The New York Rangers have an entire season to learn about their own in-house talent. It is imperative that the team make a determination about the long-term future of Jimmy Vesey.
As far as NHL G.M.s go, New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton has had a series of both good and bad moves. For every college free agent signing there has been an equally befuddling choice. New York has the rare opportunity to get a large number of college free agents because of the allure surrounding the team.
When it comes to Jimmy Vesey, the organization has never truly put the forward in a position to succeed. Based on the hype surrounding the former Hobey Baker winner, some had the expectation that the Harvard product would immediately slide into the team’s top six. However, the recruiting process skewed the perception into an unrealistic space.
Just because nine NHL teams tried to recruit Vesey does not mean that the Boston native was a franchise-altering superstar. Instead of being properly cast as a middle six forward with some offensive upside, there was an expectation that Vesey would be a building block for the team.
Through two NHL seasons, it remains to be seen if the forward can manage that type of role for anything more than situational play. During the Rangers’ home opener against Nashville, the team that drafted Vesey originally, the forward was around the net and had several golden opportunities to score.
Unfortunately for both Vesey and the Rangers, the forward was unable to cash in. The most gut-wrenching came on a home run pass from Mats Zuccarello.
Skillset
In a vacuum, Vesey’s skillset is best suited as a complimentary player. At an individual level, the forward is unable to create his own shot through the use of his own personal size or speed. This means that the Harvard alumnus’ line mates need to put him in a position to succeed. Based on the line combinations from opening night, the coaching staff recognized Vesey’s limitations.
In playing the forward with Kevin Hayes and Zuccarello, he gets true play makers around him. This means that Vesey can be around the net and muck things up in front of the goaltender. There should be an emphasis on using him as a screen in the same vein as the first line uses Chris Kreider.
While not physically as big as Kreider, Vesey plays with that same nose for the puck. Whenever there is a lose puck near the net, the forward is usually jabbing his stick to get it on net. These type of goal poachers will always hold value in the NHL, especially at Vesey’s size of six foot three inches.
With that type of frame to work with, Vesey should be able to capitalize on scoring chances from his line mate. It is no exaggeration to say that Hayes and Zuccarello are two of if not the two best chance creators on the entire team.
Over the course of an entire season it would be outright surprising to not see Vesey rack up points. It is clear that the team’s coaching staff knows what he needs to be successful. Being that David Quinn spent so much time in player development in both college and the AHL, there is a clear understanding as to what the raw talent needs to get refined.
Under the previous coaching regime, there was a clear disconnect between the expectations and the reality of what Vesey actually was. Even though the forward is on the older side of things to still be developing, there is the outside chance that he’s just a late bloomer.
Something in the neighborhood of 40 points would be a reasonable goal for Vesey this season. With the right line mates and deployment, the Harvard product can take a step forward. However, if the team tries to shoehorn Vesey higher up the lineup, he will struggle.