The Rangers’ farm system has produced a bountiful harvest this month.
Dylan Garand has taken over back up duties as Quick deals with an injury and in two starts, he’s been lights out. The Rangers have given up plenty of quality chances and he’s come away with 3 out of 4 possible points, getting his first career win last night at the Garden against Chicago.
Adam Sykora has been reunited with his best friend Jarsolav Chmelar on broadway, and he makes his presence felt every time he jumps over the boards. Relentless on the forecheck, and his legs never stop moving. He got his first career goal off a picture perfect pass from Will Cuylle last night, and the Garden went insane. When they announced his goal, it was the loudest pop I’ve heard for a goal announcement in as long as I can remember.
The crowd was also loving Drew Fortescue, who just turned pro and played his first career game yesterday. He had a huge crew of friends and family in attendance and you could hear exactly where they were every time he was on the ice. Their support was rewarded, as Drew notched his first NHL point on an assist on Brodzinki’s second goal of the game.
In a season that’s been lost for months now, opportunity is aplenty with the big club right now, and the prospects and fringe NHLers have been making the most of it of late. Gabe Perreault didn’t record a point last night but he’s still close to a point per game over his last 10 or so games, Chmelar chipped in an assist last night, and Matthew Robertson has been pretty steady defensively all season and was rewarded with a goal last night.
For an organization with a reputation for struggling with player development, things have been going pretty smoothly in that regard as of late. Obviously the context of being the last place team in the East puts a bit of a stain on the situation, but silver linings shouldn’t be taken for granted in a year like this. The win over the Blackhawks may have slightly hurt their chances in the draft lottery, but there’s still some runway left, and Chicago has recently had some impressive wins over Minnesota and the Islanders. The Rangers broke a six game slide with the win, and they sit in a tie with Chicago for 30th in the league with 67 points in 73 games each. The Rangers currently hold the tiebreaker.
Projected #1 pick in the upcoming draft Gavin McKenna saw his season with Penn State come to end, they were eliminated by Minnesota Duluth in the first round of the NCAA tournament. There’s no question the teams in lottery contention are stoked on the possibility of their lottery ball being drawn giving them the rights to draft McKenna, and he could possibly be the Rangers’ answer to other young stars in their division like Jack Hughes and Matthew Schaefer. Regardless of the lottery outcome, a top 3 pick should be just what the doctor ordered for the Rangers. Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg is highly sought after, as is Canadian Defender Keaton Verhoeff who had 20 points in 34 games with University of North Dakota this season. Any of the three would be a welcome addition to the organization that’s been getting a lot out of its young talent lately.
The Morning Skate 