Does Alain Vigneault know what to do with Pavel Buchnevich?

Alain Vigneault on scratching Pavel Buchnevich

Pavel Buchnevich won’t be playing Friday night against the Florida Panthers, but that doesn’t mean head coach Alain Vigneault is done with the young Russian.

Looking at his numbers alone, Buchnevich has been having a pretty good rookie season with the Rangers. He has 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 33 games, which isn’t to bad for a rookie. Vigneault’s comments reflect that too.

It’s not that Buchnevich’s performance has been poor, it’s just that he has been inconsistent at times. Not a surprise for any player in their first NHL outing, and neither is being a healthy scratch. This seems to be what Vigneault was trying to stress.

There is very little doubt that Pavel Buchnevich is NHL material. The 21-year-old, 6’1, 161 lb Russian was drafted in 75th overall in the third round of the 2013 Entry Draft. He played four years in the KHL before making the trip across the pond to play for the Rangers this season.

His numbers show constant improvement, even while making the difficult transition to the NHL. Right now it seems to just be the little things holding him back, and you can rest assured that the Rangers coaching staff are working on those hangups.

He might not be playing tonight, but you can expect to be seeing a lot more of Pavel Buchnevich in the future.