Don’t View AHL Assignments as Negative for Top Prospects

There’s no question that expectations have changed for the New York Rangers since the 2018-19 season concluded with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 6.

How could they not with the summer the organization had? From quite literally hitting the lottery for the opportunity to take winger Kaapo Kakko with the second overall pick, who is arguably the most exciting rookie the organization has seen in a generation, to signing Artemiy Panarin, and trading for Jacob Trouba on the blue line. In totality, the last six months could be looked on as a true turning point for a franchise that stripped itself of key components vital to its longest run of success in its 90-plus year history.

These moves have certainly raised the bar for a team that was at times difficult to watch last season. But let’s not take our eyes off the big picture.

This is a very young roster that head coach David Quinn must continue to mold, shape, and prepare for what the franchise hopes is a return to the type of sustained success it had over the last 15 years.

So, it’s important to keep in mind that while the future has arguably never been brighter for the Blueshirts, there’s no question this team is still a ways away from its end goal.

Can they push for a playoff spot? That’s the goal John Davidson has laid out on several occasions this summer. But are they a true contender? No, and that’s why some personnel decisions over the next week must be met with a measured degree of frustration.

A plethora of high-end players have been added to a prospect pool that was going through a famine in the kindest of terms. But some players just simply are not ready to perform in New York in October 2019, and that is more than fine.

After waiting half a decade for him to come to North America, it’s understandable that fans want the Igor Shesterkin era to begin now, not later. Vitali Kravtsov, the team’s first of three first-round picks in 2018, has made his way to New York after a strong season in the KHL; fans want to see what the young Russian can do on Garden ice.

But both players are among a group, which also includes defensemen Yegor Rykov, Adam Fox, and Libor Hajek, who the staff may feel will benefit with some seasoning in the American Hockey League.

Often times an AHL assignment is viewed as a demotion, or that a player is headed down the wrong path because they could not crack a spot on the main roster. That’s simply not the case, as has been evident time and time again with players honing their craft in the minors and benefitting from that experience once they’ve proven they’re ready to compete at the game’s highest level. Development is the priority, and this building organization only emphasized that with a new-look coaching staff in Hartford.

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The goal for Quinn and his staff isn’t just to play meaningful games in March and push for the team’s first postseason berth since 2017; the goal is to put these youngsters in the best situation for long-term success in New York. If that means debuts are delayed several months or until next season, sobeit.

There’s a different feel at the start of this season than what was felt at the end of the last. But fans cannot miss the forest for the trees. There’s going to be difficult — even frustrating — decisions made over the next week with highly touted players being sent packing from camp, and that’s just fine.