Wrapping Up Day Two At Development Camp: McIlrath Offense, Fasth Skill, Prospect Depth Star

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 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.

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.

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.

Wrap Up of Development Camp Day One: McIlrath Skating Improvement Stands Out Most

The New York Rangers opened development camp today and it gives the coaching staff to get their first in person look at the recent draftees as well as see how far returning prospects have come over the past year.  Just as coach John Tortorella does to start training camp, development camp opens with a day of nothing but conditioning. 

Having the players do only conditioning will not show much in terms of their overall skills, but it can show how seriously they are taking their offseason work to see who is truly prepared physically.  Before we get into what came out on day one, earlier I did a primer on the three players at development camp that have the best chance to make the roster and what they have to show to do so.

After hanging out with Kevin DeLury of The New York Rangers Blog during the draft party, and since today was mostly just opening day stories instead of action, we are going round-up some of the observations and stories from today in a sort of NYRangersBlog style:

Dylan McIlrath

Steve Zipay notices that 2010 first round pick Dylan McIlrath looks considerably faster than he did last season.

Andrew Gross notices similar things and has quotes from McIlrath at Ranger Rants

My take: Improvement and hunger are things you want in your prospects and having McIlrath make strides with his skating from last year gives hope for even bigger things from him in the future.  Do not get ahead of yourselves in thinking it means he is making the team as this is just skating at the Rangers are pretty stacked on defense this season.  Do go ahead and be excited for what this means in terms of McIlrath's dedication to improving his game.

Carl Hagelin:

Carl Hagelin tells the New York Rangers official twitter that he didn’t think the conditioning tests were too bad. 

Jesse Spector talks about the transition that Hagelin is looking to make and how he is the type of player the coaching staff loves at Blueshirts Blog

My take: Hearing Hagelin talk about how the conditioning was not too bad  must make coach John Tortorella smile and shows how seriously Hagelin is taking his chance to make an impression before camp even begins.  I agree with Spector that Hagelin is the prototypical player for the Rangers coaching staff as I wrote earlier this afternoon.

Tim Erixon:

Both Jesse Spector and Andrew Gross have stories about the player seen as the most likely of all participants in development camp to make the NHL roster this fall.

In a light moment this afternoon, while Barbara Underhill was working with the prospects on their skating, Erixon nailed her with a snow shower had the other prospects laughing and tapping their sticks over.

My take: Erixon comes into this camp and training camp this fall with a lot of expectations on him between the trade to get him and the hype about his NHL readiness that has been coming out all month.  The real time to learn about Erixon will come as the week progresses and the actual scrimmages get going and you see how he stacks up against the competition.  He will be expected to dominate it by some, but this is just another step in his growth as a player.

Other Prospects:

Jesse Spector says that the Rangers 2011 fifth round selections are slightly different in the speed category.  Shane McCoglan is very fast, while Samuel Noreau is not.  Being 5-foot-8 McCoglan has to be extremely quick to survive against bigger players, while the massive Noreau can just do what he does best and knock them to the ground.

Rangers Prospects Erixon, Hagelin, Thomas Look To Leave Impression For Fall This Week

With prospect development camp getting underway today there are plenty of storylines to watch for during the week, while understanding that very few of these players stand much of a chance to make or contribute at the NHL level this coming season.  Tim Erixon, Carl Hagelin and Christian Thomas are the three main players at this week’s camp that do have a chance to crack the roster this year and have carrying levels of impact.

For these three, development camp is a combination of leaving an impression with the coaching staff and organization as it is learning what will be expected of them during training camp this fall. Erixon is the one seen as most likely to break camp with the Rangers as they open the season in Sweden.  His status as NHL ready and the Rangers willingness to give young defenders every opportunity to show they belong at the NHL level over the past few seasons makes him a good bet to be on the team.  He will have to show that he is steady enough to play at the highest level while showing the promise of adding some offense to the team.

Hagelin is a complete player and while many are regarding him mainly as a third or fourth line type player, he has the ability to play higher in the lineup.  The fact that the Rangers' coaching staff values players who work hard and play well in all three zones will certainly give Hagelin a chance to make the club. His work this week could impact the decisions the Rangers make in terms of filling out their roster this summer.  Hagelin is not seen as being as likely to make the Rangers this fall as Erixon, but he will certainly challenge for a spot and even if he doesn’t make the team out of camp the former Michigan star will be with the Rangers at some point during the season.  In order to make the squad he will have to show the complete game he was known for at Michigan in terms of playing both sides of the puck, being an excellent skater, able to play in any situation and some offensive finish.  He could be someone that threatens the role of a Ruslan Fedotenko this year.

