The New York Rangers plan to look at all the available options ahead of the upcoming resume of the 2019/20 NHL season. This will also include giving their 2018’s first-round pick Vitali Kravtsov a chance to make the roster.
Kravtsov split this season between KHL side Traktor Chelyabinsk and Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack. Although he hasn’t been particularly impressive at either stop, the 20-year-old showed enough promise for Rangers to believe he could help them in the following months.
The news was confirmed by Rangers’ president John Davidson.
“I think with Kravtsov, he’s going to come to our camp and we’ll see how it goes. We’re going to need some depth and skill as we march along here,” said Davidson.
New York Rangers finished the 2019/20 regular season with seventh in the Metropolitan Division with 37-28-5 record. They will now have a chance to play-in their way into the main Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket by facing Carolina Hurricanes in a best-of-five series.
After failing to make the Rangers’ roster during training camp last year, Vitali Kravtsov decided to head to native Russia and join KHL side Traktor Chelyabinsk on loan in order to continue his development. This, however, didn’t turn to be a great decision, as Kravtsov didn’t receive much playing time and contributed with only three points in 11 games.
Kravtsov decided to return to the United States in early 2020, where he was assigned to Wolf Pack and proceeded to deliver much better performance. He had 39 games before AHL canceled its season, scoring six goals and dishing nine assists for a total of 15 points.
