Rangers Director of Player Personnel Gordie Clark met with the media following the first round of the NHL draft and said (NYR):

On picking Kravtsov, "he's such a high end hockey player, we had him as the second best forward in the draft and everyone was on board. We all went to see him, what he did in the playoffs certainly stamped..we've been on him since last November and followed him all year long. What he did in the playoffs didn't surprise us at all, looked like he was just getting ready to break out for an 18-year old boy at that level."
On him getting the opportunity, "It's no different than the other players we've talked about. Kuznetsov for instance, they play third line and had like 2 goals and 6 assists. They don't play very much in that league, sometimes it hurts them but down the road they are going to be good hockey players. This guy excelled in that next step and blew us away. I had a chance, while I was at the under-18 championships, Nick Bobrov found out he was picked for the National team, the B National team, he went in and they were playing three games against Norway and Belarus and I took off from the U-18s and the guy that I saw there in those games was completely different than the guy that I saw in December in Rochester at the Russian World Junior camp. The confidence is all he needed. I joke around and say that the coach thinks he should have played more in the regular season. He stepped on the ice and was dominating against Men. It's not Canada and USA, it's Belarus and Norway but they are very good teams and men and strong and his skill level, his hands and head are through the roof. He's a very intellectual kid an a great kid. Good people find a way to be successful an that is what it turns out to be with him."
Does he fit well with Chytil and Andersson, "he's a little like JT Miller, I would say. He plays like a center in his game, we don't have to think he is a goal scorer, he scores goals, but he makes more plays and you can't play an 18-year old in the KHL at the center spot at all. He had been a center for a while but that is to see in the future but we took him as a winger."
Was long-term upside a theme, "it wasn't any theme at all. For 9 it's best player available and Vitali, took care of that one. After that I wanted to take a defenseman, there were a number on the board, we had K'Andre higher and he was still sitting there and Jeff pulled the trigger to move and get him where we wanted to get him, we didn't want to take any chances."
On how intriguing he is, "for him, in three years, to play the way he did for the U18 program, he reminds me a lot of Brady Skjei with his mobility. He is an elite athlete, played wide receiver, played baseball, he's in that vain of great athlete. His mobility is outstanding, passing is good, he is on the PP sometimes but I wouldn't say he is a PP guy for the NHL but he is going to be a top-four defenseman."
On Lundkqvist, "I was on a trip in January and it was my 16th day and it was in Henrik Lundqvist's old town in Gothenberg for Frolunda and I was really tired. Our scouts wanted me to see this guy in the men's league, he started off in junior and I watched warmups and he is 5-11 and they dropped the puck and he just took it and took off and went through the whole team and finally I was awake and excited about where I was. Same thing as when I saw Vitali at the end of a season in St. Petersburg against Men and dominating play. Those two trips were very long but my best day was the last day."
Is Vitali similar to anyone, "I think that a lot of the press has picked up on it, he is very very Kuznetsov-like player. Kuznetsov was 6 feet at that time, Vitali is already 6-3 and Kuznetsov has grown and matured and at that age probably showed a better scoring touch but the skating and playmaking ability is identical."
On Miller, "Well, you just sit and as you meet them. Meeting him in the season was different but at the combine where you have them for 20 minutes and he talks about what his mother means to him, single mother. I was coming back from the stage and she was talking to the press and just shaking, it was awesome for him and her. His whole thing is that he wants to play pro hockey but he wants to do it for her."
On the first round, "we never know who is going to go but as far as my list and what we develop from our scouts, it was going the way we wanted it to. K'Andre was still available so we pulled the trigger on that one but my list was done, crossing off all the names that just went."
On how Chytil and Andersson played in the NHL last year, "last year we weren't talking about those guys playing. You don't know, you go to summer camp tell them what they need to work on and then it's up to them. Jeff is no different than Glen, if they come back and look like they are going to play, if they earn a spot they earn it. There is no hurry. We will talk about the best place for him in the next year or two for them to be playing, maturing and growing."
On the night, "it's exciting, the scouts understand the responsibility they have in this rebuild. Those three kids were guys we targeted amongst other guys and we got three of the kids we targeted."
Is there one special attribute in Vitali's game, "his hockey sense. I was telling people that in the playoffs, it's so tight, he is not ready for that and the refs weren't calling anything and you need guys who can make split decision plays, the playmakers, the Kuzznetsov and Backstrom's, he makes something out of nothing, a lot."

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