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New York Rangers Daily: Prospect Pool Drought?, the Hockey Card Affect

By Patrick Comia

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Welcome to the Sunday edition.

Hoped you all enjoyed last night’s 4-3 win against the Devils last night. In case you missed it, this was the final score:

Here’s your daily news for the day:

Rangers prospect depth and status of Lindberg in question- BLEACHERREPORT.COM

New York Rangers
New York Rangers /

New York Rangers

It is difficult, at times, to allow those outside of the Rangers team to make judgments, especially to those who do not watch them on a regular basis.

Perhaps, the same could be said for other team’s fanbases, the old saying, “You have to be here, to understand” could be relevant.

In a recent article written by Allan Mitchell on Saturday, he sheds light on every NHL team’s positional battles this preseason. Of course, I jumped to the Rangers section.

He talks about the lack of depth in the prospect pool for the team, and how trading away “…prospects with promise is a big concern on Broadway.”

I think his most recent memory is the third-round prospect Anthony Duclair trade for former Coyotes and current Ranger Keith Yandle. If that is what you are basing your opinions on, please rethink this.

Despite former general manager trading away several first-round draft picks over the years (Still sore about the Lightning trade), the Rangers have restocked well with their draft picks. Adam Tambellini, Luke Adam, Magnus Hellberg, Mackenzie Skapski, Matt Bodie, and Ryan Graves are just some players that come to mind that have promise.

Then, there are those who are still not directly in the Rangers organization (not with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL): Pavel Buchnevich, Keegan Iverson, Igor Shesterskin, and Brandon Halverson.

If there wasn’t a log-jam at the NHL level, I’d say several of these players would have a strong chance at making the Opening Night roster.

And with Oscar Lindberg, it’s not set in stone. However, I believe he makes the team this season. He’s shown he can play at the professional level, consistently and in different situations (even strength and penalty kill).

So I am not sure if Mr. Mitchell is just looking at the surface when making his opinion, or not. But, it’s a huge disservice to the Rangers, when you say, “dwindling prospect base.”

Your childhood rookie cards may have led to the NHL strike- THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM

More from Rangers News

Who knew hockey trading cards had such an effect on the 1994-1995 NHL season?

That was the case. It is hard to get through all the details, but the dispute centered around, you guessed it: money.

Hockey columnist Sal barry wrote an excellent article on the dilemma and what transpired. In it, he interviews Adam Larry, director of licensing for the NHLPA. Here is what he had to say of the boom 20 years ago:

"Trading cards in the early 1990s was a really big business…It brought in not just collectors but investors. When there’€™s demand for a product, you will see more companies get into it"

The companies he was referencing were Upper Deck, Score, and Pro Set. (Gosh, brings back memories)

According tot he article, the revenue generated for the Players’ Association was between $11-16 million, whereas the owners were receiving a little under half of that. Of course that is where the dispute comes into play. Owners wanting a bigger piece of the pie, and the players refusing.

However, there was also the issue of licensing of the player, which could be felt to this day. With the new generation of the video game era (i.e. Electronic Arts’ NHL franchise), the disputes that were brought to the bargaining table between the Players and Owners have a had lasting affect.

Next: Kevin Klein's Top Five Goals of 2014-15

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