The New York Rangers officially kicked off the off-season on Wednesday by making some big changes to their front office staff.
First, the New York Rangers made a splash by re-upping forward Matt Puempel to a new contract this morning, making the team officially Expansion Draft compliant.
OFFICIAL: #NYR named Jed Ortmeyer as Dir. of Player Dev, Steve Eminger as a Pro Scout & Ben Prentiss as Strength & Conditioning Consultant.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 14, 2017
There is a lot to unpack here, so here we go…
Ortmeyer,, who was a Ranger for parts of three seasons from 03-04 to 06-07–who wrote a fantastic article about his playing career which you can view here–is an interesting addition to the team. Taking over for Chris Drury who is now the team’s assistant general manager, Ortmeyer will be working closely with the team’s hockey ops department to help develop the team’s prospects in AHL, the NCAA, CHL, or wherever they may be.
Related Story: Lack of options may force a youth movement on defense
Eminger, another former Ranger, will be doing some scouting work for the Rangers. As a pro scout, he will be assigned to go to different NHL games to watch and review the play of a potential trade target.
The name that is unknown here, or at least the name that most fans won’t recognize is Ben Prentiss’. Let’s become acquainted with him because that could be the move that leads to another big move on Broadway later in the summer.
Prentiss’ apprentice
Prentiss is a personal trainer that almost exclusively works with NHL players. His facility, located in Connecticut, has been called home by lots of top-notch hockey players over the years. Derick Brassard, Jonathan Quick, Cam Atkinson, Max Pacioretty and a litany of current Rangers like Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich, Marc Staal and future Blueshirt Boo Nieves currently work with Prentiss.
Related Story: Rangers name Drury GM of the Wolf Pack
One upcoming unrestricted free agent also works out with Prentiss and has given him glowing review after glowing review.
His name is Kevin Shattenkirk.
It has been long rumored that Kevin Shattenkirk wanted to come play for his hometown team. Even though it might have happened even before the hiring of Prentiss, now it feels more likely than ever.
It might sound little, but don’t underestimate the weight a relationship between a player and his personal trainer is.
Next: Matt Puempel re-signs, makes Rangers expansion compliant
We’ve seen Prentiss do some great work on a lot of players, past and present, including Marty St. Louis. Now that he is with the Rangers, hopefully, he can push them to the same level as his other clients.