Rangers Prospects Dominate Again With 6-2 Win Over Dallas

Previewing the Traverse City Tournament I said that it was impressive the level of talent the New York Rangers system continues to produce.  Through two games the young Rangers have proven that part right and surprised me with just how impressive they have been in these two performances.  The team followed their excellent showing against St. Louis with just as dominating an exhibition against Dallas.

Offensively the team has 11 goals, but beyond the number of goals the way they have played has been exciting to watch.  The combination of phenomenal passing, explosive speed, driving the net, and unselfishness to go with their skill gives the belief that there is nothing lucky about what this collection of prospects has done in their first two games. The passing has been unbelievably crisp for a collection of players that was only together for one 40 minute practice before the tournament.

Defensively they have done enough in shutting down gaps and limiting odd-man rushes against.  Tonight Scott Stajcer was very good in net showing good positioning and more importantly staying tall in net.  Too often bigger goaltenders take away their size advantage by crouching or going down, but Stajcer stayed upright and tall in the chest and took away much of the net tonight.

• Ryan Bourque was the star tonight with two goals and more of his all-around play.  His hustle, work ethic and overall skill give hope that he can defy conventional wisdom as Callahan does.  That has become the fun comparison for Bourque partially because of him saying it a few weeks back and he has certainly channeled Callahan the past few games.
• J.T. Miller was significantly better tonight than in the first game as he played his game down low controlling the puck and showing excellent vision/passing ability tonight.  His goal was a dirty type goal as he attacked the front of the net and took advantage of the scramble play.
• Dylan McIlrath was good today with his positioning and stood up for his teammates with a fight he soundly won.
• Tim Erixon was excellent again even if not as flashy as last night.  Erixon just makes the simple, smart plays and his ability running the power play stands out more and more.  Excellent stick work defensively and was more physical tonight as well.
• Blake Parlett’s offensive skill stood out again tonight as he skates very well and his passing is on point.
• Christian Thomas still hasn’t scored but he is dangerous each time he hits the ice.
• Shane McColgan did a lot of impressive things tonight with an excellent play for a goal and immediately dropping the gloves to stand up for Christian Thomas after he took a wicked hit from behind.  McColgan is not big so his feisty play is something he will need with his skill to make it at the NHL level.

Video: Dylan McIlrath Dominates Olivier D'Aoust in Fight

Dylan McIlrath is known as someone that will defend his teammates and he continued that tonight as Olivier D'Aoust was "picking on the smaller younger guys" according to McIlrath and he took care of it in dropping the gloves to defend them.

Tim Erixon Makes Strong First Impression In Rangers Uniform

When the 2010-11 season ended for the New York Rangers their defense was certainly not considered a need area, but that did not stop GM Glen Sather from taking advantage of the contract situation between Tim Erixon and the Calgary Flames to trade for the talented young defender.  In the NHL you can never have enough talent or enough assets and Sather stuck to that line of thinking in adding to an already deep defense system.  At the time of the trade Tim Erixon was talked about as being NHL ready right now and while last night was only one game at a prospect tournament, Erixon certainly looked the part of an NHL player.  The Rangers defense is set at four spots, but the final two spots are certainly up for grabs heading into training camp with Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger and Erixon seen as the main three competitors for the spots heading into it. 

Last night Erixon showed tremendous poise, very good vision, excellent passing instincts with a hard shot that he was not afraid to take.   Watching Erixon quarterback the power play was a pleasure both for what he was able to do and the distinctions between him and how badly the Rangers defenders were at it last season.  There was no flash to how Erixon played, but there was a calm cerebral aspect to his game that was impressive as the game appeared to be moving in slow motion at times for him.  His patience in deciding whether to pass, where to pass and his quick decision making on firing his excellent shot made the game look easy.  He looked like a veteran doing so as his calm, composed demeanor out there showed more instincts in doing so than any other defender currently on the Rangers roster.  If Erixon can continue to show the range of offensive skills that he did last night and be solid in his own end throughout the rest of the Traverse City tournament he will definitely go into camp with an excellent chance to make the team on opening night.

Regardless of whether Erixon can continue to play as well as he did last night for the rest of the tournament and in training camp against the NHL caliber players, he showed flashes last night that the talent is certainly there for him to be yet another excellent young defender for the Rangers in the near future.  He can either make the team out of camp or take the Ryan McDonagh path in playing part of his first professional year in the AHL before joining the NHL roster.  The biggest reason for him to potentially start the year in the AHL would be the adjustment to the rink size which Erixon noted himself in his interview after the second period. 

It was only one game, but last night’s performance was an excellent first impression and should reassure any who doubted before that Glen Sather got another steal for the Rangers young defense corps when he traded for Tim Erixon this summer.

Erixon, Parlett, Hagelin Standout In Rangers 5-2 Win Over Blues

The New York Rangers prospects opened their Traverse City tournament campaign with an impressive 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues prospects.  My takeaways from the game:

Blake Parlett: standout player of the game as he was the most consistent Ranger throughout the game.  Showing off a very smooth skating stride and good poise on the puck, Parlett distributed well and ran the power play as a natural quarterback.  The Rangers saw enough in him last year that he was able to work himself from the ECHL to a two-year contract. 

Tim Erixon: For the hype that Erixon got this summer after being acquired, for one game he lived up to the expectations.  Tremendous poise with the puck at all times, excellent awareness running the point on the power play whether he was looking to create for others or fire his own shot and an excellent shot that will cause problems for goaltenders.  Erixon has both a quick release as a low hard slapper from the point and that combination is something for New York Rangers fans to be excited about.  Erixon also showed excellent coverage in his own end.

