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New York Rangers: Prospect Pyramid at the start of 2019

By David Bruce

VANCOUVER, BC - DECEMBER 30: Vitali Kravtsov #14 of Russia celebrates with teammates Dmitri Samorukov #5 and Alexander Romanov #26 after scoring a goal against Switzerland in Group A hockey action of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship action on December, 30, 2018 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - DECEMBER 30: Vitali Kravtsov #14 of Russia celebrates with teammates Dmitri Samorukov #5 and Alexander Romanov #26 after scoring a goal against Switzerland in Group A hockey action of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship action on December, 30, 2018 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 29: Brett Howden #21 of the New York Rangers skates against Kevin Fiala #22 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on December 29, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 29: Brett Howden #21 of the New York Rangers skates against Kevin Fiala #22 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on December 29, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Second Tier

The second tier includes players that are probably going to be quality NHLers, however, the extent of which is still in question. This tier for the Rangers includes Brett Howden, K’Andre Miller and Igor Shestyorkin.

Shestyorkin is in this tier simply because goaltenders can be very difficult to evaluate until they are playing North American pro hockey. Shestyorkin may be the key to the Rangers future, but we’ve seen crazier things happen with goalies to both good and bad ends. The young Russian goalie may be straddling the line dividing the top two tiers, but for the sake of the unknown, he goes in tier two.

The same can be said about K’Andre Miller. While his freshman year production is undoubtedly and unprecedentedly impressive, he is producing at this rate in college. The competition he is playing against is low, and college players have shown some unpredictability in transition to the NHL. He likely will be a strong defenseman in the NHL, yet the quality of player he will be is still in question.

Lastly, Brett Howden makes it into this group. He has shown that he is a strong two way forward that can play in all situations. With that being said, Howden’s ceiling is his biggest question mark. A lack of clear cut determination of top or bottom six forward status places him in tier two.

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