New York Rangers: How was Vitali Kravtsov’s season?

The best comparison?

Denis Gurianov – There are a lot of similarities between Gurianov and Kravtsov.  He didn’t play in North America until he made his debut with in 2016-17 with the Texas Stars as a 19 year old.   Gurianov had been the 12th overall selection by Dallas in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  After one full season in the KHL, he crossed the Atlantic to play in the AHL.

He played in 57 games, scoring 12 goals and adding 15 assists for 27 points.  He played two more seasons in the AHL scoring 19 and 20 goals.  He finally made it as a full time NHL player with Dallas this season and at age 22, he scored 20 goals and added nine assists.

Kravtsov is more of a  playmaker than Gurianov who came up with a reputation as a goal scorer.  if you project a full 80 game season for both players as 19 year old’s, Gurianov would have finished with 17 goals and 38 points.  Kravtsov would have finished with 14 goals and 33 points.

The sobering fact is that it has taken Gurianov until his fourth professional season to live up to the potential he displayed as a top draft pick in 2015.   Vitali Kravtsov just finished his first.  If there is any trait that all hockey fans have, it is a lack of patience. With Kravtsov, we would be wise to wait.

Even the best of the Russian imports spent more time in the KHL than the young Rangers and made their North American debuts when they were older.   Vladimir Tarasenko had four and a half years in the KHL before making his debut with St. Louis at age 20.  Evgeny Kuznetsov also spent four and a half years in he KHL before he made it to the Capitals for good at 21.

There are very few players like Alex Ovechkin who was the first overall pick, made his debut at age 20, scoring 52 goals and never looking back. If Kravtsov can be a little better than Gurianov or Dadonov and something closer to Tarasenko and Kuznetsov, the Rangers will be more than happy, even if it takes a few years to get there.