he plays in traffic, how is Kreider playing the physical game or what is Kreider like on defense. With all the other prospects that were available at 19 there was something about them good or bad.

It is almost as if you wonder if the Rangers themselves really are all in agreement about this pick. Watch Sather's interview here and wonder if he really knows a whole lot about this pick.

Yes nobody really knows how a prospect is going to eventually develop but the Rangers are not in a position where they can wait 4-5 years for a prospect to finally develop. They need help yesterday because of the mess the Rangers have created for themselves.

Even worse is that while Kreider is still attending Boston College others like Jordan Caron will be making life miserable for the Rangers with the Bruins or Carter Ashton with Tampa Bay. Both of those players were better fits for what the Rangers needs are.

Both of those players will be in the NHL within 2 years and again that is not Kreider's fault but you really have to wonder how serious the Rangers really are about becoming a Stanley Cup contender before 2200. While Kreider is at Boston College does anyone doubt that the Rangers will once again try to spend their way out of the mess they are in?

And again while this is not the fault of Kreider but there is going to be a gap of talent because of the tragic loss of Cherepanov but also the failure of Antoine Lafleur to develop. Those were the top 2 picks out of the 2007 draft and right now the only hope is that both Max Campbell and Carl Hagelin develop otherwise an entire draft class will be lost.

2006 brought the Rangers Bobby Sanguinetti and Artem Anisimov but not much more so now while 2008 looks to be a rock solid draft the Rangers need top level talent and they need it sooner than 4-5 years from now.

Day 2 is going to hopefully bring the Rangers more than role players but day 1 right now is suspect.

(Kreider courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images/NHL)

Hartford needs more talent to keep the prospect pipeline flowing and

The First Round of the Draft

The Season Opener

The actual games are still months away but for New York Ranger fans the 2009-2010 season is going to start on Friday when the 2009 NHL Draft begins. The draft starts what should be the first real look at the direction that the Rangers will be taking over the next couple of seasons.

It is the real start of the John Tortorella era as the players selected will represent the transition to the Tortorella system. What remains to be seen is exactly how much of any input that Tortorella is going to have on the selections or on the eventual makeup of the roster.

If the Rangers use their first round pick on yet another puck moving defenseman it is pretty safe that the Ranger Universe is not going to react very kindly. Size, scoring as well as speed are going to be the top needs for the Rangers at the draft.

Forget the stuff you have been reading anywhere (even here) but watch rather the kinds of players the Rangers select. How well they are as skaters will help give an idea as to whether or not Tortorella had a lot to say about which prospects got selected.

The Rangers own picks at 19 (1st rd) 47 (2nd), 80 (3rd), 127, 140, 151 (5th), 170 (6th), and 200 (7th). The typical expectations are the picks in the first 3 rounds but the real work of the scouts are the ones they find in the later rounds (5th to 7th).

We expect the Rangers to make a couple of deals during the draft trying to get a pick into the 4th round as this draft is in our eyes a strong 3 rounds deep. If the Rangers can grab 3 forwards in the top half of the draft then they can concentrate on a goalie and then some depth in the later rounds.

With all due respect to Gordie Clark, we do not agree that the quality of goalies in this year's draft is weak but quite the opposite. If it was us at the draft table then we would seriously consider taking one goalie from the CHL and another playing in the NCAAs.

A strong goalie is a major must under the Tortorella system and we will repeat our belief that if anything happens to Henrik the Rangers will be in serious trouble. Just remember what happened when Mike Richter had his career ended for him.

Once the draft ends then on Monday we get to start the free agent season as that is the day that Restricted Free Agents must be tendered qualifying offers. Those who are not tendered offers will become unrestricted free agents.

The easy guesses are that Brandon Dubinsky, Dane Byers, Ryan Callahan and Lauri Korpikoski will get their qualifying offers. Those not expected to be tendered offers are Fredrik Sjostrom, Corey Potter and Greg Moore as there remains doubts as to whether the Rangers see them as viable options for the future.

The question mark becomes the decision on whether to tender Nikolai Zherdev at 3.25 million dollars or not. Despite being the Ranger's second leading scorer Zherdev did not always come across as a hard working player and that is not going to cut it with Tortorella.

The one factor that will play into whether Zherdev gets tendered an offer or not is whether the Rangers think they can resign Unrestricted Free Agent Nik Antropov. We think the Rangers will tender Zherdev at least until they know which direction they see Nik Antropov heading.

If they can make a deal with Antropov then expect the screws to tighten on Zherdev.

On the other hand, it is almost a given that neither Colton Orr or Blair Betts will be back next season. Both saw their playing time diminish during both the end of the regular season as well as the playoffs but losing them just might come back to haunt the Rangers.

Orr is the only real enforcer the Rangers have and Betts is one of the top penalty killers in the entire NHL. Dane Byers if he makes the Rangers will try to replace Orr but how the Rangers can replace Betts is a serious question.

Do the Rangers try to resign Nik Antropov, Paul Mara and Derek Morris? The Rangers may say they are interested but they simply do not have the money to afford them. Antropov needs to sign for the same amount as Zherdev not anything more.

