Rangers GM Jeff Gorton met with the media on Monday following the first day of development camp and said (MSG & NYR):
- On day 1 of camp, "looks good, all the kids are in shape, ready to go. For a lot of them it's a lot of travel and they are tired but it's good, first impressions are all good so far."
- On seeing the 3 first rounders, "K'Andre is going out now, I think, so we will see in a minute but for why we took them, skill, speed, competitiveness, character, all the things we are trying to look for and rebuild around, we feel that they all have those characteristics so that is what sticks out the most."
- How many guys at this camp do you think can be on the roster, "when you are looking at the two first rounders from last year, they will give it a go and be close. We signed a few Euro free agents in Lindqvist and Meskanen that we like a lot. There is so much time now, but we will never stop anybody from doing it if they are good enough. We will let it play itself out this summer and see how they do."
- On rushing players, "we want young kids to make it and do well but we won't put them in a tough spot, if they are not ready we aren't going to put them in, won't force them in there. We will take our time and it's the right thing to do for the players, for the team, for us. We will take it day to day and see where we go."
- On seeing the prospects from the trades, "if you go back 12 months and all the pieces we added and young players we brought in, it's a lot. We are putting it on the board today as far as what we added, if you start with Filip and Lias and then Hajek and Howden and Lindgren, and then the three first rounders and some other players. There are a lot of young players there, a lot to digest. It suggests that our future is bright and we have a lot of good players. When you talk to other teams around the league and GMs are telling you about it's good and makes you feel good about where you are going."
- On K'Andre, "very intriguing, you look at the whole package, size, skating, the fact that he plays hard, that he likes to jump in the play, it sounds redundant with Hajek but they have a lot of similar qualities. With K'Andre it's that he is just learning a new position and has show well so early is what really attracted everyone to him. Like I mentioned at the draft, his upside is really good and there is a lot of it and we don't really know how far he can push it. It's going to be exciting where he can take it."
- Will you go after a back up goalie, "I think we are still trying to figure that out, with free agency, we will go in and look at people and see the prices and availability. At the same time we do like Mazanec a lot and Georgiev, last year he showed a lot and those are two guys we are looking at as well. We will see what is out there but we are happy with those two."
- On Lundkvist playing in Sweden next year, "there are so many Lundqvist's and LIndqvist's that you had to make me think here of the defenseman, Nils. If you look at the track record of younger players in Sweden, sometimes it's best for them to stay over there. He was in the elite league already and that is the best course for him, he played a lot of minutes, is one of the younger guys who actually played a lot of minutes. We are encouraged with where he is at and going."
- On Kravtsov's situation for this season, "it's a little premature to give you a great answer. In our conversations with him and his agent, he does want to be over here sooner than later. We are going to watch him closely this week and see what our options will be there. I'm not gonna rule anything out now. He is a really talented kid but he is a kid and we will see where he is going to be."
- On what goes into the decision of where Kravtsov plays, "that is a tough one. You look at if he is doing well and playing well there, do we leave him over there to develop or should we put him on a smaller sheet of ice now and under our control, wherever that may be, English, all of that that goes into it. A lot of different factors go into this one. It's a little too premature, I know his agent is coming out here at the end of the week and we will go from there."
- On Lias Andersson, "When Lias flew through France, his connection, his equipment and luggage didn't make it. We had to get him clothes from other people and right now we are waiting for his equipment to show up."
- On if Chytil's situation reminds you of Kravtsov's, "I think it's similar. All situations are different and that when Filip came here he had shown an interest in coming here, whether he wanted to go to Juniors or not, he started thinking about playing in Hartford, he liked the idea, his agent liked the idea and if he was under our control we could control his schedule and nutrition and English. It has really worked out well for him and I think that is something we look at with Kravtsov's."
- On Libor Hajek wanting to make the team, "that would be great, something that this organization could really use, especially on defense. What we like about him is his character, skill, that he can eat minutes, can PK, PP. We love his character and how he plays, going to the front of the net is something that he makes you pay a price for, jumping into the play is something that he can do, a very well rounded player, high character, he really wants to be good, evidenced by that statement. If he comes to camp and is close and is ready and pushing, we will keep giving him rope and see far he can take it."
- He can go to Hartford, "he and Howden are ready to turn pro."
- Where will K'Andre play next season, "he's going to Wisconsin, we have talked to him about that, we talked to his coach Tony Granato, who we have a great relationship with. We are comfortable with that, their assistant that handles the defense, we have had a lot of success with him, he has turned in a lot of NHL players, really comfortable with where he is going and for where he will be at next year."
- Was K'Andre on your radar before going to defense, "no, I'd say that when he switched to defense he went up. Thinking of him as a first rounder, once he turned to D he had that meteoric rise for what he was doing."
- On stockpiling defense, "I think that when you look and are trying to build your franchise and prospect pool, everyone talks about centers and D. There is an emphasis there and we had a number of centers from last year and with Howden and on D, specifically dealing with the Bruins and Tampa, we saw some D that we liked and obviously at the draft, in our position, we liked defense in this draft a lot."
- Have you spoken with any free agents, "we have talked to a lot of them, a lot of that going on right now."
- Does free agency put trade chatter on hold, "I would say, we have had some conversations that have carried over. A lot of people are focused on free agency and maybe having people come in might take a little bit away from that."
- What are your expectations for free agency, "the expectations is that we will have opportunities for young kids. We want to add a few guys, some character players that can come in and teach these guys the ropes and that have a pretty good pedigree to come here and help us."
- Is Sean Day someone who can be ready, "he has all kinds of talent, looks as fit as he ever has. Great skating ability, he has all the tools."
- On talking to the players who were traded, "we are going to talk to those guys, see where they are at and what their interests are.'