Good morning, boneheads!
It’s hard to believe it has already been 18 years since this awful event that turned this country upside down and claimed thousands of innocent American lives. I still remember this day to a detail. The pain. The feeling of not being able to help. But the memory fades. It’s hard to remember what happened in weeks and months after. We already forgot the unity this country felt after 9/11. We forgot how fragile we are. Don’t take anything for granted. Or anyone. Love, forgive, apologize, listen, say what you mean. Enjoy every moment of it. Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.
Thanks, JPP for doing this again.
First off, things vary but generally speaking traverse city has always been a tournament in which 1/3 to 1/2 of each team is made up of draft picks and the other half are kids either signed to AHL contracts or are tryouts looking for a contract. So naturally, teams bringing a roster heavier in drafted players speaks to a deeper roster and subsequently older more experienced players on the team.
But the truth is each team may have between 2-5 guys who will assuredly make the NHL. In the Rangers case it seems one year the roster is forward heavy depth and skill wise, and another year deeper and stronger on the back end.
For example last year‘s team had the likes of chytil, andersson, howden at forward, while having hajek, and then keane/crawley/gross as their best defensive prospects.
This year for all the high-end skill of kakko and kravtsov, they were deep defensively and really relied On a bunch of unheralded kids to do the work and take ice time that kravtsov/kakko and even Henriksson couldn’t take (bc they can’t play all game obviously, it’s a 22-23 man team sport). So a lot of credit goes to those kids who allowed through their hard work (which was certainly not perfect or close to good enough to rest on our laurels considering where they want to go) that these games were able to be competitive.
Fox, Robertson, Keane, Gross and Tarmi reuneman, (a guy who’s certainly been on the front office and one specific wacky European fan’s 😉 radar, but will soon be on everyone’s radar). Aside from the top end talent at forward, it was these Defensive prospects who were the strength of this year’s traverse city team.
It’s really hard and miss leading to gauge these games by score in game play alone, because it doesn’t take into account the variables that come with the short rookie tournament like this. Some teams bring squads with a bunch of players who have played together either in the tournament before Or in the minors and some even with their big clubs. Some teams bring more older guys to balance out the youth on the roster.
Then there are logistics: Teams playing in the evening games at 6:30 and seven, can’t afford to practice in the morning, where as the teams playing the early games can’t do that. During a short tournament where guys are getting flown in from different places and playing for the first time together or the first time in a year together, that practice time can and the little structure and game planning a team can go over makes a difference in how teams look in the games.
These are all things you have to take in account while trying to take something from the games. You try to key in on the stuff that will/might translate to the preseason and regular season play to see where guys are in their development and if there’s a chance they might be ready or how far off they are.
That doesn’t even take into account European players or more specifically goalies who are playing on a smaller ice surface for the first time against another team and not practicing with your own team or an intra-squad scrimmage. Time and space and angles, all of that will be different on a smaller ice surface.
For example, Igor Shesterkin’s 1st game he got exposed by shots from certain angles and then it kinda fell in on him and the team, due to the first couple goals he let up that you could say were due to just the unfamiliarity of where guys are gonna shoot from and what angles and spots the players are going for bc of it.
Personally I felt everyone played a little too cute in the first game but the second and third games werea lot more north/south and engaging in the necessary 1 on 1 battles it takes to be on the winning side of things, or even have a chance to win. And they were markedly better and more engaged playing that way.
Speed and skill is the name of the game today, but what separates one team from another, one player from another?
It’s their mentality.
What kind of fire do they play with?
Why do they play?
Are you playing at this point to make the NHL and get paid and get some fame or do you play because you love the game and want to play it against the best in the world and show/prove to yourself and others that you can play and win at that level.
Most importantly the best players, it comes from inside them, because just like music and the arts, sports and competition is an expression of self, of each player. It’s a metaphor but it translates: the way a guy plays hockey or any sport, that’s his/her painting, their music, it’s your creation, your creating it as you do it, and your expressing yourself. It just happens to be in a competitive intense physical manner and nowerdays a major big business. But at its core and grassroots, hockey is a moving art, and when your playing, your expressing who you are and what your made of.
That’s what make champions, that’s what champions are made of. That’s what make players clutch, that’s what make them fan favorites and maybe even immortals. That’s what separates the champions from the ‘PRO’ athletes of this generation.
A coach can try to instill that within players, but it’s something that comes from within. Each player, each person needs to tap into that part of themselves, put in the work, and then if it’s meant to be, luck/karma will do its part and work with you. That’s how it goes.
