New York Rangers counting on Chris Kreider to provide shooting depth -NHL Update
New York Rangers are keeping their fingers crossed in order to pray that 21-year-old, Chris Kreider's surprisingly dominating performance in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Playoffs was not a fluke.
The former 19th overall pick back in round-one of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, became one of those few players in hockey history to have served in the major league straight into the playoffs without ever playing a regular season game throughout their
careers.
His seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) in 18 postseason games last season along with six minutes in penalty time were enough to make New York Rangers drool in excitement and hope the youngster can continue shocking the opposition next season as well.
New York Rangers head coach, John Tortorella, was all praise for the young left winger.
"He has a knack," Tortorella said during the Eastern Conference Finals. "The puck follows him around. And he has a ways to go away from the puck, but he has a knack with that puck. And as we continue, especially when the season starts next year, I think
that's when we'll certainly find more about him. But it's pretty exciting to see what he's doing as a kid coming right out of college."
Kreider knows that his five minutes of fame last season are still on the mind of the people today. He is looking towards making the same significant performance with New York Rangers after he makes the team later on this year. Only then will he be able to
perform beyond expectations.
"The last thing I want to do is settle in," Kreider added. "I don't want to get complacent, especially at this level. If I get complacent, next thing you know I'm a minus-2 and giving Ovechkin a one-timer in the slot. I have got to stay extremely focused,
obviously. That's pro hockey, right?"
Before his postseason performance, Kreider was playing hockey with the United States in the World Junior Championships along with performing amazingly for Boston College Eagles –H- East.
Next season will be a determining one for the Boxford, Massachusetts native, in making him a legend or finishing all the hype right then and there.
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