New York Rangers Ceiling’s for Fogarty and Neives

New York Rangers Compensate for Consistently Trading Away Draft Picks

Just over two weeks ago New York Rangers college prospects faced off against each other in a frozen four elimination game.

Cristoval Boo Nieves and Michigan eliminated Steven Fogarty and Notre Dame in heartbreaking overtime fashion. Fogarty was actually on the ice for the game winning goal against, it’s a tough way to end his college career, but there wasn’t much he was able to do to prevent the goal.

Steven Fogarty

Steven Fogarty brings a solid two way game to his team, and has turned that into becoming a captain and a leader for Notre dame. There is not much about Fogarty that will wow you offensively, but it’s good enough for a solid two way center.

Leadership qualities are always a privilege to have, but what does this say about the ceiling for Fogarty? For Fogarty, becoming a shutdown 3rd line center in the NHL doesn’t sound too unreasonable.

Now I know that low of a ceiling for Fogarty sounds a little bit disappointing, but if an NHL team is able to take a 2nd round pick or higher and turn the prospect drafted into a future top 9 role in the NHL then it’s a major success. Especially when you consider that some 1st to 2nd round picks are never even able make it to the NHL.

Christoval Boo Nieves

Now, lets take a look at perhaps the most underrated prospect in the New York Rangers prospect pool, Christoval Boo Nieves. Initially when I posted my prospect rankings back in February, I underrated Nieves’s skating.

As I called Nieves’s skating just above average, but I didn’t give him enough credit. Nieves is probably a better skater than Rangers prospect Ryan Gropp, but slower than New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. Nieves is what i would call a “borderline elite skater”.

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Along with his speed, Nieves has a big body presence, he can be tough to knock off the puck along the boards, he is good at cycling the puck, working with his teammates in the offensive zone, and he is able to score highlight real goals.

Nieves bodes well with his package to become a solid 3rd or 2nd liner at the NHL level. So far Nieves is off to a hot start with the Hartford Wolf Pack, as he has 6 points in 4 games (2 goals 4 assists). Fogarty, in 2 games played with the Wolf Pack, has 1 assist.

Nieves much like Rangers prospect Adam Tambellini can play center or wing, but it’s still unsure what they are both best suited for at the pro level. Nieves in 6 games with the Wolf pack has played center, while Tambellini has played the wing for the most part of the season.

It will be interesting to see where they both play next year, as having versatility is never a bad thing. Tambellini should get some more looks at center, while Nieves should get some more looks on the wing to see where they are best suited for next year.

Next: New York Rangers Sign Boo Nieves to ELC

Both Nieves and Fogarty have a decent chance of becoming solid NHL players, and if that happens it’s a massive success for the New York Rangers considering both were former 2nd and 3rd round picks. To view Nieves’s report click here  and Fogarty’s report can be viewed here.