And you know what: carrying yourself as such is what turns guys into messiers and graves, and leetch and richter, and hank, and JD. It’s the stuff that really makes an athlete a role model and inspiration to kids. It’s a unique dynamic in the world today. Kids look to their favorite athletes more so than their parents, their teachers, whether you want/choose it or not. An athlete who plays with heart and soul pouring out has a chance to impact young kids who want to emulate and take on the things they admire that they see make their favorite athletes who they are. ‘Nothing will get in my way or back me off’ I get that mentality from messier. ‘Treat everyone kindly and help out if you can while being the most loyal person you can be’ I got that from graves. It’s stuff that shaped how I interacted with the world and more even: myself. That’s the potential impact athletes can have on kids who will grow up to be men/women in this world. And the world needs that from its athletes as opposed to promoting a baller or hotshot or all about me attitude.
As a kid trying to get drafted and make it to the NHL or any pro league, you may never have looked at it that way, because your in deep from a different perspective and focus at first, your 1st just trying to live out your dreams. But I’m telling you as a 36 year old man who’s watched, played and been inspired by hockey and hockey players since I was 5. It might be the biggest opportunity for impact and service to others that a play athlete has. Inspire kids, bring people and families together bc of the passion you bring to playing the game people love.
It’s so much bigger than making the SHOW and getting paid in the grand scheme of things.
So yeah I was happy of the way these kids this year carried themselves and played as the weekend went on. So kudos boys.
Let’s get into the individual grades and reports.
For starters and I see that gorts agreed with me, Fox is as advertised and better. A really heady player, whose skills allow him to pul off what his headiness shows him. He’s not the fastest or the biggest, doesn’t have a cannon of a shot, BUT he’s able to control the game because he has very good instincts and great hands/touch, I was very impressed with his puck skills, stickhandling/passers, shots carefully placed, etc.
Rykov and reumenan look like guys who have played in European pro leagues with men. Just a certain level of poise and calmness out there, it was obvious the level of competition at TC wasn’t overwhelming to them. Played their games, to the strengths, ruenman especially. Rykov is a very interesting big guy, he plays low to the ice, has decent edge work, not a bigger lumbering Russian defensive of yesteryear that I envisioned him to be.
Runemen (along with Henriksson) was the biggest surprise of traverse city to me. I was very impressed from the first period of the first game on. Just a steady Defenseman who is comfortable in all the situations a dman will find himself in, it seemed like nothing surprised him or had him flat-footed or rushing things with the puck.
To a lesser degree, the same goes for Nico Gross, who’s not as active or agile as fox or tony Deangelo or even rueneman, but seems very well schooled defensively, in an old-school kind of way. He plays D, he rubs people into the boards every chance he can, and in a one on one battle, he’s the first to initiate contact and get in tight and make it uncomfortable for the opposing player.
Then comes Robertson and Keane, who are gonna be wildcards that everyone watches going forward. And by that I mean, wildcards to become integral top4 guys that the front office really nailed at their respectful draft positions. Honestly I could see Robertson one day complementing a #1D on a 1st pairing, and am already very comfortable saying will become a very good #3-4 at the least. And I could see Keane forcing his way onto the team and future plans because of attitude, physicalness, and natural puck carrying ability. He’s got real skill for carrying the puck, he does it with speed and dekes and there aren’t many defensive men with the confidence and swag to do what he could do if he dials it in and hones that craft so that 70% of the time, he gets it deep into the offensive zone, and it’s only every 4th/5th attempt that results in a turnover/giveaway/odd man rush. At best, I see keane as an X-factor 2nd pairing guy, but I have a lot of faith that he could be that same x-factor as a 3rd pairing guy who can play up when needed to. See him as a high end #5 3rd pairing guy (least on this team as it’s projecting)
Both Robertson and Keane can skate very very well, both are +stickhandlers, keane using a lot of stickhandling in his rushes and zone entry attempts. Both have a feel and ability for the breakout and carrying it up ice, both have good balance and agility, a willingness to use the body to get into position or prevent/blowup the opposing play. They both seem very competitive and engage when doing so gives them the best chance of winning their battles as opposed to relying on the stick-check.
I mean honestly, 4 months removed from his draft and it looks like Robertson would have been a great pick if we had the Dallas, Winnipeg, or Tampa 1st the rangers were in play for. And we got him with the Dallas 2nd received in the Zuccarello trade. Where-as two removed from Keane re-entry draft (he was drafted by another team, but based on criteria was eligible to reenter the draft), it seems keane would go somewhere in the 2nd round or early 3rd in a redraft. Instead of the 4th round, where the rangers scooped him up.
