Chris Kreider has been my favorite player on the Rangers since he joined the team in 2012. I have always loved that he is a true power forward.
Kreider is one of the New York Rangers most reliable playmakers because of his speed. Not only can he skate the puck up the ice and create opportunity, but he can also skate through essentially any defenseman.
His size makes him the perfect candidate to hold position on the crease. At 6’3”, 226 pounds, he creates scoring opportunities from the blueline by screening but is also skilled enough to play the puck in front of the net.
Kreider has shown flashes of how vital he is to the Rangers offense – he had career highs in even-strength goals (16) and hits (177) last season and tied his career-high in goals with 21– but half of his goals came in the last 22 games of the season.
Kreider’s consistency has been the biggest challenge for the 25-year-old since entering the NHL and it is something the forward says he will strive to restore this season.
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In a recent article on NHL.com, Senior Writer Dan Rosen explored the reasoning behind Kreider’s inconsistency, particularly in this season.
When Kreider spoke with Rosen, he said he feels his game got away from him in the last few seasons.
“I probably spread myself too thin and got away from the player I know I am,” Kreider said. “It’s just about getting back to that power-forward game. I know what I do well and I know what I’m good at, and it’s sticking with those things.”
At the end of the 2014-2015 season, Alain Vigneault and the young forward had discussed hitting the 30-goal mark this past year. His second 21-goal season is by no means a poor statistic – he was one of six NHL players to record least 20 goals, 40 points, a plus-10 rating and 50 penalty minutes this seasons – the other five being Alexander Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and James Neal – Kreider, as well as his coaches, know he is capable of more.
Rangers’ associate coach Scott Arniel said that being described as “consistent” is one of the biggest compliments you can get as a player.
“ having a fantastic year or having a bad year… Those guys that figure out the consistency are the ones that take it to the next level, are the ones that win Stanley Cups, are the ones that make the players around them better,” Arniel said. “That’s Chris’ next step.”
Kreider mentioned he is working this summer to become stronger as he gets back to “his game” as he rediscovers what his role is on the ice. Over his last four years with the Rangers, he has shown that he is best when he is moving north-to-south and skating through defensemen, rather than trying to skate around them.
Kreider has already shown that he has enough speed, size, and skill to be an asset for the Rangers offense, but now his top priority needs to be to prove that he can play with the consistency that the New York Rangers offense so desperately needs.
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By doing this, he can prove that as an asset he is irreplaceable.