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New York Rangers Daily Dose: Drury, Schneider get Call To US HHOF

By Patrick Comia

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It’s “humpday” Wednesday edition for all you New York Rangers fans. Here is some news about a special honor for two former Rangers that will become reality later this year:

Former Rangers captain Drury and defenseman Schenider named to US Hockey Hall of Fame- NHL.COM

On Monday, USA Hockey announced this year’s inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Former Rangers Chris Drury and Mathieu Schneider are among the names being honored, which will take place in December. They join Angela Ruggiero and Ron DeGregorio as the class of 2015.

Drury was named the 25th captain of the Blueshirts, taking over after Jaromir Jagr left to play in the KHL. He made his debut with the “C” at the start of the 2008-2009 season.

He originally joined the team as a free agent, before the start of the 2007-2008 season. Along with former teammate Scott Gomez, the two were the big signees heading into the season. And, we all know how that ended.

Still, Drury played as best he could in his four seasons on Broadway, which would be his last years in the NHL. Unfortunately, injuries plagued his time with the Rangers and limited his effectiveness to the team.

However, Drury’s first two seasons saw him play 80+ games. In his Rangers career, he amassed 150 points (61 goals, 89 assists). He wore his heart on his sleeve and lead by example on the ice and off.

Drury paved the way for Ryan Callahan to assume the mantel of the captaincy, upon his retirement in 2011.

In his last season, he only played 24 games. Drury scored one goal in the regular season, but it was that goal that was key for the Rangers to make the playoffs. They had to win over the New Jersey Devils to have a shot, and Drury gave the team a much-needed boost, by having the game-tying goal in the first period.

He represented the United States on the international stage, eight separate times. He saw action with Team USA in the World Juniors and World Championships, and the Winter Olympics.

Drury played in 52 games, registering eight goals and 11 assists. He has three medals (two Silver and one Bronze), earning his second Silver medal at the Vancouver Games. We all remember that heart-breaking overtime loss to Team Canada.

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Schneider didn’t have the accomplished resume as Drury had with the Rangers. He spent two seasons in New York, traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1998-1999 season. It was his fourth stop of 10 different cities he played for in his NHL career.

A native of New York City, it felt like a perfect match. However, his time was short. Schneider played in 155 games, registering 64 points (20 goals, 44 assists).

Perhaps what he is most known for by Rangers fans was fighting a young Daniel Alfredsson, when they played the Ottawa Senators. Schneider left Alfie bloodied and may have made him think twice about fighting the veteran.

He would leave for his fifth team, after being selected in the 2000 expansion draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. But that team would be the Los Angeles Kings, whom he played three seasons with after not being signed to a contract by the Blue Jackets.

After his playing career was over, he was named special assistant in the NHLPA, helping to bring awareness to the severity of head injuries as a result of the play on the ice.

In international play, Schneider represented the United States four different occasions. His highlight was winning Gold in the first World Cup of Hockey tournament in 1996.

Both Drury and Schneider will be joining 18 former Rangers in the US Hockey Hall of Fame such as Brian Leetch and Mike Richter. Jim Cerny wrote an article about the group they will be a part of for BLUESHIRTSUNITED.COM.

Congratulations to both players, and the rest of the Class of 2015 for their election!

And that’s the Dose for Wednesday. See you all tomorrow!

Next: The NHL's Worst Long-Term Cap Situations

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