As for the forwards. Not much really needs to be said about kakko and kravtsov. Most everyone who will read this will have saw their highlights. But I’ll say this. Those two are prototypical high end players. The skills, the size; the strength, and most importantly the fire, the heart. These guys are competitive and seem to have the drive/desire to be to difference makers of that top point producing caliber. And they seem to have it in spades.
The rangers needed to win the 3rd game in regulation to play for the ‘championship’, and they were down 2-0 heading into the 3rd on a 4 minute PP. Kakko took over the game, he did, but at first he did so by getting kravtsov the puck in high grade scoring spots, and kravtsov buried them both. I think they were the only 2 high grade open shots I saw him take all tournament and he made finding the back of the net look easy.
Finally my other surprise of the tournament, 2nd round draft pick Karl Henriksson. From the scouting reports I had read, I liked the pick from the get-go, however I did not expect him to be as effective and tenacious already as he was. I’m talking your prototypical Swedish gamer, who seems to be and get in the right places, wins his one on one battles, extremely hard to skate the puck away from, a lot like a Jesper fast, and a lot like Jesper fast has the skills and effectivess to play with high end players. He has more playmaking ability than fast, and that has a greater likelihood of translating to the NHL then being a good goal scorer at lower levels (which some might be surprised to hear or learn; but as a prospect fast was a darkhorse to be a surprise late round goal scorer). Hot take: I think he becomes an integral relied upon player when the rangers are back in playoff series where guys like him shine.
I’ll say this about the rest of the group. It was made up of guys in AHL contracts and tryouts, but I’ll tell you what, this is the 5th time I’ve attended the traverse city tournament, and every year had a bunch of tryouts and AHL experiences/bound kids. The kids this year were noticeably the most skilled bunch of any of the years. They may be tryouts and longshots and what not, but to me they have better shots and chances and skill sets than any other years tryouts and AHL bound guys. Jones, dmowski, newell, Elmer stood out the most of the bunch, but I’d say I saw every guy besides maybe two who had their moments and have their tools that will give them an opportunity to keep playing somewhere and honing his craft in hopes of one day becoming one of these undrafted made it stories. I respected their efforts and I wish them luck. Keep grinding for it. I would.
Good luck boys.
And let’s get this party started.
Let’s go Boys.
Winter is coming.
(Shout our to the real MVP of my trip. My 6 month old pup, that I adopted about a month ago now. Such a trooper, long driving sessions, hotels, waiting in the car while I work or watch hockey, not a single accident. Julie/Georgie…. she’s my 🐕)
UPDATE: Click here to read Carp’s Q&A with David Quinn
92 responses to “Traverse City Tournament Review by JPP”
I have to say, I find it pretty impressive that their depth in the system is coming from finding potential defensive gems in later rounds. Finding Kravtsov and Kakko is not a difficult task. But JPP is now confirming is what has been said by many hockey experts. Pronman gave them #1 ranking based on their defensive depth in the system.
Thanks, CCCP. I remember the game. Leetch, who lost a close friend on 9/11, with the OT GWG against Buffalo.
Thanks for letting me do that ILB
But more importantly, my heart and prayers go out to those who were lost 18 years ago and their friends/family’s.
Real heroes, real victims
Post above updated. Carp’s Q&A with David Quinn is up
Nice write up JPP. Format, meh. Content, good. 🙂
Written or oral? Reading? Writing? Math?
@CraigWeather – I have house painters. Just no rain and no morning dew (or Dead or other covers of Dobson)
Big problem now; too many good young players…
Nothing new here, except Beleskey is going straight to Hartford, giving them a $1.075 cap relief, and Nieves has switched to jersey #15, allowing Kakko to wear #24:
https://nypost.com/2019/09/10/rangers-facing-training-camp-without-tony-deangelo-brendan-lemieux/
Did Carp as k Quinn if he’s trading Kreider?
What was the idea behind signing Beleskey, I wonder?
Got Beleskey in the Nash trade. It was a salary dump by Boston who I believe ate some of his salary.
Oh, I see. Totally forgot. Thanks Tom.
They also threw Spooner into that deal who was a pending RFA at the time. Gorton should have let him walk, but signed him to a Namestikov deal. Lucky to have gotten Strome for him.
Rangers also got Lindgren and more importantly the 1st RP that they traded up with Ottawa to get K’Andre Miller.
The format huh
The format was the notes app on my iPhone from a parking lot in circleville, oh at 10:45 pm, which is when I realized I never typed it up.