Thomas is the most intriguing of the three because of his potential to add a sniper to the Rangers lineup and the fact that he is one of those NHL or Juniors players this season.  If Erixon or Hagelin need more time to develop in the AHL this fall as Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello did last season, then they can go to Hartford and play until they are ready to be in the NHL.  Thomas does not have that option as he will get this week, Traverse City and training camp to prove the Rangers should take a chance on him during the regular season.  If the Rangers do so, then he will have 9 games to prove he belongs there before the Rangers would have to send him back to Juniors in order to not lose a season on his contract.  Thomas has to show the offensive ability he displayed in Juniors can translate against the better competition and that his size wont be a huge detriment to him.

Lots of storylines going on this week at development camp, but watching how these three leave their mark in an attempt to make the team to start the 2011-12 season is one of the most intriguing.

Rangers 2011 Development Roster With Things To Watch For This Week

The New York Rangers released the roster for the 2011 prospect development camp that takes place this week.  All of this year’s draftees will join Christian Thomas, Dylan McIlrath, Carl Hagelin and Tim Erixon in camp.  The biggest name not at camp this year is Chris Kreider which should quell any lingering ideas about him changing his mind this summer and signing with the Rangers.

Things to watch for this week:

Does Carl Hagelin get a leg up on a roster a spot for the fall with a strong camp?

Does Tim Erixon make the impression you would expect an NHL ready prospect to make?

Does Christian Thomas show he is truly a threat to crack the roster as a 19-year-old?

How much has Dylan McIlrath improved the last 12 months?

Where is J.T. Miller in comparison to the other forward prospects?

2011 New York Rangers Prospect Development Camp Roster
Player	POS.	HT	WT	DOB	2010-11 Team (League)
Ryan Bourque	C	5-9	170	1/3/91	Quebec (QMJHL)
Peter Ceresnak	D	6-3	209	1/26/93	Trencin (Slovakia Jr.)
Tim Erixon	D	6-2	190	2/24/91	Skelleftea (Sweden)
Jesper Fasth	RW	5-11	165	12/22/91	Jonkoping HV-71 (Sweden)
Steven Fogarty	C	6-2	194	4/19/93	Edina (Minnesota High School)
Tommy Grant	LW	6-2	194	8/29/86	Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA), Connecticut (AHL)
Carl Hagelin	LW	5-11	176	8/23/88	Michigan (CCHA), Connecticut (AHL)
Danny Hobbs	F	5-11	192	6/21/89	UMass-Amherst (HE)
Oscar Lindberg	C	6-0	190	10/29/91	Skelleftea (Sweden)
Shane McColgan	RW	5-9	165	1/1/93	Kelowna (WHL)
Dylan McIlrath	D	6-5	215	4/20/92	Moose Jaw (WHL)
J.T. Miller	RW	6-1	200	3/14/93	U.S. Under-18 (USHL)
Jason Missiaen	G	6-8	220	4/25/90	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
Samuel Noreau	D	6-5	215	1/31/93	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
Mikhail Pashnin	D	6-1	191	5/11/89	Moscow CSKA (KHL)
Michael St. Croix	C	5-11	179	4/10/93	Edmonton (WHL)
Scott Stajcer	G	6-3	195	6/14/91	Owen Sound (OHL)
Christian Thomas	RW	5-9	170	5/26/92	Oshawa (OHL)
Jason Wilson	LW	6-2	205	4/15/90	Owen Sound (OHL)
Andrew Yogan	C	6-3	201	12/4/91	Erie (OHL)

OTHER INVITEES:

Player	POS.	2010-11 Team (League)
Jonathan Audy-Marchessault	C	Quebec (QMJHL)
Jared Coreau	G	Northern Michigan (CCHA)
Ilia Ejov	G	St. Petersburg (VHA)
Adam Estoclet	F	Dartmouth (ECAC), Providence (AHL)
Ryan Flanigan	F	Merrimack (HE)
T.J. Foster	C	Edmonton (WHL)
Austin Fyten	LW	Lethbridge (WHL)
Gregor Hanson	F	Northern Michigan (CCHA)
Jordan Hickmott	C	Edmonton (WHL)
Victor Kamensky	F	Walpole (MJHL) (2008-09)
Kale Kerbashian	C	Sarnia (OHL), Connecticut (AHL)
Aleksa Lukovic	D	Zvezda (Hungary), Serbia Under-20 Team
Taylor MacDougall	C	Cape Breton (QMJHL)
Donny Maloney	F	Arizona (CHL), Las Vegas (ECHL)
Andrej Sustr	D	Nebraska-Omaha (WCHA)
Nikita Zaytsev	D	Novosibirsk (K