Rangers Recall Chad Kolarik from Whale

After originally saying there would be no immediate move to bring someone up from the Connecticut Whale the New York Rangers have brought Chad Kolarik up as a result of the Brandon Dubinsky injury.  Kolarik who the Whale acquired for Dane Byers has been very good for the Whale tallying 13 goals and 10 assists in 26 games since being acquired.  Overall Kolarik has 17 goals and 33 points in 39 games played this season.

Kolarik is the right decision in looking to add skill to the lineup as he has speed, vision and finishing touch that makes him a threat on each shift.

Whale Win Again Behind Talbot, Weise, Zuccarello, Kolarik

Two games in two days and just another two wins for the red-hot Connecticut Whale as the New York Rangers were not the only ones rolling on Sunday.  The Whale with their current four game winning streak and longer 6-0-0-1 record since becoming the Whale have gone over .500 (12-11-4) for the first time since late October.  Saturday was about Mats Zuccarello, Evgeny Grachev and Ryan McDonagh stepping up from the prospects down there and Sunday saw Zuccarello again with Chad Kolarik and Dale Weise doing the lion’s share of the damage in the 4-3 win over the Flyers affiliate, Adirondack Phantoms.

Hartford Shows Signs of Life in 5-2 Win Lead By Kolarik, Zuccarello and Weise Return

When I last talked about Hartford a few days ago I wrote about how things were not working there and that changes needed to be made not just for the present but also the future.  For me all of that is still true, but the team showed some signs of life last night in a very nice 5-2 win in which they mixed skill with toughness and stuck up for one another.  The game would be a re-match of last week’s matchup against the Springfield Falcons in which Dane Byers returned to Hartford and eventually got the clincher in the shootout.  In his one Chad Kolarik who was acquired for the afore mentioned Byers would be the star in his return to his former home as he would score 2 goals and add a helper in only the teams second win in 14 outings.

Byers Beats Hartford in Final Home Game As WolfPack

As you know a few days ago the Rangers traded Dane Byers the then Hartford Captain to the Columbus organization in exchange for Chad Kolarik.  Last night Byers was in a familiar building, but an unfamiliar locker room as his new team took on the Wolfpack in what will be the last home game as the Wolfpack.  On November 27, 2010 the Wolfpack officially become the Connecticut Whale and Hartford now only has five road games left until that happens.  

Daily Recap: Rozsival Absence, Byers Trade, Gaborik Return, Anisimov Hero

Thursday November 11, 2010 is a day that for Ranger fans ended when at 1:32 of OT Artem Anisimov put a shot from the slot over the glove hand of Jhonas Enroth to give the Rangers a 3-2 win in the Garden.  Where it started on this site though was with a look at what the loss of Michal Rozsival for the next week would mean for the rest of defense.  Luckily for the Rangers that loss was not glaring in the actual game this evening and hopefully it will remain that way for the next week while he rests his sore shoulder.  

Dane Byers Traded for Chad Kolarik

In a minor leaguer for minor leaguer trade according to BlueJacketsNHL the Rangers have dealt LW Dane Byers to Columbus in exchange for C Chad Kolarik.  Both Byers and Kolarik were drafted in the 2004 entry draft, Byers 48th and Kolarik 199th.  

It had become pretty clear that Byers was never going to get a shot at a role on the big club for the Rangers even though for a pretty tough guy he had some scoring skill with multiple 40+ point and 20+ goal seasons under his belt in the AHL.  Byers is not a great fighter, but he was willing to do the job as a tough guy when necessary. For Byers this is a blessing in disguise as he gets out of the dysfunction of the Hartford situation and should go to an organization in which he gets a more viable shot at making the NHL consistently.  Glad for Dane.

In Kolarik the Rangers are getting a 5' 11" center who spent four seasons playing for the Michigan Wolverines overlapping with another Rangers prospect in Carl Hagelin.  In his senior year for Michigan Kolarik tallied 30G and 26A in 39 games while a member of the Coyotes farm system.  In 2008-09 he turned pro for the Coyotes AHL squad in San Antonio putting together a nice first pro season of 20G 30A.  Last season between San Antonio and Syracuse after being traded to the Columbus organization Kolarik combined to tally 26G and 24A.  So far this season Kolarik has  4G 6A in 13 games in the AHL.  

The move has to be seen as one looking to boost the anemic offense Hartford has had all season and to provide stability to the center position so players like Evgeny Grachev can stop being flipped around in positions.  All the scouting reports I read on Kolarik speak of his speed and quickness, hands, good finish to speak of his offensive skills but does not pay much attention to the other side of the ice.  Hartford certainly needs offense, but trading away their Captain to get some might only further deteriorate a fragile balance there.