New York Rangers 2017-18 report cards: The rest of the roster

Steven Kampfer

This list might as well be nicknamed the Alain Vigneault Pet Project List. We’ll start off with Steven Kampfer who played 22 games with the Rangers this year.

Kampfer, 29, is best suited for a seventh defenseman role or an AHL role but after the team’s slow start in October, Vigneault was knocking guys like Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Smith out of the lineup to play him. Not only was Kampfer in the lineup regularly from the end of October through November, but he would often find himself playing on the top pairing with Ryan McDonagh.

Kampfer averaged 17:15 a game in 17-18 while only notched a single point the entire season. Kampfer broke his hand in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on February 12, a game in which he tallied 22:39 of ice time. He was expected to miss four-to-six weeks but didn’t play another game after that.

Kampfer is what he is: a slow defender who doesn’t have the size to make up for it. He won’t kill you as a seventh defenseman but it isn’t ideal. He showed this in his second year with the team.

GRADE: C-

Cody McLeod

McLeod was claimed off of waivers from the Nashville Predators on January 25. McLeod wasn’t getting playing time in Nashville and with a Rangers roster about to experience a huge transition, they needed warm bodies.

Even though it hasn’t been confirmed, Alain Vigneault‘s obsession with old school enforcers like McLeod was probably one of the main reasons why he was claimed.

In his time with the Rangers, McLeod played in 25 games, recording just two assists and 39 penalty minutes.

McLeod, just like the rest of the enforcer bread, is pretty much extinct from the game. He showed exactly why this season. He is very slow on his skates, is a liability in the offensive zone, and didn’t really contribute much in the defensive end either even though Vigneault routinely rolled him out on the penalty kill.

The one thing McLeod was supposed to be able to do was to protect his teammates from getting hurt via cheap shots. He wasn’t even able to do that. The game against the Predators where the Rangers lost Marc Staal and Jimmy Vesey due to two separate cheap hits to the head proved that. McLeod was nowhere to be found. Brady Skjei had to be the one to stand up for his teammates.

I am sure McLeod is a nice guy but as a hockey player, the fact that he couldn’t at even stand up for his teammates when he needed to confirms what we believed all along; that he was useless on the ice.

GRADE: F

Peter Holland

Holland had his biggest opportunity yet to break out at the NHL level and he blew it.

On January 15, the Rangers simultaneously called Holland up from Hartford and sent Boo Nieves back down. Holland was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Adam Cracknell in November.

Holland, a former first round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, had played in the NHL for the previous few seasons prior to 17-18. He showed flashes of NHL potential earlier in his career with the Maple Leafs in the early days of their rebuild. In 174 games with the Leafs, Holland notched 25 goals and 38 assists.

After having a rough 16-17, where he tallied 12 points in 48 games split between Toronto and Arizona, Holland signed on with the Canadiens in the offseason. He didn’t make the team out of camp but was off to a great start in the AHL. In 20 games prior to being traded to New York, Holland notched 19 points for the Laval Rocket. Once he was traded, his production continued with the Wolf Pack, where he tallied 14 points in 16 games.

Once Holland was called up, he never went back down to Hartford and played most of the Rangers’ remaining games. He was nearly invisible in most of them, however. The only game where he showed some real flashes of potential was against the Flyers on February 18.

Holland has one more year left on his contract with the Rangers. Based on his 17-18 performance and the crazy depth the Rangers now have at center, expect Holland to start the year in Hartford –where he belongs– if he is not traded.

GRADE: D+

Boo Nieves

Although Nieves only tallied nine points with the Rangers in 28 games, he made an impact for sure. He was one of the Rangers’ best forecheckers in his brief stint with the team and was very strong in the defensive zone as well.

Nieves was sent back down to Hartford on January 15 without any explanation from the coach or the front office. He did not see any NHL ice time again for the rest of the season. After being sent down, Nieves notched eight goals and 13 assists with the Wolf Pack to end the season.

As I wrote about here about a week ago, it is unclear what Boo’s future is with the Rangers organization. After the way he played in his 28 game stint this past season, it would be a shame if he didn’t have a chance to fill that role again in 18-19.

GRADE: B

Ondrej Pavelec

The Rangers filled their vacant backup goalie slot on July 1 with Pavelec. The signing shocked a lot of people considering Pavelec’s inconsistent past. Fans knew goalie coach Benoit Allaire would need to pull a rabbit out of his hat once again to make this signing work.

Pavelec didn’t look too bad in his 19 games and 12 starts. He finished the season with a 4-9-1 record, a 3.05 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. While his numbers don’t look great on the surface, Pavelec did a fine job between the pipes for the Blueshirts.

He had one two game stretch in December against the Penguins and the Stars where he looked nearly unbeatable, stopping 95 of 99 shots and stealing three points for the Rangers.

Pavelec had trouble staying healthy. He missed a good amount of time between February and March because of an MCL sprain.

Pavelec lost some starts at the end due to the emergence of young goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. Because of the rookie’s emergence, Pavelec, an unrestricted free agent, may have played his last game as a Ranger on April 5 against the Islanders.

He deserves to see another day in the NHL after his performance in front of a lackluster defense all season long, but it doesn’t look like it will be on Broadway.

GRADE: B

Ryan Sproul

There really isn’t too much to say about Ryan Sproul. He has the potential to be a very steady bottom pair defenseman. Sproul does nothing on the ice that wows you. He has zero flash to his game. In fact, you probably won’t even notice him out on the ice too often. Sometimes, that is exactly what you want from a bottom pairing guy, though.

Sproul played 16 games with the big club this year including the last 12 of the regular season. The Rangers acquired him from Detroit in October in exchange for Matt Puempel. In his 16 NHL games this year, he exhibited some sneaky offensive production. He tallied a goal and four assists for the Rangers.

He was very good in Hartford in his 44 AHL games with the organization, too. The Mississauga, Ontario native notched 10 goals and 15 assist with the Wolf Pack. In a 75 game season, that is on pace for 43 points which would blow his previous AHL career high of 35 points two seasons ago out of the water.

Next: Tony DeAngelo report card

At just age 25, Sproul proved that he has a future in the NHL in his brief stint. He is entering UFA status, but if the Rangers bring him back, he could compete for a top six role next season based on the way he played in 17-18.

Grade: B