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New York Rangers: Centers for the opening night lineup

By Danny Jones

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers celebrates his first NHL goal with teammates on the bench in the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 30, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers celebrates his first NHL goal with teammates on the bench in the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 30, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 05: Filip Chytil
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 05: Filip Chytil /

2nd Line Center: Filip Chytil

While Kevin Hayes is a lock to start as well (spoiler alert), he’s shown to be a great checking line  center. The 2nd line is where you still want to chip in offensively as much as you can and Chytil gives the Rangers the next best chance to do so.

The 19-year old Czech native has a big body at 6’2’’ and 202lbs and some soft hands to boot. This was no doubt a reason Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton selected Chytil so early in 2017 when many scouts pegged him to be a top draft pick in the 2018 draft (he would have been in 2018 draft if he was 10 days older).

Last year was a disaster experiment that was in no part due to his own play. He dressed for the first two games (getting a combined 12:39 of ice time) then was quickly sent back to the AHL by then-Head Coach Alain Vigneault. With a new head coach at the helm willing to give anyone a shot, regardless of age or experience, the Rangers should insert Chytil as the number two center and give him more than six minutes a game to actually prove he deserves to play in the show.

The decision to pick Chytil here and not Andersson was excruciating, especially after the show he put on in New Jersey. However I made the decision for two reasons.

First, with Zibanejad and Hayes surely dressing to start the year, it doesn’t make sense to have one of Chytil/Andersson start the year on the fourth line. They’d see less than 10 minutes a game, would be considered the “checking” line and playing next to someone like Matt Beleskey whose style is much different than Andersson would only hinder his growth. Have Andersson start in the AHL where he’ll certainly be the #1 or #2 guy and continue to develop in the minors. We’re in no rush here.

Second, despite Andersson’s phenomenal game against the Devils in the pre-season, Quinn understands the amount of pressure that these kids are faced with.

One of the reasons Coach Quinn was brought in was because of how he handles young players. He understands the pressure that comes with being the first, first round pick for New York in six years. He knows what’s expected of them so if he sends Andersson down to Hartford, we should have trust that it’ll only improve his skill long term.

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