Just like every other Ranger fan watching the draft Friday night, when it finally was the Rangers turn to pick, we were all surprised with the selection.
Of course we all said "WHO???" on the social media sites, but when you dig a little deeper, this kid ain't so bad. Brady Skjei, born March 26, 1994 stands at 6' 3" and weighs 200 lbs. Skjei, last season skated for the U.S National Development Team, with a commitment to the University of Minnesota in the fall. Skjei doesn't have mind blowing statistics for a defensive defenseman, but was able to pot 4 goals and 18 assists in 56 games in 2011-12. He has been called the best skating defenseman in the draft and for a guy his size that isn't half bad, look at Kreider for that example. Skjei is said to have a very active stick and uses a long reach to break up plays. Consistency issues are his biggest downside. As dangerous with the puck as he can be, Skjei has been said to rush the puck up the ice by himself too often leaving the defense vulnerable to odd man rushes the other way if there was an offensive breakdown. Hopefully spending time in the college system knocks some of the consistency issues out of him and coaches there are able to mold him into a rock solid defensive defenseman with small offensive upside. Not a bad pick by the Rangers and is likely 2-3 seasons away from sniffing pro hockey.
Elsewhere around the NHL, the Penguins surprised everyone by trading Jordan Staal just one day after the news that he declined an extension with Pittsburgh. Staal was shipped to Carolina for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin, and the eighth pick in the draft in which the Penguins selected Derrick Pouliot. Hockey fans should know Brandon Sutter is but if you were following Chris Kreider's career at Boston College, you should know who Brian Dumoulin is. In my opinion, Pittsburgh won this trade hands down over the long term, especially if Sutter begins to play at a higher level than he was in Carolina. Dumoulin enters the fray now in Pittsburgh who could potentially see time sooner rather than later especially after the Pens traded another defenseman to Phoenix during the draft. So while Pittsburgh freed up more cap space by trading away Zbynek Michalek to the Coyotes for prospects and the Flyers traded away their former on and off backup goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for 3 draft picks, including 2 today, pressure is slowly beginning to grow on Glen Sather to do something regarding the Rangers offensive depth with Gaborik out until Thanksgiving at the earliest.
Still not talking about Nash. He isn't coming here.
Curious to see if Sather trades away some lesser valued prospects for some later round picks. The Rangers do not have a pick after the 4th round.
Too soon in my opinion to draft a goalie with a high draft pick. Unless the Rangers feel like they are unable to re-sign Chad Johnson and Cam Talbot to contracts, I wouldn't expect a goalie to be selected on day 2.
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