Young Russian talent Pavel Buchnevich is one of the players that should make New York Rangers fans excited for the future. He has elite, top-line potential, which is pretty evident. But, former Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault didn’t seem to feel the same way.
In 2016-17, Buchnevich’s rookie season, he started the season on a top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. His talent was made evident from his first career game, where he sprung Chris Kreider with an absolutely gorgeous stretch pass for a breakaway, which Kreider wound up scoring on. Buchnevich scored his first goal on November 5th, 2016, against the Boston Bruins.