I didn’t even bother proofing it, it was midnight by the time I was done typing it up. ILBs a busy man too, so he just uploaded it as it was.
Jpp
Excuses, excuses… 😀
Beleskey was just what the Rangers had to take back so the Bruins could pay Nash 9 million dollars to play for them for about 90 minutes.
The Haley pto kind of made this move predictable.
Saves us some speculation about who will be “the grit”
JPP you did a great job. Thank you.
a week away from first pre-season game v Derbils. Kakko v Hughes round 1…
Let me guess, whichever team wins has clearly picked the better player in the draft and will have a decade of success while the other perished in the flames of failure and regret.
It is it whichever team scores first?
: D
Ilb
Well done intro, thank you!
Jpp
Thanks for the report and taking the time to share it. Kudos to the puppy!
Thanx for all the work, jpp.
And to ilb, without whom we would have no blog.
Derbils are a very interesting team with all the offseason adds. Which Ranger will Simmonds smack down first?
.
Beleskey is the kind of player they need on the 4th line but no way to get to the big club with salary issues.
Do you guys think Haley, if he can still skate a bit, can make this team?
I will never not “like” that Messier picture
ILB,
Yes, if he stuck on a stacked San Jose roster last year, he has a chance to find a spot here
If not Haley, we definitively need someone of his ilk and temperament. protect the kids.com
Ilb,
No.
nice job JPP!…thx
If they want to sit fast or strome/Names so a goonish player can play occasionally then fine, but shouldn’t be anyone else that gets sit for that kind of player, who even if dressed won’t stop anyone from running a young player or Mika/Panarin as it is
Yes for Haley please; need at least 2 of these types on roster. I guess Smitty is another who could throw if necessary.
JPP OK, understand on the formatting. I was worried you wrote it oup while practicing being a shaman 🙂
So why Lemieux and DeAnger not signed yet?
don’t see why protection cannot be addressed by Lemieux and DeAngelo…. smaller but can play and get that job done if needed…just gotta sign them
STOP with the continual naive nonsense about a hammer not mattering a whit. Y’all remind me of Neville Chamberlain.
Thanks for the report JPp. Looks like it required a good deal of effort to write that.
Ilb nice intro and remembrance
The game against Buffalo I was at the garden. vivid memory. Pregame ceremony was touching and heart felt.
So glad i went. Have only been to the garden for a game live a handful of times and that was one of them.
Now I try to see them in Buffalo when they are out this way, but it’s no where near the same.
So who else wants to go to the home opener with James and I?
I’d go. But not if James is going. He’s such a dck
😉
The question ilb asked was, do you think Haley makes the team? It was not, do you think tough guys are important? I don’t think Haley makes the team. Haley was invited for a couple of reasons. One is, you need to dress a certain amount of veteran players in the preseason road games. Two, he’s a good guy to have around if the sh-t hits the fan. And 3, just in case the Lemieux contract situation goes south.
Haley if I remember has decent wheels and forechecking.
A little undersized like Asham was but has had some memorable bouts and may be the “playable toughness” 23rd roster player who is deployed sporadically.
I think he was on the azzlanders that time they and pitt had several brawls and set some penalty minute records.
Don’t want a young kid sitting in the press box for many of the games. (That includes Nieves)
Could be cheaper than keeping Smith around.
Nieves Rangers future is very much in doubt.
Coos its not 1975 …who out there is that menacing… Reeves….Wilson? ….. if want to keep Haley around for those games i guess but the problem is he sucks
still think 22 man roster is the way to go. and young guys should be playing not watching from the rafters.
I still think they’ll play on ice and use a puck.
Personally, I like having a couple twitchy guys in the line up that make the other team keep their heads up and not letting them get too comfortable on the ice. Ideally they aren’t on the 4th line though and are scattered around the line up and have skill (a Tom Wilson or Évander kane type that play top 6 minutes).
Again, personally with this roster looking the way it does and probably will into the season, I’d much rather see Haley in at his price than fast at his but that won’t happen.
Bdl makes excellent points for Haley being here in preseason. My guess is it’s 70/30 that Haley doesn’t make the roster.
Love to be wrong and he makes it, just not sure who’s spot he’d take barring a trade or young guy falling flat on his face andnot getting a spot.
cregg, smith very likely could be on the roster because he can be both a spare forward and D. Otherwise you can bury him, but cap savings would be minimal if non existant unless the spares are making the absolute minimum allowed.
