Ranger Analysis: Michael Del Zotto earning the right to stay with the big club
by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 7:15 AM EDT
in New York Rangers Analysis
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On Saturday night Michael Del Zotto took another step towards staying with the Rangers past the nine game limit that separates players who have junior eligibility from those who do not. Taking a cross ice feed from Christopher Higgins and using a timely (and perfect) screen from Ryan Callahan, Del Zotto rifled a low hard shot that eluded Pascal Leclaire and hit the back of the cage for his first NHL goal. The Garden went crazy, his mother cried.
Questions have surrounded-and continue to surround-this new-look New York Rangers defense. With two rookies in Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy and questions about the level of play from both Wade Redden and Michael Rozsival; it makes sense that Rangers fans are keeping a close eye on the blue line corps. But no one on this blue line faces more questions-and in the end more uncertainty-than Del Zotto.
The Ontario native has seven games left to prove to the New York Rangers brass that he is worth the risk of keeping in the NHL. If the Rangers chose to keep him past the nine game limit then Del Zotto loses junior eligibility and has to stay with the big club for the next two years--since he would be too young to play in the AHL. So is he truly worth the risk?
Check after the jump for more analysis on Del Zotto!
Let's forget the goal for a moment.
Yesterday was a great indication of just how much offensive skill this kid truly has. If you watched him on the power play it was beautiful to see him skating low into the slot, taking passes and ripping shots. Any time that Del Zotto had a lane he would take the shot, if he didn't have the lane he would pass the puck it was as simple as that there was no hesitation.
When was the last time there was a defenseman that did that? When was the last time the Rangers had a legitimate threat to shoot the puck from the blueline? A defenseman who has no problem shooting the puck when he has a lane, who actually wants to join the offensive rush and take the shot? It was a long time ago.
Now let's also take the time to realize that he has played in two games in this very young season. Yes, Del Zotto has played well in both of them, and if he plays the same way he has been for the rest of the year we should see some very special things. But that is a long way's away. And while he shows that he has no problem being part of the offensive spectrum his defense will be viewed very carefully by the Rangers coaching staff.
Basically, the next seven games will be very important for the highly touted 19 year-old defenseman; but the decision has probably already been made. The spot is Del Zotto's to lose, as of right now he is--and will be--a New York Ranger for a long time. Put yourself in the New York Rangers shoes, who would you replace Del Zotto with right now?
Alexei Semenov's wife nixed his deal with the Rangers. Bobby Sanguinetti, Corey Potter and Mike Sauer were all analyzed through the pre-season and the Rangers brass deemed that Del Zotto earned a spot over them. And at the end of the day with Del Zotto playing the way he is, his upside far outweighs the questions that revolve around his lack of experience.
He has not made any glaring mistakes yet, but he will, and when he does I urge you all to take it as the necessary evil for starting a 19 year-old on defense--which is arguably the most difficult position for a rookie to acclimate to in the NHL. It is the price of having a potential super-star in the making, and it answers Ranger fans--seemingly never ending--call for youth. This kid will be great, we as Ranger fans just have to be patient. But there is no need to be patient to see him as a New York Ranger, he already has that in the bag.
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If the Rangers chose to keep him past the nine game limit then Del Zotto loses junior eligibility and has to stay with the big club for the next two years
This is incorrect. Del Zotto can be sent back at any time, but after nine games this year then counts against his ELC.
Actually I am correct
Once Del Zotto has played in over 10 NHL games he loses Junior eligibility all together and he is NOT permitted to play in the AHL unless he would be turning 20 by December 31st, which he is not. So it is big club or bust.
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by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Looking for clarification
Why can’t Del Zotto be sent to the AHL even though Grachev, who is also 19 and will remain so past Dec. 31, is there now?
XLII, Grachev comes from Europe, and European players are permitted to go to the AHL at the age of 19.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Oct 5, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions
the prime example for this discussion is a player Grachev played with last year in Cody Hodgson who had to be sent back to the OHL with Brampton instead of the minors here.
by Michael Gleich on Oct 5, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions
If he gets sent down,
who comes up? I know Potter and Sauer would probably be fairly solid, but I doubt they can even be as good as MDZ is gonna be this year defensively. Can’t see Sanguinetti, since he obviously didn’t impress enough early on to make it over MDZ in the first place.
