Traverse City Game 1 Wrap Up

I’m a little late with this, but I had to watch the game on DVR this morning.  The Rangers prospects dominated the St. Louis Blues prospects, and won 5-2 despite a good effort in net by their top prospect Jake Allen.

Prospects that impressed me:

• Tim Erixon – man this kid can play.  Everything he did was so smooth, you can tell he’s a step above his competition here.  He’s going to be a great two way defender in the NHL.
• Dylan McIlrath – his skating surprised me a bit.  I expected him to be a little slower and a bit more of a lumbering defenseman, but he was right in on every play and didn’t look to be slow on his skates.  He has a good shot too, as he showed on the powerplay.
• Carl Hagelin – this kid can fly.  He is exactly how I expected him to be after watching this past year while he was at Michigan.  He may not be an offensive force in the NHL, but he will turn a few heads.
• Christian Thomas – small players need “escapeability”, and Thomas has that.  The little shifty move he put on in the 2nd period to set up Andrew Yogan in front of the net was a nice little move.  He has tremendous skill too, but his escapeability is what will hopefully turn him into a star.
• Ryan Bourque – there wasn’t a particular moment that stood out, but he really impressed me.  I’ve never been a big “fan” of Bourque –I think he’s bottom six NHL material — but he really showed why the Rangers are so high on him.
• Blake Parlett – this was the biggest surprise of the night.  I did not think much of Parlett other than he impressed the organization last year.  But he is a very smooth skater who is good with the puck.  He ran the powerplay like a natural.