There are no shortage of legitimate prospects within the New York system. Whether forwards Chris Kreider, Evgeny Grachev and Christian Thomas, or Ryan McDonagh and Dylan McIlrath on the blueline, the Rangers are lucky enough to boast potential at all positions.
With all the criticism surrounding Glen Sather, and his time in the Big Apple, he has to be given credit for developing and maintaining a respectable stable of young talent in the system.
"With the fifteenth pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, New York is proud to select - Mark Scheifele."
While this could be considered something of an 'off-the-board' pick, this tends to fly in the face of what Sather would do.
At 6'3, 180 lbs, Scheifele has plenty of room to grow into his tall lanky frame. Built in the playmaker's mold, the Kitchener native brings plenty to the table that teams look for when building center strength.
An agile skater, Scheifele has a keen ability to break away from opponents with a long powerful and fluid stride. When he gets going, it's quite hard to get him off balance for a defenseman. His top speed is nothing to write home about, but shouldn't be a problem for him going forward.
Bringing a lacrosse background to the table, Scheifele has very soft hands that he is more than happy to show off when he can. At the CHL Top Prospects game, he was able to dazzle the crowd during the skills competition with a lacrosse-like move. When in a position to shoot, Scheifele has a quick shot that he can get off pretty quick.
Scheifele also brings good hockey sense to the table. Knowing where to be and when allow him to make the most of his talents on the ice.
What separates Scheifele from many others; work ethic. One of the first on and off the ice, Scheifele is a quality kid who works hard for everything he gets.
Coming into the season, expectations were rather low for the Barrie Colts center, who was able to put himself into the talk with a 22 goal, 53 assist rookie season. He can be considered something of a safe pick, who has the size and skills to be an NHL'er, but also could find stride and become an absolute stud one day if given the right opportunities.
Mark was able to improve his game a boatload over the past year. Coming into the Under 18's, he still had some question marks, but was able to soften the criticism with a terrific showing.
Taken Previously...
1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2. Gabriel Landeskog
3. Jonathan Huberdeau
4. Dougie Hamilton
5. Adam Larsson
6. Sean Couturier
7. Ryan Strome
8. Ryan Murphy
9. Duncan Siemens
10. Mark McNeill
11. Nathan Beaulieu
12. Jamie Oleksiak
13. Mika Zibanejad
14. Joel Armia
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