Rangers Concerned About Kreider's Skating & Play Without The Puck
John Buccigross at ESPN.com discusses the good and the bad of Chris Kreider..."Chris Kreider is still a work in progress for the Rangers. The upside is huge but the Rangers are still concerned about his skating and play without the puck in all three zones. It would be nice to chart his progress. He no doubt will be good, but the jury is out on whether he can be great. (I for one, love him.) As a Ranger source told me recently, 'There were times in the playoffs he was our best player and there were times he was our worst.'"
...the Rangers are worried about Kreider's skating? Really? That would be the last thing I'd think they were concerned about. Buccigross is the guy running around telling anyone who will listen that the Rangers wanted to trade Gaborik for Dan Boyle this summer, so I'm not so sure I believe this.
Buccigross adds that Ryan McDonagh might be the fastest backward skater in the NHL.
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this is hilarious!
the guy went from playing in college one week to being thrown into the NHL playoffs without any training camp, no regular season games, and onto a team that was really good, and people are going to critique his positioning on the ice and skating without the puck. The guy played years in BC's system and then had to learn Torts system on the fly, in the heat of the playoffs. His head was probably spinning a little bit, maybe? Can we give the guy a little credit? He did score five goals despite that.
krieder has amazing skating speed for sure, and we have seen him use it on the rush and on the forecheck. but he may need to work on angles, change of direction, balance etc. I don't think McDonagh is faster than Gaby, Hags or Krieder, but I think he might be a better overall "skater" than any of them.
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If they mean using his size and speed more to finish checks and back check then I can see it. He does need to be more noticeable without the puck, but then he has yet to see a regular season game in the NHL so I think the use of "concerned" is a bit much.
@TheNYRBlog maybe his position sometimes, but it was his first NHL games, his skating is more then great. And this Buccigross is an idiot
@KreiOfTheTiger honestly @RealSkipBayless is a complete joke, and @espn knows nothing about hockey. Sports enter is background noise only
The more I read Buccigross, the more he comes off as an uninformed, rumor-mongering tool.
And I actually liked Buccigross and the work he did with NHL 2 Night.
@TheWrage Agree with you on Buccigross. I used to like him but between the Gaborik/Boyle rumor and now this it seems like he's going more for traffic and actual facts.
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I recently took Chicago Blackhawks draft pick, Paul Phillips fishing. He played with Kreider. He said that Kreider was a complete freak of nature, especially in the skating department, as we all know. He said most of the players were always in awe of his skating ability. I just cant see the NYRs worrying about his skating.
@TheNYRBlog I mean, Torts is a perfectionist... remember how rocked DZ got for a minor turnover in on the blue line? Dude got sat out.
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i think that maybe he is connecting "without the puck" to the skating....meaning, perhaps they don't see the same explosiveness and quickness when he is with out the puck defensively, and not his skating ability so much as using it all the time when he is supposed to. That or he is smoking some good stuff or trying to get headlines.
@Rangerfan41 You're absolutely correct on this one. It's not form or ability that Kreider struggles with, it's his positioning on the ice. Skating does not only imply form but it is also a part of the positioning/hockey sense. Bucci was generalizing skating in efforts of simplifying for the audience.
@Rangerfan41 Agreed. He needs to do better things without the puck. It is not his ability to skate as much as his decisions where to skate and especially working the boards on the forecheck. Stuff I am hoping he can pick up. His skating ability is not in question.
@Rangerfan41 I was thinking the same thing. Maybe his skating away from the puck but I even have a hard time believing that.
@Paulie_NYR94 @Rangerfan41 -- I think that because Bugicross wrote it, it doesn't warrant our scrutiny. Obviously it's nonsense! Don't even bother trying to make sense of it.
@TheNYRBlog I agree, actually. There were times (though few) where he was just snapping it around the boards with no vision. He'll grow...
@TheNYRBlog I don't think it's about his skating ability, though more his vision in the zones. I could tell he was fresh given his movements
@TheNYRBlog Besides being the most explosive skater in the playoffs besides Hagelin. Yeah ok Rangers Kreider will be just fine.
@TheNYRBlog Perhaps keeping Kreider honest or pushing him more because they realize his talent. He does need to work on his defense though
