Having a couple tough conversations on the day of final cuts is not necessarily a bad thing.
But that was what Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton was forced to do when he decided that 20-year-old Filip Chytil would not make the opening-night roster, sending him to AHL Hartford on Monday. Going with him were 19-year-old Vitali Kravtsov, defenseman Ryan Lindgren, and goalie Igor Shesterkin, while center Boo Nieves was placed on waivers for the purpose of going to the Wolf Pack, as well.
Staying on the roster was 18-year-old winger and this year’s No. 2-overall pick in the draft, Kaapo Kakko, as well as the No. 7-overall pick from the 2017, Lias Andersson, and 21-year-old pivot Brett Howden.
“Listen, this is one of the toughest days in hockey for management, for coaches, to have to sit down with these players and tell them they’re not on our team,” Gorton said. “But we explained to everybody that opening day is one day of the season. Sometimes we put too much stock into one day. Just because things happen quickly in this business. The team we have is for now.”
So that is a good sentiment for Chytil, who did not have a particularly good training camp after spending the entire season with the Rangers last year, playing 75 games bouncing from wing to his natural center position. With the Wolf Pack, he will be playing top-line minutes, playing on the power play, and playing down the middle. If he plays well, it probably won’t take long for him to be recalled.
“I think at 20 years old, the way we looked at it was he wasn’t in our top nine right now,” Gorton said. “We weren’t prepared to put him on our fourth line. I think we’re better served — and he’s better served — playing in Hartford right now.”
The way coach David Quinn had things aligned in Monday’s practice was with the versatile Ryan Strome as the second-line center behind Mika Zibanejad, and then Howden in a third-line role and Andersson in a fourth-line role. It really was Andersson who made the best impression in camp, Gorton saying: “I think Lias really helped himself in the last few games to put himself over the top.”
Maybe less offensively gifted than Chytil, the ability for Andersson to play more of a checking role was to his benefit. Conversely, Chytil was lacking the completeness in his game that the club was looking for.
“It’s things we’ve talked about with Fil before — understanding how competitive he’s going to need to be on pucks consistently, faceoffs, responsibilities defensively. There is a decision to be made if you’re on offense or you’re on defense,” Quinn said. “His feel for the game in general, and that comes with playing a lot and growing as a player. Right now, we feel [Hartford] is the best spot for him.”One thing that was clear from the get-go was that Kakko belonged, with the physical size at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, to go along with a on-ice maturity. Once workouts started, it almost never seemed to cross anyone’s mind that he wouldn’t make the team.
“My expectations were really high, and he met them,” Quinn said. “I’m not surprised that he’s the player that he is. I love what he does away from the rink, the way he carries himself, how coachable he is. Just a lot to love about him.”
Two 21-year-old defensemen also made the team in Libor Hajek and Adam Fox, both showing terrific poise for their age. It left Lindgren on the outside looking in, but he could be the first in line on the back end coming up when needed.
The Rangers could never be a roster that was only talented teenagers. And the ones sent down are going likely to find their way back up at some point soon. But in what will surely be a season of many moving pieces, the Blueshirts at least have a clear picture of how they will start.
“It’s a tough business,” Gorton said. “It’s a hard league to make.”