Rangers Loan Vitali Kravtsov to Traktor of KHL

New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced today that the team has loaned forward Vitali Kravtsov to the Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
"After discussions with Vitali and his representation, we decided a loan to Traktor was in the best interests of both him and the organization," said Drury. "We think very highly of Vitali and the Rangers development staff will continue to work with him to reach our mutual goal of him some day being a New York Ranger."
"I want to thank the Rangers for working with me, and appreciate the open and honest conversations we have had during this process," said Kravtsov. "While this has been a challenging time for me personally, I believe having the opportunity to return to Traktor and work on my game is the best thing for me right now. My main focus is getting better every day to continue towards my goal of playing hockey for the New York Rangers."

Kravtsov, 21, skated in 20 games for the Rangers last season, tallying two goals and two assists for four points. In 2019-20, Kravtsov made his North American debut with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), recording 15 points (6G-9A) in 39 games.
The Vladivostok, Russia native has played five seasons with Traktor and compiled 30 goals and 25 assists for 55 points in 148 games. The 6-3, 193 pounder won the 2017-18 "Aleksei Cherepanov (Best Rookie) Award" in the KHL after posting seven points (4G-3A) in 35 regular season games. That playoff year, Kravtsov notched 11 points (6G-5A) in 16 playoff games.
In 2018-19, Kravtsov was named to the KHL All-Star team in a season that saw him tally eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 50 games.
Kravtsov was selected by the Rangers in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.