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. 

McIlrath The Top New York Rangers Prospect?

With the season approaching there are a lot of rankings going around with respect to the New York Rangers prospects.  On Sunday, Jess Rubenstein at The Prospect Park gives his rankings of the future Rangers which uses some different criteria than many of the other rankings lists out there.   For Jess the main criteria are character, drive and talent as a combination where many focus on talent more than the rest.

Admitting any bias up front, the leader in his rankings was 2010 first round pick Dylan McIlrath.  Here is the reasoning Jess gave…

1-Dylan McIlrath- I put him here because every year since Jeff Beukeboom was forced to retire, I have called for a defensive stopper. Here he is and Jeff Beukeboom would give his approval.

How can you not like a player who his mere presence forces teams to change how they attack. Watched Medicine Hat refuse to go down his side of the ice after 2 clean body checks.

Do not even think you can touch a McIlrath teammate as he will be on you in a second. Have watched teams think twice about taking the body when McIlrath was out there.

And then there is the gentle giant giving up his Friday night so he can read to first graders. Then how can you not like a guy who every time he drops the gloves is called one of the toughest in the WHL.

And we saved the best for last as since the middle of last season, McIlrath as been working on his shot. It is a heavy almost dangerous shot that is going to either create rebounds or injure anyone trying to block his shot.

They will try once to block it then will get out of the way.

If the improvements that McIlrath showed during the prospect camp in June continue, then he will certainly be in the discussion for the Rangers top prospect.  McIlrath does have the potential to bring the Rangers something they have not had in their lineup since Beukeboom, but I am not sure that is enough to warrant him being the at the head of the list right now.    The question about McIlrath since he was drafted was whether he could be more than that imposing presence that could drop the gloves and defend teammates.  He is answering those questions with by playing a smarter game and developing his shot from the point.  However, at this point I would not put him at the top, and put Tim Erixon there instead because of his potential as a two-way defender and how close he is to the NHL right now. 

Interestingly enough Rubenstein left both Tim Erixon and 2011 first round pick J.T. Miller off his list.  To see who else made the cut and the reasoning behind their places be sure to check out Jess’ full write up over at The Prospect Park.  This list exhibits the beauty of the ranking process because each had their own opinions and criteria for what will allow a prospect to transition through the ranks and make it in the NHL.  There are few if any that I respect for their opinions more than Jess Rubenstein so agree or disagree, take note of what he is passing along.

The Difficulty In Deciding When A Prospect Is NHL Ready (Erixon, Thomas)

One of the toughest things for any organization in the development of their prospects is deciding when a prospect is ready for the jump to the NHL level of competition.  The New York Rangers have had some huge successes with their timing in the past few years while with others the prospects have been rushed in hopes of getting them ready to contribute and fill needs sooner.  At training camp this year the organization will have to make those calls on a few prospects with Tim Erixon and Christian Thomas being the two most notable.

As with all prospects the situations for those two are unique and the options that the Rangers have differ because of it.  In the case of Tim Erixon the Rangers acquired a player who is two years from his draft year and has spent those two seasons playing against men in the Swedish Elite League (SEL).  The fact that he has played in that environment should aid Erixon in his preparedness for the transition to the NHL.  If Erixon is determined to need more time the Rangers can send him to the minors, play Steve Eminger on the third pair and allow him to transition through the AHL, as they did with Ryan McDonagh last season.

The situation with Christian Thomas is different.  Thomas and his goal scoring abilities present the Rangers with an intriguing option to help an offense that has been inconsistent over the past few seasons.  Thomas certainly produced offensively in the OHL with 54 goals and 45 assists in just 66 games.  On the surface it is hard to see what another season in the OHL is really going to do for Thomas in terms of development.  The problem is because Thomas was playing in CHL at the time he was drafted he either has to play in the OHL this season or NHL and cannot be sent to the minors as Erixon can.  This is the same situation that Del Zotto was in two years ago.  Del Zotto played very well early in the season and when the decision came as to whether to keep him for the year or send him back to Juniors the decision seemed simple in keeping him.  Offensively Del Zotto had a very good year, but for him the year back in the OHL working on the rest of the aspects of his game might have helped more in the long term and avoided the kind of slip he had last season.

The decision on Erixon is much simpler than it will be on Thomas because of the type of options the Rangers have in moving Erixon between the different levels within the organization while Thomas is basically in the NHL or back in Juniors for the season.  Erixon’s background in the SEL should have him prepared for playing against the bigger competition, while Thomas who already has his size as a potential detriment does not have the experience playing against men. 

There is no telling in advance what either of these two will gain or lose based on the different options the Rangers organization will choose for them coming out of training camp next month, which is why deciding when a prospect is ready might be the hardest decision the organization makes in shaping the future of the club.  

Rangers Biggest Questions Entering 2011-12 Season

John Kreiser at NHL.com took a look at the biggest questions surrounding each team in the Eastern Conference for the 2011-12 season.  Here is what Kreiser had on the Rangers…

Is Brad Richards a difference-maker?