Lol Creg…
wick, Kreider and Lemeuix should fill those roles already and Howden and Lias should develop such traits soon enough. we shouldnt have such a one dimensional guy like Haley around. And while I am no means a big fast fan, would much rather have him for 4th line and pk than haley (or the equivalent)
The New York Rangers have signed defenceman Joe Morrow to a professional tryout.
Going down tomorrow and will be announced on Friday. Patrick Laine to the Rangers for Andersson, Buchnevich, Staal, and Henrik Lundqvist!! Two prospects (TBD tomorrow) and two conditional 1st round picks. Islanders were gunning hard for him but nothing yet from Old Man Lou. As well Devils were never in the running.
So Kreider and Lemieux are our muscle? Get real.
Love ya, J Morrow, you’re only a Day away. Lemieux’s son will come out.
Protect the Children.com
Joe Morrow is another Day
No relation to Bone Morrow
Pete
I agree Lemieux is twitchy enough you can put him in that category, but Kreider doesn’t belong in that category imho. Neither does howden. Anderson is more of that ilk than howden imo.
I don’t consider Haley one dimensional but he’s certainly not a 5 dimensional player either.
Joe Morrow Never Knows
Joe momma does.
😉
007: Joe Morow never dies
A good, smart playable thug will take someone relatively valuable to the sin bin with him, 5 to 7 minutes. Kreider especially does note belong in this category, it should be needless to say. (in addition to the simple fact that he can’t fight, and shouldn’t except in self defense.)
A five dimensional guy is one who can steal a base and has a good arm from right field.
Marilyn McCoo and the Fifth Dimension
Roasted Marsh Morrows.
‘Paying alimony is like feeding hay to a dead horse.’
Groucho
for the record Lemieux had more fighting majors than Haley last year
Neither is a goon, that’s for sure.
goons are obsolete
Boobs are delicious treat.
(Continue rhyming)
Rex Ryan likes feet.
LMFAO, BDL!
WINNING!
@Wicky – you have a standby generator out there? Considering a Cummins 20KW LP unit.
https://www.nhl.com/rangers/news/rangers-announce-2019-training-camp-schedule-and-roster/c-309059870
Jpp
Thanks nice read!
Haley is not an everyday player even as a 4th liner and for a team with cap issues i don’t see allocating cap space, let alone playing time to him is a great idea. Now if you tell me we have traded Names and Strome away then sure add Haley as a spare forward who can dress against the flyers or isles, but otherwise no thanks
Coos
Feeding a dead horse I’ve done that!
Pete
I don’t think the filth will be much of a physical threat with Bazooka Joe behind the bench. I predict they will be the new cotton candy crew!
Whistle to whistle? I prefer missile to missile.
Saw an article on MSN website about NY Rangers “Tough Guy” Tom Laidlaw who is 61 being on Survivor. Had to laugh. Tom was a very good defensive d-man but never thought of as Tough Guy material. For those of you from that generation,it would be like calling Keith Magnuson of The Black Hawks and “Alltime Great NHL Fighter” Back in the 70’s are “Tough Guy” was no other then Captain Dave Maloney.
Thanks JPP. Great to get some first hand feedback on the youtes.
Pete
I wouldn’t be too concerned, don’t think he’s anything more than a training camp vet imo.
Saw some tough kids Saturday. Iona College versus Trinity Dublin (Rugby). There is no sound exactly like un-padded meat slamming un-padded meat close up on a Rugby field.
He is gonna play his as s off and make us pay 💰 when he has arbitration rights.
Only Tony D left to sign now. They will have serious cap issues in a few years if everyone pans out. If KK and KV get Keller like contracts and Zbad is ready to reup there will be tough choices to make. Hopefully they can win a lot of games in the meantime.
in couple of years Henrik, Staal and Smith would be gone. Girardi and Shatty buyout would be less. Kreider will probably be gone too.
eh unless he suddenly turns into his father (and no signs yet of him being that good offensively), don’t see him ever garnering huge $ in arbitration. And if he ever really did we likely won’t be the ones to pay it given the other guys we will have to pay in the coming years
Brooks brought up that asking Pepe and tony D to sign at a number close to their qualifying offer means that would be making less than kakko/kravtsov/fox who just signed ELC deals.
There is one very key difference. And we’ll with Deangelo and fox. Let’s say they have the same point totals, well guess what, that means starting 20-21 Deangelo is gonna be making ALOT more money than fox for a 2-3 seasons, like not 100k more like the difference would be if tony took near the QO. Like 4-5million more per season for 2-3 seasons
I’m glad Lemieux signed, I could literally care less about deangelo.
DeAngelo has a season left with the Rangers, maybe two. He’s not getting big money from them.
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