It’s that time of year again. The time when the hopes and aspirations of young hockey players and their families wait on baited breath to see if their dreams will become a reality, For the teams drafting they are always wondering if they’ve caught lighting in a bottle and found that missing piece that will get them lifting Stanley Silver in the near future.
The New York Rangers are no different. So when President and General Manager Glen Sather introduced Gordie Clark, Director of Player Personnel to make the announcement, Rangers fans everywhere held their breath. Would this be another bad pick or could this be the best player the team has selected since Brian Leetch?
When Clark declared that the club had selected forward Chris Kreider with the 19th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the immediate reaction based upon the crack team of TSN analysts was that the Rangers had drafted themselves a real player.
His numbers look strong. Kreider is 18 years of age and skated in 26 games with Phillips Academy, Andover of the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association (HS-MA). There he registered 33 goals and 23 assists for 56 points, along with 10 penalty minutes. He led Andover in goals (33), assists (23) and points (56). He also finished sixth among all high school players in point per game average, scoring at a rate of 2.15 points per game. The 6-2, 205-pounder entered the 2009 NHL Entry Draft as the highest ranked high school player, and 14th overall among North American Skaters, according to the final Central Scouting Rankings.
Wolf Pack fans will probably not get a look at the Boston College bound Kreider till the end of the season when he can come an an Amateur Try Out contract after his season is completed.
Andrew's Dallas Stars Page has this posted on Kreider.
Central Scouting has this.
For us there is no better source than Jess Rubenstein's The Prospect Park
Our perspective on what the Rangers should do to build the team should be coming this weekend…
(Photo from thenhl.com)