The Rangers are committed to Richards -- they inked the 31-year-old center to a nine-year, $60 million deal, reuniting the 2004 Conn Smythe Trophy winner with coach John Tortorella, his boss on the '04 Cup-winning team in Tampa Bay. Richards averaged better than a point a game in his three-plus seasons in Dallas, and the Rangers are counting on his to be the playmaker who revives Marian Gaborik and the No. 1 center they haven't had for several years. If that happens, it lets Tortorella drop players like Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan into roles for which they're more suited -- and makes the Rangers more than just a team competing for a playoff berth.

There is no question that Richards is going to be the focal point for many this season as he was the biggest free agent on the market and he signed under the spotlight that is New York.  I would dispute that whether Richards is a difference maker is the biggest question the Rangers have to answer for the upcoming season.  Other questions that still have to be answered include:

Who is going to play with Richards and Gaborik to form the top line?

This decision is the one move that will have the most impact on the structure of the New York Rangers lineup.  The only line that is probably cemented together, at least to start the season, is the Dubinsky, Anisimov, Callahan line.  If Wolski can win the job on the top line, then Derek Stepan is your third line center and the Boyle line is likely moved back down to the fourth line.  If Stepan ends up being the first line left wing, then Boyle’s line moves up on the roster and it impacts not only who the fourth liners are, but the chances of a player like Mats Zuccarello making the team.  Zuccarello and Ruslan Fedotenko could also be candidates to try and earn the spot.  Regardless of who gets the assignment to start the year there will be a domino effect created throughout the lineup and roster because of it.

Who will win the final two defense spots?

The final two spots in the defense corps are yet to be decided and if Erixon and Del Zotto win those jobs the Rangers are entering the season with only two defenders in the main lineup that have over 127 games of NHL experience.  Eminger is there as insurance and showed over different stretches last season that he can be a solid defender, especially on the third pair, but he was also benched for Matt Gilroy.

Can players who had career years repeat?

The Rangers were able to survive the large number of injuries and down years from Gaborik and Del Zotto because they had so many players have career seasons.  Boyle and Prust broke out in all phases of the game, but their offensive increases were substantial from prior levels.  Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov also had significant jumps in their production from previous seasons and Derek Stepan broke onto the scene with a 45 point season.  Add in the unexpectedly solid play of rookies Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer and the Rangers have to wonder if all of these players can repeat let alone improve on last season.

Lesser questions include:

How will the Rangers solve the logjam of forwards before the season?

Will any prospects other than Tim Erixon be on the team this year?  

The play of Brad Richards will be critical to the Rangers ultimate success and scrutinized more than any other question because of his contract, but that does not by default make him the biggest question the Rangers have this season.  He will have his impact in aiding an under-performing power play, aiding in the bounce back of Marian Gaborik and producing his own offense to help give the lineup more balance, but other questions will have to be answered to allow Richards to show if he is the difference maker in the end.

Could McDonagh, Sauer Regress In Second Season With Rangers?

The New York Rangers have an impressive group of young and talented defenders on the NHL roster.  The group has the potential, if each plays at their peak, to be the best defense corps in the league.  Marc Staal and Dan Girardi are the constants, and the Rangers will need them to maintain their elite level as a top pair to go far this season.  However, as important as Staal and Girardi are to the team, the emergence of Michael Sauer and Ryan McDonagh last season was critical to the Rangers success.  There is no question as to whether Staal and Girardi can bring their level again this season, but should there be more questions about Sauer and McDonagh slipping in their level?

Neither Sauer nor McDonagh were expected to play the roles they did last season.  Sauer was a fringe bet to even make the roster heading into training camp while McDonagh was seen as a top prospect, but certainly not expected play 20 minutes a game and be as composed as he was game after game.  Now the expectations for each has risen considerably as they are considered locks to be the second defensive pair on the club this season and play huge minutes.  The fact that they are more defensive minded should limit the potential for a slip in their game, but it is interesting to see that there is little to no concern over whether the two of them will regress this season.

For Sauer the concern is more with his prior injury history than his ability to play at the NHL level.  Sauer always had the game made for this level, but could not seem to stay healthy long enough to get a legit shot with the Rangers.   The 76 games he played last season were his most as a professional, so there is some concern there, but the other side of that is he went into the offseason healthy and training for next year instead of rehabbing an injury.

With McDonagh the most interesting part of his first professional season was the differential in the two adjustments he had to make to the AHL and NHL competition.  When starting out with the Connecticut Whale McDonagh struggled early, but then found his stride before his January call-up.  With the Rangers he seemingly took one game to shake off the rookie nerves and never looked back from there.  The concern with McDonagh is that the staff is going to push him to get more of the offense he is capable of, as they have with Marc Staal, and could lead to some early season struggles, but do not expect him to lose confidence and have a sophomore season like Del Zotto did last season.

I do not expect either of these two to regress from last year, and the lack of concern over their regression is a testimony to how well they played last year and the faith it created for them with the fan base.