New York Rangers: How young is too young?

With the New York Rangers announcing the acquisition of defenseman Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes it is very possible that the team could have an unprecedented number of first or second year players in the lineup.

Although the New York Rangers are only going into their second full season of a rebuild, the change in the age of the team has been radical.  In 2017-18, rookies played 154 games for the Blueshirts.  That number jumped to 244 this season and could be exceeded next year.

If you though the New York Rangers were young this season, wait til next year. After a season when five rookies cracked the lineup, it’s not unrealistic to believe that  there could be as many as four or five more next season.  Here’s the potential (we are assuming that Kaapo Kakko will be a Ranger).

Rookies:

Jake Elmer, Adam Fox, Libor Hajek, Kaapo Kakko, Joey Keane, Ryan Lindgren, Yegor Rykov, Igor Shesterkin, Vitali Kravtsov

Second year players:

Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Alexandar Georgiev, Brett Howden, Brendan Lemieux,

That’s 14 players with one year or less of NHL experience.  Kakko is 18.  Kravtsov is 19.  Chytil, Keane and Elmer are 20.   Five others are 21 and the remaining four are 22 or 23. Yikes.

The reality

The likelihood that there all 14 first or second year players will make the Rangers roster is slim.  Here’s a first pass at  what the team will look like (first or second year players in caps):

Goal (2): Henrik Lundqvist, GEORGIEV
Defense (7) :  FOX, Tony DeAngelo, HAJEK, Kevin Shattenkirk,  Brady Skjei, Brendan Smith, Marc Staal
Forwards (14):  ANDERSSON, Pavel Buchnevich, CHYTIL, Jesper Fast, HOWDEN, KAKKO, KRAVTSOV, Chris Kreider, LEMIEUX, Vlad Namestnikov, Boo Nieves, Ryan Strome, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad,

This roster shows nine of the 13 players actually playing in New York next season.   It also shows no room for Neal Pionk, Ryan Lindgren and Vinni Letteiri.   Russian imports Rykov and Shesterkin will be getting valuable experience on North American ice and first year pros like Keane and Elmer will learn their trade in the AHL.

How young is too young?

This is precisely why the Rangers hired David Quinn as their head coach. His mission is to teach these young players and acclimate them to the rigors of NHL life. In his rookie season as an NHL coach, even Quinn learned some lessons about how to integrate young players into the lineup, though he showed a reliance on more experienced players at times.

And if anyone thinks that Marc Staal or Kevin Shattenkirk are going anywhere, think again.  Quinn recognizes that a team this young needs mentoring and leadership and he will inevitably lean heavily on players like Staal, Shattenkirk and Lundqvist.

Perhaps even more important is the open coaching position in Hartford.  If players like Shesterkin, Lindgren, Rykov, Keane and Elmer will be cutting their teeth on the AHL level, they need a coach who can prepare them for their inevitable promotion to the New York Rangers. With finding that coach the responsibility of Hartford GM Chris Drury, a cause for concern is his preoccupation with Team USA at the World Championships.

With the team president position vacated by Glen Sather, there are some holes in the organization that need attention.  Jeff Gorton has his plate full preparing for the Entry Draft and making deals.  The acquisition of Fox shows that he is on the job.  Stay tuned for more changes.

With all of this emphasis on youth in the lineup, Ranger fans need to be patient.  Rookies make mistakes.  Rookies need time.  I wouldn’t say that any of the five Ranger rookies this season had outstanding seasons.  They all showed promise and starred in individual games, but their seasons were filled with speed bumps.  While none of them are of the pedigree of a Kaapo Kakko, expectation for this youth squad must be realistic.