New York Rangers: Former prospect performance at WJC
After the first day of the 2018 World Junior Championships, it’s time to look back on previous New York Rangers’ time in the tournament.
For as much as the New York Rangers’ organization has historically struggled at developing high-end talent out of the entry draft, the team has had players with success at the amateur level. The World Junior Championship is the high stakes international tournament in which the best amateur players in the world represent their respective country while the world watches the future of hockey.
Talent evaluation in professional hockey is not an exact science. Sure, there are benchmarks in the course of eventually becoming a great player. However, talented prospects slip through the cracks every single year and go through non-linear paths to greatness at the NHL level.
The World Junior Championship (WJC) is a chance for teams to see how their amateur talent holds up against the best in the world. The best teams manage to filter in this young talent at the NHL level sooner rather than later. How players fare in the tournament is not always an indicator of professional success, but it’s something to take account of.
As for Rangers’ talent in the tournament, a handful of players on the active roster have participated in the tournament. Typically, an above average NHL player will get invited to their respective country’s preliminary camp prior to the tournament. In New York’s case, it’s had 15 different players on its active roster participate.
If a player is drafted in the first three rounds of the draft, they typically have represented their country at least once between the ages of 17 and 20.
The red white and blue
Although the Canadian national team won goal at the WJC five consecutive years in a row two separate times and 34 overall, the United States of American has admirably bridged the gap between the two hockey programs over time. When the United States won the gold back in 2010, one current Ranger, Chris Kreider was a driving force.
In seven games during the tournament, the Boston College product recorded seven points and anchored a scoring line. Of course, the future Ranger was famously in the video of the gold medal winning team singing “USA hockey is do or die,” an original chant with a few expletives that has reached legendary status in hockey circles.
In addition to Kreider, Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Shattenkirk Brady Skjei and Tony DeAngelo have represented the stars and stripes in the WJC. Of the five, Shattenkirk registered the most points, nine, on a team that finished out of the top three.
This year, 2018 first round pick K’Andre Miller will hope to continue the tradition of Rangers’ playing well while representing the United States.
The Maple Leaf
Even though Canada is the most accomplished nation in the WJC, the Rangers have not actually had many players don the sweater bearing the red maple leaf of the great white north. Of players currently on the team, just three have played in the tournament.
Brett Howden, Marc Staal and Ryan Strome represented Canada in 2018, 2006-2007 and 2012-2013 respectively.
This past year, Howden recorded seven points in seven games while winning a gold medal. The forward played a prominent roll in the team’s success and clearly made a significant impression. Less than a month after competing in the tournament, the Rangers insisted he be included in the return for the Ryan McDonagh trade this past February.
Almost 15 years ago, Staal represented his homeland and recorded just a single point in seven games. His iteration of team Canada was one in which he won two consecutive gold medals before turning 20-years-old.
As for Strome, the former Islander and Oiler played for Canada two different times and was impactful in both. In 2012, Strome recorded nine points in six games on a bronze medal-winning team.
The land of Lundqvist
As for the European players currently on the Rangers, a significant portion of them come from Sweden. Mika Zibanejad, Frederik Claesson, Jesper Fast, Lias Andersson and Henrik Lundqvist have all represented the land of 1000 defensemen. It’s no coincidence that as Sweden has risen to prominence in international hockey that it has also made an impact at the NHL level.
The Rangers’ best player for the past 14 years, Lundqvist, was a driving force in Sweden’s success. He led the team to an Olympic gold medal back in 2006 but did not capture a medal in either of his two entries into the WJC.
This past year, while Howden was celebrating his gold medal, his future teammate, Andersson, would propel himself into cult hero status for those against participation trophies. After being given his silver medal, the Swede chucked it over the glass into the first row in frustration.
In doing so, Andersson showed how passionately he felt about winning and what his style of leadership was.
Rest of world
In addition to this power three group of countries, a handful of others have produced some notable NHL players. The Czech Republic gave the Rangers Filip Chytil and Russia produced Pavel Buchnevich. The two forwards come from hockey playing nations which encourage their young players to take the game into their own hands.
Both are the flashy type of players that produce gawk-worthy highlights.
The way in which Chytil was able to put his defender on a string and weave his way through traffic to create a scoring chance is what dreams are made of. Although most of the players in the tournament struggle in the defensive end, the high-end ability is obvious. In his seven games for the Czech Republic, Chytil posted four points on a team that finished outside the top three.
As for Buchnevich, the forward played for Russia two separate times and was impactful in both. In 2014 he posted seven points and recorded six the following year. The Russian’s highlight real is equally as impressive as Chytil’s in terms of raw flashiness.
dark. Next. Jimmy Vesey is producing under the radar
Going forward in the 2018-2019 iteration, the current baby Rangers will look to emulate the play of past internationals.