The 2011 Rangers development camp continued today, but there was more than just skating going on at the facility. The prospect practiced this morning and then had a scrimmage in which they played two 20 minute halves. While the scrimmage itself turned out to be an 8-3 blowout win for Team White, the most evident thing was just how deep the Rangers prospect core is right now. Huge games from McIlrath, Fasth, Thomas left the writers with plenty to talk about:
In Andrew Gross recap of the scrimmage at Ranger Rants the praise for the early work of Dylan McIlrath continued:
Dylan McIlrath, the 10th overall pick in 2010, was the strongest player on the ice as he led White to an 8-3 win over Blue this morning at the MSG Training Center. McIlrath, known more for his defense and physical play, had a goal and two assists as he displayed a nice shot from the right point.The work in this morning’s scrimmage follows up the praise for McIlrath’s skating improvement talk yesterday. More than the points he put up today, the excitement should be over the improvement of McIlrath’s shot over the last 12 months. He is not going to become a huge offensive player, but with stead improvement and continuing to add strength that shot is only going to become more of a threat from the point.
Jesse Spector singled out Jesper Fasth as the player of scrimmage this morning.
Jesper Fasth was the star of this morning’s scrimmage at the Rangers’ prospect development camp, scoring two goals with an assist to lead the White team to an 8-3 victory over the Blue.Fasth continues to improve and looks like a steal for a sixth-round pick that was very good at the WJC last season and held his own in the Swedish Elite League a year ago. Another year or two in the SEL and Fasth could become one of the Rangers best prospects and a threat to be a scorer at the NHL level.
Fasth was all over the puck, and knew what to do with it, showing off his skill particularly on a stickhandle through the slot to beat Scott Stajcer. He also scored off a very strong crossing feed from Tim Erixon.
Spector also praised the work of McIlrath, and said that Shane McCoglan was the most impressive of the rookies and that the experience of Hagelin is very evident in how he plays.
Beyond McIlrath and Fasth tearing up the board during the game Christian Thomas did what he does best in scoring with a penalty shot goal and an assist. Andrew Yogan had a goal, Tim Erixon an assist and Pashnin hit everything that moved. The hitting for Pashnin was not always a good thing as Gross pointed out in his recap because he was so focused on delivering the hit that he lost sight of the more important aspects of the game.
There were just 4-on-4 scrimmages, but the number of prospects who showed well for themselves exhibits the tremendous among the Rangers prospects giving even more hope for the future.
Andrew Gross has a story on what Ryan Borque learned watching the Bruins win the Cup.
