New York Rangers stock market: The pre-draft edition

Up: Pavel Buchnevich

Pavel Buchnevich’s stock just keeps rising.

Buchnevich is an incredibly gifted player. He has fantastic hockey sense along with being a great puck handler and smooth skater, not to mention his lethal shot.

Unfortunately, Buchnevich has only been able to showcase his abilities in spurts. Former coach Alain Vigneault frequently relegated him to the fourth line with line mates who were nowhere near as gifted as he. What made matters worse is these incompetent players would fill Buchnevich’s position when he was benched or scratched.

Luckily, David Quinn seems to be the polar opposite of this. Quinn’s emphasis on player development will let Buchnevich soar. He will no longer have to worry about being benched for one mistake, or scratched for an off game.

His talents will be fostered. Buchnevich has only gotten better as he has played in the NHL. His first NHL season was plagued by injuries and a trip down to the AHL. Though he only played 41 games, he managed to record eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points. His second and most recent season went significantly better, and he played in 74 games. He nearly doubled his goal total with 14 and more than doubled his assist total with 29, and had a total of 43 points.

Buchnevich is incredibly close to breaking out. If his talents are developed properly, Buchnevich could very well become a borderline, if not elite, player in this league.