Bombing Away

OK will all the people who are concerned about Chris Kreider's numbers at Boston College please raise your hand? It is say to say that any worries about Chris Kreider becoming another Hugh Jessiman can go away as the Ranger's 2009 1st round pick is showing that he is going to be a real player.

The young freshman left winger scored his 8th goal in his last 9 games as his 8th ranked Boston College Eagles just whipped on Northeastern 7-1. Kreider had 9 shots on goal as the Eagles got revenge for a 3-2 loss on Friday night.

The question now is does Kreider have 9 goals or 10 as our numbers say that the goal scored on Sunday was his 1oth of the season. Teams may not want to face Kreider and company in the NCAAs the way Kreider is playing as of late.

Kreider's goal was another one of his "works of art" as he picked up a loose puck right in front of the Northeastern bench; turn on his speed and then squeezed a shot though the 5-hole of Northeastern goalie Chris Rawlings.

It is scary when you realize that Kreider actually skates faster with the puck on his stick than he does without it. Becoming faster with the puck on your stick is an almost impossible task but Kreider does it as he can increase his speed.

It is always nice to be proven wrong as we had serious doubts about Chris Kreider's talents but he is showing that he was a worthy pick for the Rangers to make in the 2009 draft. What we still will not change our view is that we still believe that Kreider would be better off if he left Boston College and joined a Canadian Junior team.

Kreider needs to play as much as possible and if the Rangers want him to leave school in less than 4 years then playing 70 regular season games in the juniors helps his development a lot more than playing 40-45. Not to mention that NCAA rules are so rigid that it is almost impossible for Kreider to get off-season training assistance from the Rangers like the non-NCAA prospects.

Nothing against Boston College as it is a great school but this is about developing Ranger prospects to their greatest potential.

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It would have been fun to watch Mitch Gaulton and Ethan Werek go at it on Sunday but both missed the game between Gaulton's Erie Otters and Werek's Kingston Frontenacs due to injuries. The Frontenacs won the game 7-5 as the Otters had a chance to jump into 5th place in the OHL's Western Conference.

Gaulton was supposed to have been evaluated last Thursday regarding his injured right elbow but no word has come out as of yet. Werek now has missed 6 games with his injured knee which was supposed to keep him out 2 weeks.

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Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers had a chance to move closer to 4th place Kootenay but lost on home ice 3-1. Kundratek was scoreless and a -1 as the Tigers are heading in the wrong direction after being as high as 2nd in the WHL's Eastern Conference.

The Tigers hold a 2 point lead over 6th seed Red Deer but Red Deer has 3 games in hand. If form continues then odds are very good that Hartford will be picking up a defenseman after the first round of the WHL playoffs.

(Kreider courtesy of Dennis Peace)