Is Kravtsov a spoiled brat or just misunderstood?

Another young player.  Another mess for the New York Rangers.  Lias Andersson.  Vitali Kravtsov. Tony DeAngelo. Now, Vitali Kravtsov again.  With his refusal to report to the Hartford Wolf Pack it looks like team may have wasted the talent of another young player or drastically miscalculated the ability of that prospect.

When a 21-year-old risks a suspension and more important, a ruined reputation, it warrants a look at what may be really going on. There are a lot of issues, some the fault of an obviously immature young man and others the fault of an organization that may have hopelessly screwed up their relationship with him.

Spoiled brat?

Many believe that he is an immature, spoiled brat who thinks he is better than he is.  Refusing a demotion to the minor leagues is childish and he should just take his medicine and play his way back to the NHL.  But there’s more to it than that.

When Kravtsov was drafted in 2018 the team let him play one full season in the KHL.  Many believed that the Rangers erred in taking him ninth overall,but he opened some eyes with a dominant performance at the U20 Four Nations tournament in August 2018.

His play in the KHL that season and at the World Junior  Championships had many observers believing that he was a steal. He had two goals and six points in seven games for the bronze medalist Russian team.

With all of the hype, the expectation was that he would become a New York Ranger for the 2019-20 season.  It’s obvious that Kravtsov believed the hype.  He came to North America early to train and he learned how to speak English.   His social media accounts were filled with New York Ranger logos and the 19-year-old was ready for the big time.

It wasn’t to be and that was the first time the relationship was fractured.  He didn’t make the team as Coach David Quinn favored 21-year old Brett Howden and 18-year old Kaapo Kakko was the wunderkind draft pick who had to make the team.  What followed was a bizarre situation with Kravtsov bolting the team after being benched, citing a misunderstand over his heart rate as one reason for his lack of playing time. Obviously, he was bitterly disappointed and deleted all references to the Rangers from those social media accounts.

In the meantime, fellow first rounder Filip Chytil didn’t make the team, but played well in Hartford and soon found himself back in New York. To many, Chytil was a pro and Kravtsov was a prima donna.

The Rangers let him go back to the KHL where he played the rest of their season, returning to Hartford at the end of the AHL season.  All seemed well and he worked hard for the Wolf Pack.  In 34 games he scored six goals and had 14 points.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-21 was a successful season for Kravtsov. He followed  a plan that had him play the whole season in Russia and the return to New York where he made his NHL debut, getting into 20 games while scoring two goals and four points, while playing mostly on the fourth line.

However, things were not going as smoothly as we believed.