Down On The Farm 4.27.09
What better to help you through your Monday than our second Prospect Update! I know that currently Ranger Nation is in a bit of a panic but let's forget the present and look to the future:
Starting in the OHL, Brampton won the Eastern conference and will move onto the OHL Finals against the Windsor Spitfires. The London Knights lost in the third round and are now done for the year.
Evgeny Grachev: Every time you look at his stats you get a bigger and bigger smile on your face. Well only if you are a Ranger fan that is. If this kid goes pro and if he has as good of a career as its looking like he can many team will kick themselves for passing up on him; some teams even passed on him three times! Anyway let's get to his stats. In 16 playoff games he has 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points. Wow. As if that's not good enough he is tied for the OHL's leading rookie scorer in the playoffs. And just a note on this: In two more games Grachev has three more points than-suspected to be the 1st overall draft pick-John Tavares. Depending on his camp he might make the big club next year, but don't count on it; he's still only 19.
Michael Del Zotto: I've been keeping a very close eye on him after his dismal playoff performance last year. In 14 playoff games he had 3 goals and 16 assists for 19 points. It's nice to see him put up numbers like that in this year's playoffs. Impressive numbers for a defenseman. It will be interesting to see how he does without Tavares since they have been attached at the hip all of their careers. I look forward to how he does in camp next year.
The Hartford Wolf Pack were eliminated from the AHL playoffs in the first round.
Bobby Sanguinetti: I love seeing him as the leading scorer on the Wolf Pack playoff roster. In six games he had one goal and four assists for five points. Sanguinetti and Anisimov both have the best shot to make the big club next year, and it's good to see Sanguinetti stepping up in the playoffs. Keep an eye on him to make a big splash in camp.
Dane Byers: It's nice to see him back to his old form after his ACL injury in the beginning of the year. In his six games he had three goals and one assist. They aren't eye popping numbers but for a team that got smoked in the playoffs they are pretty good.
Artem Anisimov: Not good news here. A week ago, he had two goals in two playoff games. Well as of the end of the post season he has 2 goals in 6 games. It's upsetting to see him do nothing in the finals four games of the playoffs but hey, everyone goes through their slumps. Let's just hope that this one doesn't last too long.
Aside from those three, there really isn't anything more to talk about when it comes to the Wolf Pack. Keep a close eye on Anisimov tomorrow in game 7, maybe he was saving his goals till then. Ranger fans can only hope.
