The preliminary rosters for the 2020 World Junior Championships are being released and several New York Rangers prospects are included, but there are many more prospects playing in Europe.
There are nine future New York Rangers (we hope), currently playing in Europe. We can expect to see some of them in North America as soon as next year while some need a few more years of seasoning. With the European seasons almost half over, it’s time for an update on their progress.
The only Russian prospect in the Rangers organization playing in Europe is a player most assumed would be on Broadway this season.
Vitali Kravtsov (RW) – 2018 1st round – #9
Kravtsov’s story is well known as he left Hartford and the AHL to go play in Russia when he didn’t make the Rangers out of the training camp. He returned to play for Traktor in the KHL. After getting off to a fast start with a goal and assist in three games, Kravtsov didn’t dent the scorecard for five games before scoring a power play goal against Salavat Yulaev on November 28.
'What's a 'sharp angle'?' (c) Vitaly @Kravtsov, probably pic.twitter.com/2dsVBNX1Vy
— KHL (@khl_eng) November 29, 2019
While that was an outstanding shot, one trend is that his ice time has been steadily decreasing. After playing almost 20 minutes on November 17, he has seen his TOI drop to 13:06 and 9:04 in his last two games.
So far, in 10 games he as two goals and one assist.
Traktor is dead last in the KHL East Division with a record of 12-21-2. Assuming they miss the playoffs, Kravtsov could return to North America as early as February 27 when the KHL regular season ends. Remember that he is on loan to Traktor and is under contract to the Blueshirts.