With the first of three first round selections in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Rangers selected forward Vitali Kravtsov with the ninth overall pick.
Kravtsov, 18, received the Alexei Cherepanov Award as the Kontinental Hockey League's Rookie of the Year in 2017-18. In 16 games with Traktor Chelyabinsk during the 2018 Gagarin Cup Playoffs, Kravtsov registered six goals and five assists for 11 points. Kravtsov's 11 points were the most a KHL junior player (younger than 20 years old) has registered in one playoff year in the league's history, eclipsing the previous record of nine held by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Valeri Nichushkin. In addition, Kravtsov's six goals in the 2018 Gagarin Cup Playoffs were tied for the second-most a KHL junior player has recorded in one playoff year in the league's history. Other than Kravtsov, the only three KHL players younger than 20 years old who have tallied six or more goals in one playoff year are Kuznetsov (seven), Nichushkin (six), and Eeli Tolvanen (six). In addition, the 18-year-old Kravtsov became one of only three players younger than 22 years old in KHL history to register at least 11 points in one playoff year (Vladimir Tarasenko - 16 points as a 21-year-old; Kuznetsov - 11 points as a 20-year-old). Including the Russian Superleague (RSL), which was in existence from 1992-93 - 2007-08, Kravtsov's 11 points in the 2018 Gagarin Cup Playoffs were tied for the third-most by a teenager in one playoff year since 1992-93. Since 1992-93, the only teenagers who recorded more points than Kravtsov in one playoff year in Russia's highest league of professional hockey are Maxim Afinogenov (16 in 1998-99) and Evgeni Malkin (15 in 2005-06), and he is tied for first among 18-year-olds in points in one playoff year over the span.
Rangers Select Vitali Kravtsov
Blueshirts select 6-3, 184-pound forward with the ninth overall pick of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft