New York Rangers have an unexpected player who is emerging into their next star

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Joshua Deeds
October 24, 2024 (11:28 PM)

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Filip Chytil was a 21st overall pick in the 1st round of the NHL Draft by the New York Rangers. And like other players like Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield, they've had a difficult time gaining their footing in the league.

That is until recently, as Lafreniere, and Byfield have made significant leaps in production, and their play recently. Will Filip Chytil be the next Ranger to produce like he was drafted?

Injury Riddled

A skilled, towering center, with speed and the ability to make plays, with a great shot. He should be a superstar already, right? Not so, as he's been injury-laden the last few years in his career, and has stunted his growth as a player.

The forward during the first eight years of his career, has suffered multiple concussions, and last season's in November took him out of the game long-term.

He'd only return near the beginning of the playoffs for the Rangers and would play limited time and minutes against both the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.

Could this be the season, in which Filip Chytil turns it around for himself? He'll need to stay healthy, avoid another concussion, be aggressive with the puck, and use his size and speed to his advantage.

In 6 games, Chytil has scored 5 points(3 G, 2 A) which suggests that he may exceed expectations of what his production will be this year.

His production has put him in the top of the league early this season, as he's used his size to get into the dirty areas, and used his speed and his shot to play as we thought he could. He's earned a +8 for his hard work and his line with Kaapo Kakko, and Will Cuylle has turned out to be one of the best in the NHL currently.

The Rangers still have plenty riding on this. Chytil is among their few young players with high upside, and they moved to lock that up by giving him a four-year, $17.75 million contract in March 2023, in what looked like an outstanding decision at the time. Though the goal for him in 2024-25 - besides simply making it back into the lineup as a regular - will be to win the third-line center spot, his long-term deal came with the expectation that he would eventually become a mainstay in the top six, perhaps supplanting older veterans Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. As he was hardly out of place playing on what turned out to be team's No. 1 line last season, albeit over a small sample size, that expectation hardly appears unrealistic.

Chytil's been a great producer for the Rangers at 5-v-5 and if he can stay healthy he could prove to be one of the best Rangers players this year.