Mara for reasons that escape us does not seem to mesh with Tortorella but if Orr leaves the Rangers are going to need as much team toughness as possible. We would sign Mara to buy time to insure that Sauer is ready for the NHL or play if he is not.l

Derek Morris simply loses out because the Rangers do not have the money to pay his salary and if the Rangers can not move either Rozsival or Redden then it makes no sense to re-sign him. We also believe that spots need to be opened for Matt Gilroy or Bobby Sanguinetti who will be more cost effective options.

In any case between the draft and free agency Ranger fans should get to see some early fireworks.

The only question is whether or not they will be happy fireworks or will the explosions be backlash from angry Ranger fans.

Buckle up folks and get ready for a ride.

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Draft Day Chats

Our Friday evening is going to busy but if you want to find places to chat about the draft here is where Prospect Park is going to be.

Our new friend thegoalieguild.com will be hosting a chat that we will be joining in on during the draft.

Another spot to check out will be the Program as we will be calling in to talk to them during the night.

And right here in case anyone is interested we will try to host a live chat here for anyone interested via the Cover It Live software.

Limited Options

It was interesting to have read the words of Gordie Clark the New York Rangers Director of Player Personnel last week as he talked about the Ranger's intentions regarding the draft among other issues. Actually it was very disappointing because you have to take what Clark said with less than a grain of salt.

Right off the bat one has to acknowledge that nobody is going to disclose their true plans for either the entry draft or free agency nor should you expect them to. The problem though is that few believe that the Rangers have the cap space to sign a high end free agent or to make any kind of serious impact trade unless they give up a few of the top prospects the Rangers have so few of.

In starting with the draft; the Rangers may want to try to move up but at what cost? It is very doubtful that the Rangers have the ability to make a serious jump into the top end of the draft so expect the Rangers to either stay at 19.

This will be a very deep draft so if the Rangers would actually do themselves some good if they went in the other direction and traded down to either the end of the first round or just out of it. We are projecting this to be a 3 round deep draft and the Rangers could find the help they need while being able to add still more talent to bolster the talent pool.

Do not laugh but the Rangers might want to talk to the Islanders about a trade as the Islanders want to get a higher second pick in the first round than 26th. The Islanders have picks at 31, 36, 57 and 62 (3rd rd) while the Rangers only have 19th, 47 and 80 (3rd rd).

It would be perhaps the safest as well as most cost effective way for the Rangers to make the transition to the John Tortorella era. The Rangers in brutal honesty do not have many players either on the Rangers, on Hartford or among the prospects who's game is suited for the Tortorella system.

There are other reasons why the Rangers need to seriously consider stockpiling draft picks rather than trying to move up. Talent gaps in first Hartford and as well as what appears a drop in draft quality upcoming years like 2011.

In the second to third round area the Rangers could get themselves prospects like a Alex Chiasson (6'4 190) who is a hidden gem who will grow into his body while he attends Boston University. Chiasson wants to be like Vincent LeCavalier needs work on his skating but his overall game for a big man is impressive.

Another is Chris Brown a 6'2 center who we think his future is at wing, Brown is a tough kid who plays a 2 way game and will be joining Carl Hagelin at Michigan next season. Jimmy Bubnick (6'2 195) gets mixed reviews from the scouts mainly because his skating needs a lot of work but he might be a sleeper pick worth a 3rd rounder on.

Gordie Clark may tell the beat media that this year's crop of goalies is weak but boy his voice is in the minority. We expect the Rangers to select at least 1 goalie out of what we see as one of the best goalie crops in years.

The Rangers can hold off until the 5th round and find themselves a rock solid goalie prospect. They need to because if anything happens to Henrik Lundqvist then the Rangers are in trouble as neither Matt Zaba or Miika Wiikman have shown any sign of developing into NHL starting goalies.

Still another reason to move down is that the Rangers if they plan on making any kind of trade to either shed salary or bring in more offense will more than likely have to offer up one of the better prospects as trade bait. Like it or not in order to get something of value the Rangers are going to need to give up something of value.

We do not like the idea of trading away any of the few really talented prospects but the Rangers have put themselves into a corner thanks to the bad moves of the past. Sorry if you think Rozsival, the rights to Zherdev and a draft pick is going to get you a Danny Heatley then you are mistaken.

The Rangers even if they buy out the contract of a Wade Redden will still take a hit on the salary cap so the only real option to remove his salary is to either talk him into going to the KHL (who will not pay him any kind of money like he is used to) or exile Redden to the AHL for each of the remaining years of his contract.

The Rangers we are sad to say are going to do a lot of talking but their best move is to not a lot of walking their talk. They have already done enough damage with their talk.

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Leetch in the Hall of Fame

Like every other Ranger fan we are happy to see Brian Leetch being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on his first attempt. It is an honor that is well deserved and for the Rangers it has been a long time since a home grown Ranger has earned this honor.

At the same time we are sad that Mike Richter is not joining Leetch in the same class as it would have been a major coup for Ranger fans. Mikey is well deserving of being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame so maybe Ranger fans need to start on a campaign of their own to ensure that Mikey is selected next year for the Hall of Fame.

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Draft Day Coverage

We are going to be all over the place on Friday including if people are interested right here with a live chat as the draft happens. It is last minute but if people are interested we can hold a chat right here or direct you to where we will be during the draft.