With this year and possibly even next year serving as rebuilding seasons for the Rangers, just how big of a role will each of this players serve moving forward?
Players in this series will be listed 25-1, but will be broken up into clear tiers to distinguish the different groupings and levels represented in the organization.
In Part 2, we look at two international wingers; one recently drafted by the Rangers and a second preparing to make the jump to North America this coming season.[/text_output][custom_headline type=”center” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”true” id=”” class=”” style=””]#24 – RW Lauri Pajuniemi[/custom_headline][image type=”circle” float=”none” src=”2878″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”aligncenter” style=””][text_output]Stats – 3 goals, 7 assists in 14 games for TPS U-20 (Liiga Juniors); 2 goals, 5 assists in 32 games with TPS (Liiga)
The Rangers 2018 draft class was dominated by defensemen, but two of the forwards taken in the are good enough to warrant inclusion on our inaugural list (you know damn well who the other one is, and we’ll write more about him in the coming days).
You’re forgiven if you haven’t spent a ton of time reading up on Pajuniemi, who was the Rangers fifth-round pick this year. The Finnish winger has cut his teeth playing in the same league as Ville Meskanen and Filip Chytil, earning a promotion this past year to TPS’s main roster.
While playing for their youth teams, Pajuniemi was an offensive force. He averaged roughly 0.68 points-per-game playing as a teenager in the under-20 ranks, and destroyed the under-18 ranks by putting up 83 points (31 goals) in just 48 games.
FinnProspects lauded Pajuniemi’s ability to create scoring chances, which was featured on power play units in the under-20 ranks. There is still a lot of room for him to grow, and he will need to improve on the defensive end to become a true difference-maker at the next level. But, he won’t turn 19 until the eve of the season, and the dearth of wing prospects within the Rangers system will help create plenty of opportunities for Pajuniemi to move up the prospect ranks.
Note from Drew Way: When Greg was hashing out his ranks for this piece, I advocated to have Pajuniemi included on here, above the likes of Gettinger and Keane. I know this won’t be a popular opinion, but for the reasons Greg stated above, I’m comfortable with this potential bold stance. I think his overall skill set and ice vision combined with his skating will allow him to have a very strong year in Liiga, which is a league that has proven to be able to foster and develop quality NHL talent. [/text_output][custom_headline type=”center” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”true” id=”” class=”” style=””]#23 – RW Michael Lindqvist[/custom_headline][image type=”circle” float=”none” src=”2881″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”aligncenter” style=””][text_output]Stats – 20 goals, 14 assists in 33 games for Farjestad BK (SHL)
A good, sound argument could be made that would put Ville Meskanen in this spot and Michael Lindqvist on the outside of the Top 25, but I went with Lindqvist mostly on the understanding that the top league in Sweden tends to be more competitive than the top league in Finland.
Lindqvist burst onto the scene last year, breaking out with a 20-goal season, the third-highest goal total for any player in the league under the age of 24. 10 of those goals came by way of the power play. Long story short, the kid can score and score in volume, something the Rangers desperately need from their winger depth.[/text_output]
The first and most obvious – nobody wants to watch Cody McLeod eat minutes on a nightly basis for this team. Nobody. Not even Mama and Papa McLeod. They’re good. They’ve seen enough. And while Matt Beleskey could be perfectly capable of playing fourth line minutes for the Rangers this season, that situation might not be the most beneficial for the team.
For the time being, the Rangers have too many centers (a fantastic problem to have, by the way). Kevin Hayes will open the season with the team, and both Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson are going to be given every opportunity to win jobs with the parent club.
Part of the reason why I believe the Rangers brought back all of Vladdy Namestnikov, Ryan Spooner and Jimmy Vesey is to give both Chytil and Andersson legitimate NHL options to play with. Problem is, with Hayes still here, we have to confront the very real possibility that Andersson’s first look this coming season will be on the fourth line.
I know that sentence scares some people, but the Rangers fourth line doesn’t have to be a traditional fourth line in any sense. Having a scoring winger like Lindqvist win a fourth-line job creates unique opportunities for David Quinn to roll lines. A full-Swede line of Jesper Fast-Lias Andersson-Michael Lindqvist could be idealistic for Andersson’s immediate development, regardless of where in the rotation it falls. Or, if the Rangers don’t want Fast playing on his off-hand wing, Vesey could easily slide down and create a volume-scoring line with Andersson at center.
Lindqvist and Meskanen find themselves in unique positions. Both are young enough where a stint in Hartford could still be beneficial, but both present possibly better options for the Rangers if Andersson/Chytil both make the team out of camp. I think it’s a better-than-50% chance one of the two European wingers breaks with the team on Opening Night.
I’ll be the guy putting the money on the Swede.[/text_output]
Author: Greg Kaplan
Greg Kaplan is a man of mystery. Did he write this? No. Was he asked to write this? Yes. But did he write this article? Maybe, do you like it?