When asked to describe his game, Rangers first round pick Vitali Kravtsov said that he "excels" at being a "creative playmaker" and someone who will do "everything to help the team win." (NY Post)

He said that winning his his "No. 1 priority" and that he likes to play a "beautiful, creative" style that creates a lot of offense and allow his team to "win." (NY Post)

Chytil to Pajuniemi to Kravtsov for the 🚨. #NYRPDC pic.twitter.com/CtboQTcskY
- New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 29, 2018

Kravtsov said that he feels he is good on the power play but needs to improve on the PK so that he can not only help the Rangers score goals, but also prevent them as well. (NY Post)

He told Steve Serby, "I will do everything in my power to make myself better so that I'm a meaningful part of this family and this family can win something together." (NY Post)

Kravtsov with the soft 🤲. #NYRPDC pic.twitter.com/ONYLPfc6U9
- New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 25, 2018

Future Considerations wrote in their draft profile of Kravtsov that he is a "dynamic forward" that can "really skate" and is fast with good acceleration and:

He can make "highlight-reel plays look routine and easy"
He has a lot of confidence when skating with the puck and is "very strong" off the rush
"Good overall hockey sense," can play both wings and doesn't take very long to get the puck off his stick
"Without the puck, though, he can get a little lost, especially in his own end. But he does try to be reliable defensively."

Kravtsov told Serby that he thinks the comparisons to Evgeny Kuznetsov are "fair" in some ways because they came from the same area, play similar styles and "he's a very good person and I think I'm not a bad one either." (NY Post)

Nikolai Bobrov described Kravtsov as someone who is "very" exciting, smart and skilled player with "great size and a lot of speed."

After the Rangers selected Kravtsov, Gordie Clark said "he is very very Kuznetsov-like player," has excellent hockey sense and that his "skating and playmaking ability" is "identical" to Kuznetsov's at that age.

Clark added, "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. He's a very intellectual kid an a great kid. Good people find a way to be successful and that is what it turns out to be with him."

Kravtsov with the feed to Pajuniemi ⤵️, which was followed right after by a penalty shot goal from Meskanen. #NYRPDC pic.twitter.com/yqfkcXCTu2
- New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 28, 2018

Adam Rotter: Kravtsov will spend his entire Rangers career being compared to Oliver Wahlstrom, especially since the Islanders pick said that the Rangers made a mistake in passing on him. The Rangers certainly don't have any regrets about going with Kravtsov at 9 and he is someone the organization kept close eyes on for quite some time. He has set his desires on not only being an offensive star for the Rangers but also someone who focuses on the other end of the ice. If he cane become a two-way player in the vain of Rick Nash and Marian Hossa, I'm sure the Rangers would be thrilled, but they drafted Kravtsov to join Filip Chytil at the top of their offensive depth chart and hopefully soon enough he will be there.

Popular in the Community