One of the toughest things for any organization in the
development of their prospects is deciding when a prospect is ready for the
jump to the NHL level of competition.
The New York Rangers have had some huge successes with their timing in
the past few years while with others the prospects have been rushed in hopes of
getting them ready to contribute and fill needs sooner. At training camp this year the organization
will have to make those calls on a few prospects with Tim Erixon and Christian
Thomas being the two most notable.
As with all prospects the situations for those two are
unique and the options that the Rangers have differ because of it. In the case of Tim Erixon the Rangers
acquired a player who is two years from his draft year and has spent those two
seasons playing against men in the Swedish Elite League (SEL). The fact that he has played in that environment
should aid Erixon in his preparedness for the transition to the NHL. If Erixon is determined to need more time the
Rangers can send him to the minors, play Steve Eminger on the third pair and
allow him to transition through the AHL, as they did with Ryan McDonagh last
season.
The situation with Christian Thomas is different. Thomas and his goal scoring abilities present
the Rangers with an intriguing option to help an offense that has been inconsistent
over the past few seasons. Thomas
certainly produced offensively in the OHL with 54 goals and 45 assists in just
66 games. On the surface it is hard to
see what another season in the OHL is really going to do for Thomas in terms of
development. The problem is because
Thomas was playing in CHL at the time he was drafted he either has to play in
the OHL this season or NHL and cannot be sent to the minors as Erixon can. This is the same situation that Del Zotto was
in two years ago. Del Zotto played very
well early in the season and when the decision came as to whether to keep him
for the year or send him back to Juniors the decision seemed simple in keeping
him. Offensively Del Zotto had a very
good year, but for him the year back in the OHL working on the rest of the aspects
of his game might have helped more in the long term and avoided the kind of
slip he had last season.
The decision on Erixon is much simpler than it will be on
Thomas because of the type of options the Rangers have in moving Erixon between
the different levels within the organization while Thomas is basically in the
NHL or back in Juniors for the season.
Erixon’s background in the SEL should have him prepared for playing against
the bigger competition, while Thomas who already has his size as a potential
detriment does not have the experience playing against men.
There is no telling in advance what either of these two will
gain or lose based on the different options the Rangers organization will
choose for them coming out of training camp next month, which is why deciding
when a prospect is ready might be the hardest decision the organization makes
in shaping the future of the club.
