10/24/19 | Bob McKenzie said on (TSN) that Kravtsov can exercise his European Assignment clause beginning Friday 10/25.

McKenzie notes that Kravtsov only has a European Assignment clause for this season. (TSN)

10/19: Both The Athletic and NY Post say that nothing has changed with Kravtsov and that he played for Hartford last night and is expected to play again tonight.

Kravtsov could opt to exercise his Euro assignment clause and then potentially return when those seasons end.

10/16 9:27AM: According to Igor Eronko, Vitali Kravtsov is reportedly considering a return to the KHL this season through the European assignment clause in his contract.

Larry Brooks tweets that as of yesterday, he was told that there had been no discussions on this topic between the Rangers and Kravtsov.

Eronko tweeted on 10/13, “Kravtsov is the guy who produces and produces when the coach believes in him. When it’s not a thing, Vitali usually just can’t find himself up.”

Kravtsov has played in three of the Wolf Pack’s first four games this season, picking up an assist, a minus one rating and 0 shots on goal.

He has skated with with Matt Beleskey and Boo Nieves in the past two Wolf Pack games.

Following Kravtsov being scratched in Hartford’s second game, Jeff Gorton said that he wasn’t concerned.

When Kravtsov was sent down at the end of training camp:

 

• What Jeff Gorton said, “highly skilled guy that is a young player and trying to figure out North American hockey. Flashes of really good things, especially on the PP – we can all see his skill and thinking and hands. I don’t think he is too far away, but I think 20-minutes is a better service to him than 7-8-9 minutes and not knowing if he’s going to be in the lineup. Those are the conversations we had and decisions we made.”
• What David Quinn said, “he came a long way since Traverse, and this is a mans league and he and I have talked about the difference between here and the KHL and how much faster and physical it is and I liked how each game he became more engaged and physical and his pace got better and better, but for a guy who wouldn’t be in the top-nine, it’s better for his development that he is down there playing in a very good league, being coached by our staff down there, we feel very confident with what is going on in Hartford, that he is going to really benefit from his time down there.”

Adam Rotter: There  seem to be a few different angles/perceptions at play here with Kravtsov. One is that he was sent to Hartford because they didn’t have a top-nine spot for him and that now that Namestnikov has been traded and Brendan Smith is on the third-line, at least for tomorrow, the Rangers are making a mistake by not calling him up. The other side of that is that Kravtsov proved in camp that he isn’t NHL ready and that even if injuries occurred and multiple spots opened up, I think you’d see Filip Chytil, Boo Nieves, Danny O’Regan or Phil Di Giuseppe called up before him. Why? Because he hasn’t earned his spot in the NHL yet. If Kravtsov puts up 15 points in the next 10 games, then he would certainly move up on that list, but he’s played three games, has one, assist and zero shots. The Rangers LOVE Kravtsov but aren’t going to put him in the lineup just because he was the 9th overall pick, or that the Isles had Oliver Wahlstrom in their lineup, or that Brendan Smith, Micheal Haley or Greg McKegg are in the lineup. Kravtsov will get his chance but he has to earn it in Hartford and go through the growing pains of playing in a new country, in a new rink and new styles.