Dylan McIlrath: Continues to show his level of improvement from last season.  The footwork that McIlrath has for someone of his size is very impressive and his skating continues to improve.  The biggest takeaway from the game for him was how improved his shot is and that it will become a very good weapon for him in the future.  There were some issues with his gap control defensively and he did take two penalties in the game, but his future as an intimidating force that can add a threatening shot is on track. 

Carl Hagelin:  Not a flashy player, but when he is on the ice the puck seems to find him and good things result.  He works well down low and behind the net, drives the net hard and uses speed and quickness to create chances for himself as well as others.  The goal that he scored was a beautiful snipe from the top of the faceoff circle that the goaltender had no chance on following a give-and-go with Tim Erixon.

Christian Thomas: Speed and elusiveness was very impressive and his playmaking ability is something that is not discussed enough.  Thomas pressed a little early on when he had his own chances, but he made more impact as he got into the flow of the game.

Ryan Bourque: Excellent game tonight showing the all-around talent he has that makes him an NHL prospect.  Bourque is often overlooked when discussing the prospects partially because of how willing he is to take the less visible role to help the team, but his speed and skill were on display.

Rangers Showcasing Talent and Depth of Prospect System As Traverse City Kicks Off

Over the past few years the New York Rangers have committed to rebuilding their prospect system and created a more homegrown team.  You see the fruits of that labor at the NHL level of course, but you get a glimpse of the future when your organization plays in a tournament like Traverse City, which kicks off today.   The work rebuilding the prospect pipeline has been done through drafting, trading and developing prospects.  At the NHL level the team has already seen players like Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh.  That list alone is an impressive young group, but there is plenty more to come and soon.

After a season in which the team incorporated rookies like Stepan, Michael Sauer, McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello into the lineup it would be understandable to be down on talent for a tournament like this.  The New York Rangers do not have that problem and should be amongst the best teams in the tournament.  That fact is thanks to the organization has done rebuilding the system.  The Rangers roster boasts all sorts of players that are capable of and willing to play whatever role the team needs from them.

The team has high end prospects in Tim Erixon, Christian Thomas, Dylan McIlrath, and J.T. Miller.  There are organizations with more guys that have high ceilings or even players deemed to be better prospects than what the Rangers can put out there, but few have the depth within their ranks that New York possesses.  What makes collection of prospect talent even more impressive is that Chris Kreider, Jesper Fasth and Oscar Lindberg aren’t even playing in the tournament.

The squad for this tournament is filled with players that have different individual goals this week, but all have the ultimate goal of becoming New York Rangers as quickly as possible. For prospects like Tim Erixon, Christian Thomas and Carl Hagelin the goal is to plant the seed in the coaching staff’s mind heading into training camp that they will compete for spots on the opening night roster.  For Dylan McIlrath it is to continue to show the improvement he has made since last year and prove he was the right choice for the Rangers despite the doubters.  For J.T. Miller and his fellow 2011 draftees the tournament is the next step in understanding how tough it is to make it to the NHL as the quality of competition ramps up to another level.

While much of the summer talk involving the New York Rangers and whether they are relevant title contenders again has focused on the acquisition of Brad Richards, the fact remains that without the rebuilding of the prospect system to the point it has been done, signing Richards this summer would have been useless.  Richards is an important piece, but the foundation of this team now and for the future is in the prospects and that is what makes a tournament like Traverse City so fun to watch.  Enjoy the glimpse of the talent that is to coming into the Rangers organization over the next few years as this new group looks to build their own NHL careers and eventually crack the core of the Blueshirts roster.   

New York Rangers Deeply Connected to Tragic Lokomotiv Plane Crash

The entire hockey world is in mourning over the tragic plane crash in Russia carrying the KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl franchise.  In all, the plane crash has claimed the life of 43 people and left two critically injured.  The New York Rangers organization is connected to the tragedy through s former players Karel Rachunek and Alexander Karpotsev, former 2003 draft pick Jan Marek. 

The Rangers are also connected to the tragic events of today with their current roster and the impact of those connections will not be known for some time.  Rangers center Artem Anisimov is a product of the Yaroslavl system, playing on the adult team during the 2006-07 season.  Jesse Spector over at Blueshirts Blog has quotes from Anisimov on the tragic events of this morning.

“I know these people, half the team,” Anisimov said. “Young guys, we’ve grown up together, you know? In Russia, they have school – it’s one organization, Yaroslavl. You go to the hockey school growing up, play with the second team and then you grow up and play with the first team, so a bunch of young guys I know, and the medical staff, all the staff, I know too. So sad.”

The biggest personal loss for Anisimov is that of former New Jersey Devil Alexander Vasyunov who was said to be among Anisimov’s closest friends after they grew up and came through the ranks together.

For Henrik Lundqvist the loss was Swedish national teammate Stefan Liv.  Liv was the backup goaltender for the national team.  According to Andrew Gross when told of the news this morning Lundqvist buried his heads in his hands and talked about how Liv was also married this summer.

In the case of Marian Gaborik the loss was of former NHL All-Star Pavol Demitra whom he was very close to because of his time with him both on the Slovakian national team and Minnesota Wild.  This is the second major loss for Gaborik after he and the entire team had to handle the loss of Derek Boogaard.

Today is a tragedy not just for the sport of hockey, but it shows the depth of the connections that the hockey family has when a plane in Russia goes down and the number of people impacted all over the world from it is as high as this one is.  There is no telling what the impact of this crash will be, but today the hockey world and the connections the New York Rangers had to this tragedy lead to a level of mourning that puts everything else into perspective.