Lias Andersson Can Play An Important Role on 2019-20 Rangers
Attention on newcomers means the Blueshirts’ 2017 first-round pick is out of the spotlight. He can use that to his advantage to carve out a role for himself on the roster.
Supplementing weaknesses in a system with trades, free agent signings, and drafting well, allows players to be themselves.
The addition of Artemi Panarin will give a jolt to a forward group that has lacked a true superstar since Marian Gaborik’s first season in New York, while defenseman Jacob Trouba will add a steady presence to a blue line that’s been average at its best and a dumpster fire at its worst since the glory days of Ryan McDonagh.
One player, though, who can settle into a role tailor made for him is Lias Andersson.
After being selected seventh overall in 2017 thanks in large part to the belief he was a safe bet to fill a role down the middle immediately in New York, the expectations for the young Swede have been impossible to achieve through no fault of his own.
The 20-year-old was never going to be a 30-goal scorer, a 70-point producer, or a player a team builds a franchise around. But when taken at that position — along with the measures Jeff Gorton took to acquire that pick — Andersson certainly felt the pressure from both inside and out of the organization to be something he wasn’t.
It’s hard to remember that just 27 months ago, the franchise’s prospect system was arguably the worst in the NHL, bereft of high-end talent after four consecutive years without a first-round pick.
Fast forward to today and the organization is bursting with young talent in New York, in Hartford and throughout the globe, with several publications, from NHL Network to The Athletic and EP Rinkside, calling the Rangers’ system the best in the NHL.
What does that mean for Andersson?
He can now enter camp fighting for a spot better suited for his play style and skill set thanks to that influx of talent and high-end prospects like Kappo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, and Adam Fox.
An argument can be made Andersson is flying under the radar as he enters his third camp with the club.
Just go out and player you game, kid.
That game was on display Wednesday in the preseason opener, when Andersson played a strong two-way game and even chipped in with a dirty goal on a scramble in the slot to bring New York within one in the third period.
If Andersson can be a dependable checking line center, who can kill penalties and chip in with some offense, he’ll be a valuable part of this team moving forward.
The problem for Andersson is that this is not a role for him to lose. In many ways, that happened last year, when he entered as a favorite to nail down a center spot in the team’s bottom-six only to be bested by rookie Brett Howden.
It’s possible both young players make the team out of camp. But it’s also conceivable only one will find themselves on the roster in two weeks when the season begins if David Quinn opts for Boo Nieves or Greg McKegg, or shifts one of Vlad Namestnikov or Ryan Strome to the middle to avoid having three players all on their entry-level contracts at center.
Regardless of how the next 14 days play out, Andersson is in a position to focus on his strengths, improve his weaknesses, and show he belongs without the added pressure of being viewed as the guy.
Andersson shouldn’t have been in that place to begin with, but the organization, in a backwards way, has been able to brush over the mistake it made by putting him in that position in the first place. It’s now up to Andersson to reward them and himself by being the player the organization expected him to be in the first place.