He could probably use the extra year of seasoning, but I think around the league there have been more than a few D’s that have been kept on the big squad and allowed to learn in the NHL.
Keep him up.
What the f$%k is the internet?
Joe and I discussed this yesterday, if the Rangers decide to send Del Zotto back, who would replace him? Semenov wasn’t allowed to come out and play in NY (cough cough hen-pecked cough cough), so are you going to spend most of the season with a Potter or Sauer or SAnguinetti in that spot, knowing they aren’t the answer right now? Plus, in this instance, the Rangers are setting themselves up to overpay (again) at the trade deadline for an average defensemen like Morris.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Oct 5, 2009 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions
like i said anyway
the coaching staff deemed that MDZ outplayed them all! Why send MDZ down to bring up someone he outplayed lol
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by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Del Zotto definitely looks good, for a 19 year old kid he plays with confidence and is definitely not afraid to jump in on offense. He also has a lot of poise on the power play, does not panic and knows how to make plays, control the puck and set people up. He also isn’t afraid of shooting. I think he has already shown that he is a capable PP QB and will only get better with time.
Also….am I the only that thinks outr power play is looking sick??? (in a good way lol ) They’re not scoring yet but generating a ton of chances…once they start converting on those chances…watch out!!!!
Yea Del Zotto is playing so well that Tortorella rewarded him in the third period Saturday, by benching him for all but 3 minutes.
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by KingHenrik on Oct 5, 2009 10:52 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
It's too early
Yes, he has 9 games (or 10 whatever) to display his talents, but it’s only been 2, of which he’s been average. He has a goal, which is great, but he’s been fairly average to below average defensively thus far.
Lets at least relax and wait until after the Toronto game to start wondering whether he should be sent down, by then we should all have more information on how he’s handling the NHL level.
Now that said, there’s no obvious replacement at this point, so things are certainly in his favor to stay.
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tonight is a big test too
against a division rival who just got slaughtered by Philly. They will be out for blood
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by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Absolutely, the three games this week are all very good tests:
1) @ Devils, as you said
2) @ Caps, who are nothing less than an offensive juggernaut so far.
3) Anaheim, who should be among the better teams in the West.
How he handles those games will go a long way towards his ultimate status.
It may not all be him though…if Gilroy or Staal or even Redden shows they can handle the PP1 duties, MDZ is going to have to really fight to keep his spot.
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by George E. Ays on Oct 5, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
You know what though Smurf
Del Zotto actually looks for the shot on the power play, something that the other defenseman had shown they dont do. Rozsival is pass first. Staals shot isnt there yet. Redden has been hesitant. And Gilroy might show that. But FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN IN THE FIRST TWO GAMES Del Zotto seems to be the only one actually looking to score.
The goal he scored on Saturday was a wrist shot just meant to hit the net. Rozsival would have eaither a) passed or b) took a slap shot that would have probably hit Callahan in the chest.
I am loving what I am seeing from Del Zotto right now
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by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Don’t get me wrong, I’m on the MDZ bandwagon.
I agree 125%, none of the other D-men have shown they can handle it, that’s a huge plus in MDZ’s corner.
Redden is firmly entrenched on the 2nd unit and Gilroy so far is too frenetic to run a PP. I didn’t mention Rozsival because it doesn’t seem like he has a prayer of getting significant PP time to date.
But Staal is the x-factor I think. If he ever stops aiming like he’s shooting at a soccer net, I think he could steal the PP1 job.
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by George E. Ays on Oct 5, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Test passed
DIdn’t get to see most of the game, but two points on the PP against the Devs = another step towards 82 games for MDZ.
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by George E. Ays on Oct 5, 2009 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t think Redden will be able to handle the powerplay duties….at times it seems like he can barely handle just playing
Matt (welcome to the Banter by the way)
if you click the reply button below the post that you are speaking about it will indent under it like this
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by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Redden’s been good so far. If you’re going to bash a defenseman listed under R in the phone book, pick the other one.
