CANTLON: NHL DRAFT NIGHT – FIRST ROUND 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The New York Rangers made three first round selections in Dallas in Round One of a made for TV 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

It was just the fifth time in Rangers history that they had multiple first round picks. The remaining rounds will be conducted Saturday starting at 11 am (NHL Network).

None of these picks are likely to see Hartford any time soon.

The Rangers’ first pick, Russian right winger, Vitali Kravtsov, was a bit out of the box. There were other higher-rated options waiting to be snatched. Among them was another top scoring forward, the BC-bound, Oliver Wahlstrom. He was selected by the Islanders in the eleventh slot. Also on the board were defensemen Evan Bouchard (Edmonton) and Noah Dobson (Islanders 12^th pick).

With their highest pick at ninth, the Rangers tabbed the lefty shooting, Kravtsov, who at age 18, stands at 6’4 and weighs 185 lbs.  Kravtsov is from Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL).

Kravtsov was the second Russian taken in the Top Ten picks. The Carolina Hurricanes took right winger, Andrei Svechnikov.

Kravtsov’s regular season numbers with the big club weren’t eye popping. He tallied four goals and seven points in 35 games, but he was a boy playing in a men’s league. His post season numbers however were excellent and very well may be a greater indicator of his talent. He put up 11 points (6 goals – 5 assists) in 16 KHL post season games.

Playing against his peers with Chelmet Chelyabinsk (Russia-VHL), Kravtsov tallied seven points with four goals in nine games. In one game in the Russian MHL Junior League with Belye Medvedi, he popped in a goal and had three points.

Kravtsov is eligible for the CHL Import Draft to be held next week. He has one year left on his Russian contract. If he plays in the KHL, he could only play in Hartford once his Russian season end under the current CBA.

One caveat could be similar to the one with Filip Chytil last year. He played with the Pack as an 18-year-old in part because a formal transfer agreement with the Czech Hockey Federation exists while one does NOT exist with Russia. Kravtsov could play in Hartford if an agreement between the Rangers and Traktor Chelyabinsk could be worked out on his Russian contract.

Kravtsov did earn the KHL’s Alexei Cherepanov Rookie of the Year Award. Cherepanov, of course, was a Rangers first round pick (17^th overall) in 2007. He died tragically at a KHL game on October 13, 2008 while with Avangard Omsk. His team and linemate was one-time Ranger, Jaromir Jagr, who was right next to him on the bench with what was called an undiagnosed heart ailment.

Subsequent investigations showed the possibility of blood doping, though it was later stated doctors were treating a heart condition that never showed up in the Rangers pre-draft medical evaluation. The Rangers successfully argued that since he was never under contract with the Rangers they were awarded a compensatory draft pick in the second round in the 2009 Draft. That ruling is now known as, “The Cherepanov Rule.” The rule is that if a player was selected and should pass away, the team drafting that player will receive a compensatory draft pick.

The second first round pick was an 18-year-old defenseman who has lots of room to grow into. K’Andre Miller from Minnesota is 6’4 195 lb.

He played the last two years for the US Development Team program in the USHL. He played international competition for the US U-17 and U-18 teams.

Miller is a left-handed shot who played 22 games this season for the USHL squad. He tallied four goals and 12 assists and is a big, punishing hitter. Later, while with the U-18 squad, Miller played 58 games and had nine goals and 29 points. Miller has played the equivalent of an NHL regular season schedule. The U-18 team garnered a silver medal at the IIHF U-18 World Championships.

Miller will be heading to the Big 10, where he will play for the University of Wisconsin Badgers program that’s coached by former Ranger, Tony Granato.

Miller was selected three years ago in the WHL bantam draft by the Saskatoon Blades in the 9^th round, 177^th overall. He was two sport (football & hockey) athlete at Minnetonka High.

The Rangers thought enough of Miller to move up from the 26th pick to 22nd and gave up their 26th and 48th pick to get him.

The last pick is a 17-year-old, right-handed shooting defenseman. His name is Nils Lundkvist and he’s from Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League. He went 28^th overall. Lundkvist is 5’11 and just 172 pounds.

He played on Lulea’s J-20 team. In 26 games, Lundkvist had three goals and 14 points and was voted best defenseman. He also played with the SHL club for 29 games scoring two goals and had five points. He was 16 for most of the season playing against men. He played on Sweden’s U-18 team that won the bronze medal at the IIHF U-18. championships.

All three players are eligible for their national World Junior Championship squads. Expect to see them at the tourney which will be held in Vancouver, and Victoria, BC starting December 26 on Canada’s Boxing Day.

The aforementioned four sets of Rangers dual first round draft picks were interesting parts of Ranger history.

In 1971, Steve Vickers, who had a solid Rangers career playing in 698 games and scoring 241 goals, registered 340 assists (586 points), and the highly combustible, the late Steve Durbano. He never played a game for the Rangers and was traded to St. Louis, but in the words of the late great Ranger broadcaster, Bill “Big Whistle” Chadwick,“ speaking of Durbano he said, “He was suspended in every league he ever played in.”

The words came during his wild fight with Nick Fotiu at the Garden in 1979 when he was on his second tour with the Blues. It set off a major bench clearing melee after a hat trick goal was scored and he exited the ice surface by bending over and mooning the MSG crowd.

In 1972, Al Blanchard, who never played a game with the Rangers but played in the AHL with Providence and Springfield, and Bob MacMillan, who played 22 games with the Rangers, but would have a nice career with St. Louis, Atlanta/Calgary Flames, the Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils and Chicago, but not the Rangers. He is presently an amateur scout with Calgary.

In 1977 they took Lucien DeBlois and Ron Duguay. They played well in New York. Two years later went the team went to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens where they lost in five games. The Rangers passed on Mike Bossy who would become one of the greatest scoring right wings in NHL history who helped the New York Islanders win four consecutive Stanley Cups.

The last set of multiple first round picks came in 1999 at the draft in Boston. The picks that year were Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark. Brendl never played in New York. His lack of conditioning and inflated ego impaled his career in North America. He played in just 77 NHL games with four different teams none of whom were named Rangers.

After a stellar junior year with Calgary (WHL), Brendl was assigned to the Wolf Pack for the post season of their Calder Cup winning spring. He ended up being sent home after two games when he tried to instruct head coach John Paddock on how to run the team’s powerplay during practice.

Brendl played in Europe last season after taking a year off due to a medical condition. He’s rostered to the HC Arlanda Swedish who play in the first division.

Lundmark played in 114 games posting 11-19-30 with the Rangers. He had 295 NHL games in total. He played parts of his time with Calgary, Phoenix (nee Arizona) and LA. While with the Wolf Pack, Lundmark played 165 games with 50 goals 68 assists and 118 points

Lundmark retired this season after a six year career with Klagenfurter AC in the Austrian Elite League.

The first 19 years of the NHL Draft were held in Montreal. 1985 was the first year that it wasn’t. That year the draft was held in Toronto. The first time it was held in the US was in Detroit in 1987.

HOCKEY NEWS

Late Thursday, Rangers GM, Jeff Gorton, confirmed that Adam Tambellini was not going to receive a qualifying offer. He is free to negotiate a new deal elsewhere. Steven Fogarty was given a qualifying offer and it remains to be seen if he takes it or tries his luck elsewhere.

Two more AHL’ers are off to Europe.

Miro Aaltonen, from the Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies, heads back to a yet unnamed KHL team.

Leland Irving leaves San Diego for HC Bolzano (Italy-AEHL).