Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Hockey preview magazines hit newsstands, where is NY predicted to finish?

August 18, 2019, 2:57 AM ET [128 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The hockey preview magazines are hitting the newsstands. The Sports Forecaster was the first to come out while the Hockey News Pool Guide and Yearbook followed this week. McKeen's preview, which is online, will be released in early-September. Obviously, these are early looks and don't reflect all the moves, as in the Rangers, the previews were written before Kevin Shattenkirk was bought out. But they are an interesting read nonetheless.

The Sports Forecaster predicts the Rangers to finish third in the Metro. As such, the Blueshirts then will make the playoffs and the preview has Vegas winning the Cup. The magazine ranks the team's top-25 prospects, the first 10 of which are listed below. In addition, for the first time ever, they also list their top-100 prospects, four of which are Rangers, all of whom finish in the top-40 with their rankings next to their names.

Kaapo Kakko - 5
Vitali Kravtsov - 10
Adam Fox - 35
Yegor Rykov
Igor Shesterkin - 40
K’Andre Miller
Nils Lundkvist
Matthew Robertson
Karl Henriksson
Libor Hajek

The Hockey News 2019-20 Pool Guide and Hockey News Yearbook list the Rangers Top 10 prospects:

Kaapo Kakko
Vitali Kravtsov
Adam Fox
Igor Shesterkin
Matthew Robertson
K’Andre Miller
Libor Hajek
Nils Lundkvist
Karl Henriksson
Adam Huska

They note that Kakko, Kravtsov, Fox and Hajek are all “good candidates” to make the Rangers this season. In the Yearbook, Kakko is listed as one of their 10 Calder candidates with Kravtsov and Fox mentioned in the Kakko blurb.

Screen shot of Rangers' page the pool guide:




The Yearbook has the Rangers finishing sixth in the Metro and missing the playoffs. Steve Zipay, formerly of Newsday, wrote the team preview. Metro order of finish is Washington, Carolina, Philly, Islanders, Pittsburgh, Rangers, New Jersey and Columbus. In the overall preview, the Yearbook states as one of the Metro questions: Have the Rangers done enough to be a playoff team right away? They predict a Tampa-Vegas Stanley Cup Finals with Tampa winning in six games.

Zipay writes in his overview of the team: Will that (referring to the additions of Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko) be enough to compete for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, a season removed from a 78-point finish? With vets such as Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes no longer around, improvement will depend on breakthrough from young players and a bounce-back season from 37-year old goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Join the Discussion: » 128 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Jan Levine
» Rangers face Avalanche as Ryan Lindgren returns to the lineup
» Rangers clinch playoff berth with barn burner 6-5 OT win over the Flyers
» Rangers face Flyers with chance to clinch playoff berth
» Rangers rally twice to defeat Panthers 4-3 in a shootout
» Rangers ride hat trick from Panarin and play of Quick to 5-2 win over B’s