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The New York Rangers are coming off their best
season in years. The Rangers finished with the Eastern Conference's best record
and won the Atlantic Division for the first time since 1994.
During the National Hockey League playoffs, Glen
Sather came to terms with highly touted winger Chris Kreider, who was coming off
a second national championship with Boston College. Kreider played a crucial
role for John Tortorella's Rangers and helped the team reach in the Eastern
Conference finals.
New York has several key players in their system
including J.T. Miller, Christian Thomas, Dylan McIlrath and Jesper Fast.
However, there is another prospect that Sather has
in his farm system that could be a dynamic scoring threat on Broadway for years
to come.
At the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Sather chose Edmonton Oil
Kings center Michael St. Croix in the fourth round.
St. Croix, a crafty forward out of Winnipeg, led all
Oil Kings in goals, assists, and points last season. In addition to that, he
also played in all 72 games of the season, which gives me the indication he is
very durable. Besides his offensive prowess, he is a great skater with
excellent speed.
His is on the small side and is reluctant to go into
the dirty areas, which if we know John Tortorella like I think we do, that will
not sit well with him.
Another area of his game he could work is his
strength. I expect St. Croix to beef up and add muscle this season in Edmonton.
So far this season, St. Croix has scored three goals
and three assists in just four games for Derek Laxdal's Oil Kings.
His offensive numbers should be as good as or even
better than last seasons' with Griffin Reinhart and Henrik Samuelsson returning
to the Oil Kings.
Overall, Michael St. Croix could be a second line
center in the NHL. If lands a starring role on Broadway, he will bring much
needed offense to a team that seems to struggle in that aspect of the game.
Coming up on the next edition of the Prospect
Preview, Detroit Red Wings prospect Martin Frk will be the center of attention.
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