Pete, I know you go to and watch a lot of prospect games. Any under the radar guys you've seen that could surprise us in the future?

This whole thread sucks asssssssssssssss right now.
- DONMURDOCH14

This thread is "elite"!

Pete, I know you go to and watch a lot of prospect games. Any under the radar guys you've seen that could surprise us in the future?
- pcjr307

For the Rangers, or just in general?

For the Rangers, or just in general?
- Pete V

Just in general but hopefully for the Rangers lol

This thread is "elite"!
- Pete V

How can you call this thread "elite" I would take a Garth or Dee thread over this one any day. Take off your Homer glasses , Pete. This thread can't hold the jockstrap of one of Ek threads. What order would you rank the threads. And take off your homer glasses when you do it.

I ask questions without ? so you all can suck it....

My Top 10 Forwards:

1. Crosby
2. Malkin
3. Datsyuk
4. Ovechkin
5. H. Sedin
6. St. Louis
7. Stamkos
8. N. Backstrom
9. J. Thorton
10. D. Sedin

Tavares for me would be in the top of the next 10 players. Another year or 2 of his current production would send him into the to 10 for me and Joe Thorton would probably fall out due to his age and slow decline.
- xcheckmajor

Normally like your posts, but come on man. Have you see the kid play? He will light it up for 100 points this year. Guy is a stud. How do you have Joe Thorton on this list, he once did but no longer belongs on this list. If we were listing top 10 tough guys maybe Shawn Thorton would make that list. And Backstrom? Come On Man (in my best Chris Carter Voice)

How can you call this thread "elite" I would take a Garth or Dee thread over this one any day. Take off your Homer glasses , Pete. This thread can't hold the jockstrap of one of Ek threads. What order would you rank the threads. And take off your homer glasses when you do it.

I ask questions without ? so you all can suck it....







- DONMURDOCH14

well if you look at the stats, this thread has 629+ posts in 24 hours. no other thread comes close!

even if this thread's stats have been inflated by baiting people into a debate.

well if you look at the stats, this thread has 629+ posts in 24 hours. no other thread comes close!

even if this thread's stats have been inflated by baiting people into a debate.
- rangerdanger94

Rangers could use 2 bloggers you should apply for the job

Rangers could use 2 bloggers you should apply for the job
- mighty13duck

jan does a great job and i wouldn't want to steal his thunder. if he ever decided to leave maybe i'd consider it but not now.

well if you look at the stats, this thread has 629+ posts in 24 hours. no other thread comes close!

even if this thread's stats have been inflated by baiting people into a debate.
- rangerdanger94

Yeah, but take away the posts...now what? Thats what makes this thread not as good.

no toews?

thornton hasn't scored over 80 points in 4 years. and backstrom?
- rangerdanger94

Toews I put in the same category as Tavares. Still really young, great 2 way player, not exactly a scoring machine though. 2 way players take longer to be accepted as Elite. Because they aren't scoring machines, they're other strengths take some more time to show it bears fruit for their teams. I honestly would probably put Giroux, Tavares, Toews as the next top 3 after these guys.

I thought long and hard about Big Joe. Although he won't have 100pt. seasons anymore, he's really still producing at over .9ppg pace. Couple that with the fact that he produced OVER 1ppg for so many years except the past 3 years, I still consider him among the elite top 10. He may very well fall off as quickly as next year, but the fact he's producing equally as much as Tavares still, his past resume and experience puts him ahead still in my book.

Toews I put in the same category as Tavares. Still really young, great 2 way player, not exactly a scoring machine though. 2 way players take longer to be accepted as Elite. Because they aren't scoring machines, they're other strengths take some more time to show it bears fruit for their teams. I honestly would probably put Giroux, Tavares, Toews as the next top 3 after these guys.

I thought long and hard about Big Joe. Although he won't have 100pt. seasons anymore, he's really still producing at over .9ppg pace. Couple that with the fact that he produced OVER 1ppg for so many years except the past 3 years, I still consider him among the elite top 10. He may very well fall off as quickly as next year, but the fact he's producing equally as much as Tavares still, his past resume and experience puts him ahead still in my book.
- xcheckmajor

yea toews isn't elite. he only captained his team to 2 stanley cups by the age of 25. plus he's only scored at a rate of .97 points per game for the last 3 years.

in seriousness though, we definitely have completely different philosophies on what classifies a player as elite. i think of their talent as a player by themselves, you think of how many points they produce which is clearly influenced by the situation they're in (team, coach, linemates, etc.). i definitely disagree, but i'll respect your opinion.

