2013 NHL Draft: New York Rangers Select Pavel Buchnevich With The 75th Pick

Things are moving quickly for the New York Rangers right now. With the 75th overal pick the Rangers have taken Pavel Buchnevich, a player from the KHL's junior league. The number that stands out for me (and again, you can see his Elite Prospects page here) is his WJC U-18 numbers. He had 11 points in seven games. That might speak volumes.

Here's the positive excerpt from his profile on SB Nation's Devils site In Lou We Trust:

On the plus side, Buchnevich has the potential to be a very special player. He has an extremely impressive skill set. He was considered to be the best player on his team in the MHL and was part of the second Russian team to ever win the World U17 Hockey Challenge in Canada - the first was in 2000 when Ilya Kovalchuk participated. He has been compared to other Russian players such as Tarasenko, Yakupov, and Grigorenko. Like them, he is a speedy winger with great skating ability, natural talent, and is smart on the ice.

Here's his Hockey's Future profile:

A fast skating forward with a good set of hands, Buchnevich is a very interesting prospect with an impressive ceiling. Not so big at 6'0", 170 pounds, the Cherepovets, Russia native makes things happen with his speed and skills. Buchnevich is indeed a player who has the ability to entartain the public with his skating and stickhandling abilities. On the other hand, he has still a lot to do before considering himself ready to cross the Atlantic. First, he needs to add some meat to his frame, then he has to improve his defensive game and play a more cohesive game. Buchnevich is a good playmaker and has very good vision of the ice.

And from Chris Peters:

The Rangers hadn't had a pick until round 3 & get a 1st-round caliber talent in Buchnevich. Elite goal scorer if they can lure him from KHL.

This is a huge risk reward pick, but I LOVE the fact the Rangers went for it with a guy like this. So much talent and ton of potential. Sky is the limit.

Thoughts?