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by George E. Ays on Oct 5, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
lol You’re right, he has played better than last year, but I don’t think he is capable of playing PP QB. I think Rozsival will improve, just give him time. I heard he was physically exhausted from "camp Torturella (where vomit is a mainstay lol) and then had a cold…..I have a feeling he will improve significantly
again ill agree with you Smurf
Redden has looked surprisingly good. But I called this from the get go, he will play better under a system he is more comfortable in
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by Joe Fortunato on Oct 5, 2009 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions
and unfortunately at least thru the preseason and 6 periods so far the opposite is true of Girardi.
by Michael Gleich on Oct 5, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
yeah if Girardi doesn’t improve and does not play at least as well as last season, it’s entirely possible they could let him go after this season. Guys like McDonagh and Sangs could be ready by next season
Even if he does improve
I still think it’s only 60-40 Girardi comes back. It’s going to depend on a few factors, his performance, his contract demands, and the play of Sanguinetti, Heikkenen and McDonagh.
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by George E. Ays on Oct 5, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
We’re gonna need a lot of $$$$ to keep Staal and we DO need to keep him. He will obviously be priority # 1. Then we can deal with Girardi
not to get too far into this as this season just started but we have 2.25 for Higgins, 1.1 for Prospal, 1.55 for girardi, 827K for Staal, 790K for Lisin coming off the cap this year for basically 6.5 million in new cap space plus the roughly 800K we have under the cap this year so 7.25 for a relatively easy number to work with. i didnt include vally because chad johnson should take his spot next year at approx the same salary.
people didnt like it when i said it during the offseason but staal is going to get at least 3.5 mil in his new deal especially if he continues offensive progression. Lisin for about a mil depending on his play this year is reasonable and likely. Grachev will probably come up and replace higgins for 933K. That would leave us with approx 1.8 mil to replace prospal and girardi which obviously isnt enough unless we have a scenario where both Stepan and McDonagh are ready, which i think is very possible. That said, if Rozi continues to suck maybe next year they dump him in Hartford for an extra 5 mil and same with Voros to save an easy million. Hopefully Sather will do with Staal what he did with Tyutin a couple years ago and negotiate a nice 4 year deal during the season and we wont have to worry about it next summer.
by Michael Gleich on Oct 5, 2009 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
“Hopefully Sather will do with Staal what he did with Tyutin a couple years ago and negotiate a nice 4 year deal during the season and we wont have to worry about it next summer.”……….let also hope Sather doesnt trade Staal( like he traded Tyutin) for another Zherdev LOL
we know that wont happen because there is no talent upgrade out there that cheap from where Staal is. not to mention we have enough young enigmatic scorers already. haha.
by Michael Gleich on Oct 5, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL I know, I was just kidding. Ranger fans would kick Sather out of NYC if he traded Staal who is out # 1 D.
Enigmatic scorers..hmmm… where you thinking about Lisin? hehe
i think we could and would do a lot more than just kick him out of the city. lisin is a good example, but he at least, while clueless, plays hard every night. we have artie playing scared for the most part and next year he gets a free shot at new talent in another russian with grachev so no need to trade for any more. i havent been this excited to follow college hockey ever as i am to see the badgers and watch the development of stepan and mcdonagh this year.
by Michael Gleich on Oct 5, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions
There’s so much conflicting info on Stepan and McDonagh – it’s beyond unreal.
One prospect follower will say “they’re both likely to go pro next year” – which while it may be true, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll go straight to the NHL.
Another one indicates that Stepan is “3 to 5 years” from being a productive NHL player, and McDonagh about “2 years away”.
While people were excited about MDZ – a June or JULY poll would have been overwhelmingly against him being at the NHL level this year…..
I guess what I’m trying to say is – reading the tea leaves is tough enough – but damned near impossible when a hurricane is blowing them all over the room… ;-) :-D
There’s a ton of talent in the system (for a change). For a good read on this go to Ranger Crisis and listen to ‘the Mouth’s’ guest last week – Leslie Treff from Hockey’s Future. Very enlightening.
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