Yeah, but take away the posts...now what? Thats what makes this thread not as good.
- DONMURDOCH14

i just felt like writing a blog like this based on the ridiculous comments posted here all summer long about why the rangers have 0 chance of winning the cup and that they might not even make the playoffs. obviously, this wouldn't be a regular thing if i did ever get a job writing blogs here. i wrote a serious guest blog for jan last week for example.

- Nucker101

Be glad Nucks only play them once or twice a year, at most. We're subject to those mental giants all season. Poor poor ranger fans....someone doesn't like the team and we should convene a congressional subcommitte. Wah wah wah

Your a homer because you refuse to give JT any credit. Putting up points does not mean you are the best in the league. He plays next to Ovechkin. Look at PA and Moulsons numbers next to JT are they top 20 in the league no? Sometimes just being the linemate of a star pads your stats. See Boyes last year
- mighty13duck

Saying a player is in the Top 10-20 players in the world is NOT giving him credit? YOU are the homer because you say he is in the TOP 5 in world. That is being a homer. I'm not the one exaggerating or using personal bias. I'm the one being objective based on factual statistics.

And yes yes, I know all about the who he plays with arguments, yada yada yada. That kind of stuff only matters when you wanna talk on an opinionated level. You can say its my opinion because of all of these intangibles. There is still NO solid proof. People find it so hard to understand this. Why do you think Arbitrators ONLY allow certain types of factual proof when evaluating a players worth? It doesn't matter who he plays with, etc... These things aren't submissible in "court". Its all opinionated. You may be right, but its not factual evidence. I used the facts. All players play with different factors. All players have advantages and disadvantages. Its a part of being a pro. Thats why I didn't rank Rick Nash as being in the top 10, even though he's led the league in scoring and has more goals compiled than anyone else in the past 7 years. Even on the worst team. Because it doesn't matter. You can look back and say it was unfortunate in his career. You can say Lindros unfortunately couldn't stay healthy. But in the end, the numbers are the numbers. Backstrom STILL had to make the pass to Ovechkin in order for him to score. Its not like a +/- thing.

Rangers could use 2 bloggers you should apply for the job
- mighty13duck

well, Jan only posts a few blogs a week, at max. don't encourage them....

Saying a player is in the Top 10-20 players in the world is NOT giving him credit? YOU are the homer because you say he is in the TOP 5 in world. That is being a homer. I'm not the one exaggerating or using personal bias. I'm the one being objective based on factual statistics.

And yes yes, I know all about the who he plays with arguments, yada yada yada. That kind of stuff only matters when you wanna talk on an opinionated level. You can say its my opinion because of all of these intangibles. There is still NO solid proof. People find it so hard to understand this. Why do you think Arbitrators ONLY allow certain types of factual proof when evaluating a players worth? It doesn't matter who he plays with, etc... These things aren't submissible in "court". Its all opinionated. You may be right, but its not factual evidence. I used the facts. All players play with different factors. All players have advantages and disadvantages. Its a part of being a pro. Thats why I didn't rank Rick Nash as being in the top 10, even though he's led the league in scoring and has more goals compiled than anyone else in the past 7 years. Even on the worst team. Because it doesn't matter. You can look back and say it was unfortunate in his career. You can say Lindros unfortunately couldn't stay healthy. But in the end, the numbers are the numbers. Backstrom STILL had to make the pass to Ovechkin in order for him to score. Its not like a +/- thing.
- xcheckmajor

lundqvist STILL had to make this pass to brad richards to get the assist

yea toews isn't elite. he only captained his team to 2 stanley cups by the age of 25. plus he's only scored at a rate of .97 points per game for the last 3 years.

in seriousness though, we definitely have completely different philosophies on what classifies a player as elite. i think of their talent as a player by themselves, you think of how many points they produce which is clearly influenced by the situation they're in (team, coach, linemates, etc.). i definitely disagree, but i'll respect your opinion.
- rangerdanger94

