Well, well, well, well, well what do we have here. Rangers prospect Igor Shesterkin is currently RIPPPPPIN up the American League like a toddler rips open Christmas presents. Peep the stats here.
Hubbbbba, hubba. Not only are his numbers fantastic, he continues to make unreal saves like this one night in and night out.
I don’t think any of us really knew how long it’d take for Igor to get used to North American ice but guys, I think he might just be there and now the Rangers are in a bit of a situation. Here’s how it plays out.
If Alex Georgiev plays in 3 more games, he will have to clear waivers in order to be sent down, meaning other NHL teams can claim him and Georgey would be gone forever. This is problematic because if we’re being honest with ourselves, Georgiev has been the better goaltender in New York so far this season. It is unlikely for the Rangers to call up a third goalie and play goalie pinball like the Junior Varsity Islanders did a few years back. Henrik Lundqvist isn’t going anywhere so what we’re going to see the rest of the way, at least up until the trade deadline, is Igor dominate the AHL barring any NHL or AHL injury. I know us Rangers fans get really impatient when we have a new fancy toy but I don’t hate this one bit. The prince will get a full year of North American professional hockey under his belt with his confidence continuing to grow. If this was last year, I’d have a problem considering the Wolf Pack were a dumpster fire. However, since JD has come in, he has retooled the minor leagues and the Wolf Pack are now first the Atlantic Division of the AHL playing quality hockey with other teams and coaches taking notice.
At the end of the day, as much as this is a problem, it’s not a terrible one to have. The Rangers have three capable goaltenders, who all can win in the NHL. Now if the Rangers can start play sound defense, with a little bit of consistency, we’d be in business.
