The New York Rangers experienced what a sophomore slump can
look like last season when Michael Del Zotto not only could not repeat his
rookie performance, but declined considerably to the point he was sent to the
minors on multiple occasions. Over at Bangin Panger, Vance took a look at which 2010-11
rookies are most likely to have the disappointing follow-up to their rookie
campaigns. In his assessment Derek
Stepan came out as one of the three players most likely to see his play drop
next season.
2. Derek Stepan - The Rangers Center situation suddenly got very crowded after July 1. With Brad Richards and Brandon Dubinsky ahead of Stepan on the depth chart, and comparable statistics to Boyle and Anisimov, there won't be nearly as much ice time to go around, and it won't be with Gaborik or Callahan.
Where
Derek Stepan plays this season could have a huge impact on the type of
production he puts up offensively. If
the Rangers do decide to give him a chance to play with Richards and Gaborik,
then he could have a tremendous year and take a huge step forward. However, if he ends up seeing limited ice
time due to the Rangers depth at center, then he could see a stagnation or
decline in his numbers. We do have to remember that Stepan put up much of his
numbers this season as a third line player, so remaining in the role does not
automatically set him up for a decline compared to last year.
The
difference between Stepan and Del Zotto is that you don’t expect that kind of
decline in quality or confidence, though in fairness to Del Zotto you would not
have predicted it for him last year either.
The summer after making it to the NHL and having success is huge and it
will be so not just for Stepan, but McDonagh and Sauer as they move into their
second seasons in the NHL.
h/t to SNYRangersBlog for finding this one