Thats one thing I completely agree with. I do look at things differently and define things differently. Like I said, I've been watching the NHL for 30 years. Talent, expectations, World class skill, I've seen tons of it come and go. I've seen sad careers shortened. I definitely put a much bigger emphasis on longevity, experience, and proven "eliteness" over time than crown the current young aggressive speedster as the king. Look at Daigle. 1st overall, great first few seasons, then poof. Gone. Even Ovechkin. He's dropped in my book from #2 in the world down a bunch of spots just because of a change in the system (Backstrom however didn't surprisingly, so not all of Backstrom's accomplishments is 100% Ovie). I'm just hesitant to hand anything out in the NHL to anyone that hasn't proved it completely to me. Been burned by that too many times. Kreider is my next bullseye, lol.

well, Jan only posts a few blogs a week, at max. don't encourage them....
- jmo16

"only a few blogs a week"

don't hate on jan yo. he's one of the best bloggers on this site.

Saying a player is in the Top 10-20 players in the world is NOT giving him credit? YOU are the homer because you say he is in the TOP 5 in world. That is being a homer. I'm not the one exaggerating or using personal bias. I'm the one being objective based on factual statistics.

And yes yes, I know all about the who he plays with arguments, yada yada yada. That kind of stuff only matters when you wanna talk on an opinionated level. You can say its my opinion because of all of these intangibles. There is still NO solid proof. People find it so hard to understand this. Why do you think Arbitrators ONLY allow certain types of factual proof when evaluating a players worth? It doesn't matter who he plays with, etc... These things aren't submissible in "court". Its all opinionated. You may be right, but its not factual evidence. I used the facts. All players play with different factors. All players have advantages and disadvantages. Its a part of being a pro. Thats why I didn't rank Rick Nash as being in the top 10, even though he's led the league in scoring and has more goals compiled than anyone else in the past 7 years. Even on the worst team. Because it doesn't matter. You can look back and say it was unfortunate in his career. You can say Lindros unfortunately couldn't stay healthy. But in the end, the numbers are the numbers. Backstrom STILL had to make the pass to Ovechkin in order for him to score. Its not like a +/- thing.
- xcheckmajor

As an Islander fan I wish you were GM of the Rangers or Penguins

i just felt like writing a blog like this based on the ridiculous comments posted here all summer long about why the rangers have 0 chance of winning the cup and that they might not even make the playoffs. obviously, this wouldn't be a regular thing if i did ever get a job writing blogs here. i wrote a serious guest blog for jan last week for example.
- rangerdanger94

Its all good. I get your blog. I thought it was funny. Im just sick of all the comparisons and top ten lists going around. Guys really are into the whole whose "cockus" is bigger thing. Oh and JT is the greatest player in the game. Hands down. Everyone after him are on the next tier.

Just in general but hopefully for the Rangers lol
- pcjr307

Sorry, Pat, I go pulled into something. I know the OHL, because those are the games I go to. Only been to one game so far because the season has just started, but saw McDavid, and the Troy Donnay guy that the Rangers signed as a undrafted free agent (who didn't impress me).

Some guys to look out for in this years draft (not necessarily under the radar guys), are Matt Mistele (LW- Plymouth), Josh Ho Sang (C-Windsor), Nick Ritchie (LW-Petersborough), Roland McKeown (Kingston-D), and obviously Aaron Ekblad (D-Barrie Colts).

For Islanders fans, the Islanders 5th round pick last year, Victor Krus Rydberg is centering the top line of Plymouth between Mistele and Hartman, and seems like he has some good wheels and puck skills. I think they may have gotten a steal there, and sometimes you can find good value with Swedes late.

Its all good. I get your blog. I thought it was funny. Im just sick of all the comparisons and top ten lists going around. Guys really are into the whole whose "cockus" is bigger thing. Oh and JT is the greatest player in the game. Hands down. Everyone after him are on the next tier.
- DONMURDOCH14

No islander fans on here are saying that he's the best. We are just trying to prove xcheckmajor wrong, that he is one of the elite players in game.

Is it October 3 yet?

well, Jan only posts a few blogs a week, at max. don't encourage them....
- jmo16

As has been said before, I think we went at it pretty good last year, I'll take quality over quantity any day of the week as far as blogs go. Dee posts blogs daily but they all suck, so who cares? I mean I don't even know why she does it to herself anymore. Nobody cares, the lack of any comments proves that.

The new guy Dan is doing a bang up job so far, nice find with him.