Corey Pronman, one of hockey’s most respected prospect gurus has compiled his ranking of prospects under 23 years of age.
Out of 194 players ranked, nine members of the New York Rangers made the list.
In order to be considered, a player be 22 years-old or younger come 9/15/21. As to how he ranked them, Pronman rated them on skating, puck skills, hockeyIQ, and compete level. When all was said and done; Alexis Lafrenière topped list for the Blueshirts at #6, ahead of players like Brady Tkachuk (8), and Jack Hughes (10).
Alexis Lafrenière ranks 6th
The 19 year-old Lafrenière will turn 20 next month. He finished last year with 21 points in 56 games but managed 13 of those points in the final 25 games of the season. He also scored 8 of his 12 goals in the team’s final 23 games. It wasn’t an easy season for the rookie, but he showed a lot of the skills that made him the #1 overall pick in 2020.
According to Pronman, he rates Alexis as follows:
- Skating: Below: Average
- Puck Skills: Above-average
- Hockey Sense: Above-average
- Compete: Above-average
- Shot: Above: Average
I still see a player on track to become a big time NHL forward. He’s a very dangerous player with the puck because of his fantastic puck skills and vision, while his shot is also a threat from range. The dynamic aspects of his game were inconsistent last season, but I fully expect with more physical maturity you’ll see a more consistently dangerous Lafreniere in the coming years. He’s a hard worker off the puck who doesn’t shy from the physical play, but the main issue for him in the NHL is his lack of footspeed was exposed, especially as a teenager. That may keep him from ever hitting the top echelon of production, but I still see an eventual NHL star winger.
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How other Rangers youngster rank
When you look at the list in totally, here’s how Pronman sees the Blueshirts’ youngsters:
- Alexis Lafrenière (6)
- Kaapo Kakko (20)
- Filip Chytil (48)
- Nils Lundkvist (50)
- Braden Schneider (67)
- Zac Jones (72)
- K’Andre Miller (76)
- Brennan Otthman (110)
- Vitali Kravtsov (129)
After having watched the Rangers as extensively as I have, the struggle with Kravtsov being ranked so low is mind boggling. The fact that Pronman says his hockey sense is just average makes me question what he’s seen of him play.
The Rangers by the way, view Kravtsov’s hockeyIQ as elite. Before coming over to the Rangers last season, Kravtsov focused on his game away from the puck in the KHL and it had his Traktor teammates singing his praises.
Also ranking K’Andre Miller behind Jones and Schneider makes little sense to me as well.
In the end, these lists are subjective. It is great to see that four Rangers youngsters cracked the Top 50 with Lafrenière in the Top 10.
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