The debate of Vitali versus Ollie could rage across the East River for years to come.
Two high first-round picks, Vitali Kravtsov to the Rangers at No. 9 and Oliver Wahlstrom to the Islanders at No. 11, have already sparked inevitable comparisons after they were taken in last weekend’s draft in Dallas. Wahlstrom was supposed to go in or near the top five, while Kravtsov was expected to go between picks Nos. 10 and 20.
And Wahlstrom has made it clear he took notice of all those teams that passed on him — especially the one from Manhattan.
“I think the New York Rangers made a mistake there,” Wahlstrom said after the team’s first day of prospect development camp on Long Island on Tuesday. “It’s fine. I’m just really happy to be with the Islanders. I just have to stick to my gut and work hard. I’m not focusing on anyone else in the draft other than my team here, my organization here. So I’m very excited.”
Wahlstrom, 18, is from Massachusetts — his mother is from Sweden — and is considered a big-time goal scorer. Playing in the U.S. development program this past season, he had 48 goals and 94 points in 64 games. He has committed to play at Boston College in the fall.
Kravtsov is the 18-year-old Russian winger whom the Rangers had ranked as the second best forward in the whole draft, behind only Andrei Svechnikov, who went No. 2 to the Hurricanes. He has one more year left on his contract in the KHL, where he has excelled playing against older players. This season he tallied the most postseason points (six goals and 11 points in 16 games) in league history for a player under 20 years old.
The plan was for Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton to sit down with Kravtsov’s agent at the end of their prospect camp this week in Westchester and discuss the possibility of buying the contract out and getting him to North America this season.
“I can tell you that in our conversations with him and his agent, he does want to be over here sooner than later,” Gorton said Monday. “We’re going to watch him closely this week and see what our options are going to be there. I’m not going to rule anything out right now. He’s a really talented kid, but he’s a kid. So we’ll see where he’s going to be.”
Though Kravtsov didn’t exactly make any proclamation like Wahlstrom, he is not short on confidence, either. When asked if he could end up being like Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov — whom so many have compared him to — Kravtsov went one step further.
“Development can be very rapid,” he said through an interpreter, “and by the end of that process you can be as good, or sometimes better, depending on what you do during that process of development.”
It’s understandable that a teenager who has been fawned over for the past few months comes into his first NHL experience feeling pretty good about himself. If Kravtsov does show well this week and both parties decide he is best suited over here this season, then he would be looking at a Rangers roster designed to give opportunity to young players.
“I will do everything I can to play as soon as I can,” Kravtsov said.
Wahlstrom is in a bit of a different situation, as the Islanders continue to eagerly await the decision of captain John Tavares, who kept hearing pitches from possible free-agent suitors Tuesday in Los Angeles before he can hit the open market Sunday. Tavares’ decision will color how they approach free agency and what the Isles’ roster will look like come training camp.
Either way, Wahlstrom is still likely to go to Boston College and keep developing. So although any rivalry with Kravtsov might not come to fruition for a while, the comparison won’t go away any time soon.
“I look at what you do after the draft,” Wahlstrom said. “That’s the most important thing. I could care less one way or the other where I go in the draft. If it’s first round, second round, third round, it’s all about what you do after, develop yourself and get yourself ready for the NHL.”