New York Rangers 2011 Draft: Recapping Day 2

Entering the day the Rangers looked like they were going to have a quiet early and late portion of the day since they were not scheduled to select until the fourth round and had no picks after the fifth.  Though many talked about weak this draft was, the New York Rangers obviously saw some things in it that they liked in the talent pool. 

The team moved into the third round by trading away Evgeny Grachev to St. Louis for the number 72 pick in the draft.  The Rangers would make a second trade on the day by swapping next year’s sixth round selection with Nashville for their 2011 sixth rounder at number 172.

I am going to go through each pick with a quick summary, while you can find more information on them by clicking the link to their selection article.

Round Three (#72): Sean Fogarty (C, Edina High School, Minnesota)

The pick the Rangers received in exchange for trading the unhappy Grachev went to taking a high school player that has good size, solid skill and tremendous work ethic.  Fogarty is a project and has not played much against higher level competition.  He will spend this year in the USHL before heading off to Notre Dame.  Upside is there, but it is likely to take a good amount of time until he is ready for the NHL.

Round Four (#106): Michael St. Croix (C, Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL)

After being seen as a potential second round pick, St. Croix slipped to the fourth round and gives the Rangers a chance at a steal in the draft.  Skating is his strength and he has the hands to go with it.  Struggles with the other side of the ice in his game and is undersized.

Round Five (#134): Shane McColgan (RW, Kelowna Rockets, WHL)

McColgan is another undersized winger who has excellent speed and tremendous hands.  Prior to the season he was season as possibly even cracking the top-10 in this draft, but a slow start and size concerns ended those thoughts quickly.  The upside on him is tremendous with little risk in round five.  Certainly a chance he never makes it to the NHL level as his numbers were relatively stagnant from year-to-year in Juniors, but you take these kind of chances in the later rounds to see if the skill pans out.

Round Five (#136): Samuel Noreau (D, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL)

The Rangers have suddenly gone from a team with few if any big and mean defenseman to stockpiling them over recent years.  The development of Michael Sauer at the NHL level, drafting of Dylan McIlrath was a good start, and Noreau is another in that mold.  Coming in at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds he plays a physical and rough game.  There is certainly need to work on his skating and little offensive skill, but there is always room for a player that defends his teammates and clears the crease in front of his net.

Round Six (#172): Peter Ceresnak (D, Dukla Trencin, Slovakia)

Speaking of stockpiling big defensive defenders, the Rangers trading a 2012 sixth round pick to be able to select Ceresnak.  Ceresnak also plays a defense first game and a simple game at that.  With skating issues, he does have a tendency to struggle with quicker players.  Seen as a sleeper talent by some thinking he could have gone in the third round earlier in the year, so certainly potential value here.  Rangers have had good success mining Europe in the late rounds in recent years as well.

Recap of the overall quality of the draft tomorrow.

Rangers Select Center Michael St. Croix in Fourth Round

With the 106th pick in the 2011 draft the New York Rangers selected Michael St. Croix out of Edmonton (WHL).  He scored 27 goals and had 48 assists in 68 games this past season.  The reason that St. Croix, ranked 59 in the final rankings, fell to the fourth round has to be about size concerns.  Coming in at 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds which is adequate size, but more difficult at the center position.

St. Croix is seen as a tremendous skater with speed and elusiveness that is mainly a play-maker but can score when necessary.  Has to work on the rest of his game and hope that his offensive skills can maintain as he deals with bigger competition. 

Good value getting a player who most would have accepted in the second round with a mid-fourth rounder.

Scouts Take:

Bruins Draft Watch:

Like McNeill, St. Croix is to be commended for picking up his game and making a statement to scouts as the season went on. Coming into it, the season, the Winnipeg native had high offensive expectations given the flashes he showed as a rookie with the Oil Kings last year. He got off to a slow start, and compounded with some indifferent defensive play, was headed down in some NHL teams' eyes until he turned things around at mid-season and finished the year strong. A very good skater who can dangle with the best of them, he's got a lightning release and just seems to have that sixth sense around the net when it comes to scoring goals or setting them up. He tallied 27 markers and 75 points in 68 games, finishing just three points off the scoring lead to Dylan Wruck. His willingness to get his nose dirty and play more responsible in all zones is precisely why his stock is up these days. Will it be enough to get him into the first round? That remains to be seen, but even if he doesn't crack the Friday night lineup, he won't be around long on Saturday, as he has some of the best natural upside of any in this class. His average size (5-11, 165) hurts him- he needs to get a lot stronger, but that should come in time.

The Scouting Report

“Michael St. Croix had a solid, though not spectacular season in the WHL this year. The skilled center built on his rookie campaign by becoming a leader with the young Oil Kings, scoring 75 points and improving his plus/minus rating by an impressive 49 points in his second year. St. Croix is a competitive player who likes to set up his teammates, but can also finish when he gets the chance. Next season will go a long way in determining what kind of player St. Croix will be. If he can produce at the level he’s capable of, he could quickly establish himself as one of the potential steals in the 2011 draft.”