New York Rangers Face-Off in World Championship
By Frank Pickel
Brady Skjei and Derick Brassard will face-off for the second time in the 2016 World Championship semi-finals tomorrow. The two New York Rangers have seen two different stories in the World Championships, however both tales are positive ones.
Brassard has recorded 10 points throughout the World’s, which is tied for first among team Canada, while Skjei has recorded one goal for USA, but was one of four players to record 21 minutes of ice time during USA’s game this past Thursday against the Czech Republic.
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This is great news for the the New York Rangers. Skjei is getting exposed to a high level of play, something he saw for only a few games last season. With the narrative around Skjei being one of a top six defenseman, it is imperative that he is exposed to this level of play before the Rangers bank on him becoming a lock-down blue liner for 70+ games next season.
Take a look at some of the highlights from the USA’s upset over the Czech Republic. Skjei doesn’t see much, if anytime in the highlight reel, but the fact that he was on the ice for such an immense amount of time during a shootout victory and upset makes his play note worthy.
Brassard, recorded his fourth goal of the tournament on Thursday. He is not only tied for most points on team Canada, but he is also tied for the sixth most points among all players in the tournament. Brassard also has a +/- of 10 in the World Championships and that is great news for both Canada and the New York Rangers.
You can take a look at the highlights from the Canadian’s dominating victory over Sweden below. Also, one time Ranger and Canadian goalie, Cam Talbot looked impenetrable during this contest. A part of me wishes the New York Rangers never let him go, not to dispute Raanta or rob him of his success, but Talbot looks like a beast.
These two New York Rangers will face-off against one another for the second time this month. During their first meeting, on May 6th, Brassard had an assist and a +2 rating. On the other side of the puck, Brady Skjei was a -2 and logged19:09 minutes of ice time, the second most on ice time recorded by a single player on team USA that game. Canada ended up winning that game by a score of 5-1.
Canada is obviously tomorrow’s favorite, however, what we should all watch for is Skjei’s ability to defend top offensive powerhouses on the very skillful and deep Canadian team.
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Brassard has played well during the World Championships, as he did throughout the regular season. Brass recorded a total of 58 points, which came from 27 goals and 31 assists during the 2015-2016 regular season. His 58 points was the second most of all New York Rangers last season, behind Zuccarello’s 61. Brass was also tied, with Rick Nash, for most playoff points scored this season by a New York Ranger.
There is currently an incredible amount of moving parts and speculation surrounding the New York Rangers and their offseason signings and possible, trades, pay-outs and contract renewals. It is nice to know that these two players, who will be with the New York Rangers next season, are fairing well overseas and will hopefully come back to the states ready to roll into training camp with confidence and an improved skill set.