New York Rangers: Is Adam Huska an option in goal?

The New York Rangers have a young Slovakian goalie prospect named Adam Huska.  He makes an already crowded goalie situation even more complicated.

Adam Huska was the starting goalie in the New York Rangers’ second game of the NHL Prospect Tournament.  In a event that isn’t known for its defense, Huska stopped 24 of 28 shots and made some fine saves.  Destined for Hartford, Huska is a viable prospect for the Blueshirts and complicates the goaltending situation even more.

The Rangers drafted Huska in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  He went 184th overall and was the 18th goalie selected in that draft.  He was the 16th best North American goalie rated by NHL Central Scouting.

He is the prototype of the modern NHL goaltender at 6’3″.  Born and raised in Slovakia, he played in the Slovakian junior leagues before deciding to move to North America to further his development.

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He played two seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.  The year after the Rangers drafted him he was the best goaltenders in the USHL with a sparkling 26-9-2 record, a 1.82 goals against average and a .931 save percentage, all league leading statistics.

NCAA career

He committed to play at the University of Connecticut and spent three years as the top goalie for the Huskies.  His best season was his sophomore year when he posted a 2.59 GAA and a .912 save percentage for an average UConn team. He did suffer a hand injury late in the season that sidelined him.

His numbers slipped in his junior year and  he lost his role as the top starter.  There was some surprise when he signed a two year Entry Level Contract with the Blueshirts in March.  He played in nine games for the Wolf Pack after the Huskies were eliminated from the playoffs with a 1-7-1 record, a 3.34 GAA and a .889 save percentage.

The Wolf Pack used five other goaltenders last season and of the five, only Alexandar Georgiev is still with the organization. They traded Marek Mazanec to Vancouver and  chose not to re-sign Dustin Tokarski, Chris Nell or Brandon Halverson.

Considering that this season is a fresh start for the Wolf Pack it appears that Huska will share the goaltending duties with Igor Shesterkin in the coming season in Hartford.  Hartford employs Benoit Allaire disciple Eric Raymond as their goalie coach and Huska will benefit from that attention.

Adam Huska (pronounced Who-ska) is 22 years old and currently is one of four goaltenders the Blueshirts have under contract.  With draft picks Tyler Wall and Olof Lindbom in the pipeline, this will an important season for the young netminder.   The team has always liked his athleticism and it’s clear that they are willing to see how he fits in the organization’s deep crop of goaltenders.