New York Rangers must see massive improvement in Hartford
The New York Rangers must see an overhaul down in Hartford, otherwise the youth is in trouble.
Last season, the Hartford Wolf Pack were expected to be contenders. The New York Rangers’ top farm team owned the rights of a bevy of prospects, including Robin Kovacs. New York expected to see Hartford work as a development spot for some of their finest young talents, but quickly learned that would not be the case.
One of the best writers in the business, Adam Herman, recently wrote his Top 30 Prospects series. Within the series, Herman repeatedly referenced how poorly Hartford was run as reasoning for players struggles. Seemingly the only player that played to potential was Ryan Graves, despite plenty of talent on the roster.
Let’s take a look at Hartford’s offseason overhaul first.
Chris Drury Takes Over
The New York Rangers did not take Hartford’s struggles lightly. Rather than continuing on with the same crew for yet another year, the Rangers fired Ken Gernander and hired Keith McCambridge as their new Head Coach. Additionally, the Rangers named former Ranger Chris Drury as the new General Manger of the Wolf Pack.
Drury and McCambridge will be tasked with changing what was seemingly a toxic environment in Hartford. Gernander appeared to prefer to play the veterans over the youth, despite the AHL being essentially a development program for the young players.
Thus, players like Robin Kovacs and Malte Stromwall found themselves behind players like Tanner Glass.
Under Drury and McCambridge, the hope is that the Rangers return to prioritizing the young talent down in Hartford. Winning would be a nice bonus, but most important is that the players develop their overall games.
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Important Pieces Fill Out The Pack
One factor that makes Hartford’s improvement even more necessary is how much young talent the roster should be loaded with. While we said that last year, this year sees another wave joining the fray.
Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil could end up in Hartford, though Chytil will almost certainly play elsewhere. Former third round pick Sean Day will more likely than not play in Hartford, however, serving as one of the most critical development pieces.
Robin Kovacs and Ryan Gropp are set to play in Hartford as a pair of players that must improve on ghastly campaigns. Kovacs scored two goals last season, despite being known as an offensive weapon.
Alexander Georgiev is a goaltending prospect that may be the next backup goalie after Ondrej Pavelec. The team playing well in front of him will help his development plenty.
Next: Five thoughts on all things Rangers
Finally, the defense in the NHL will prevent some young, talented defensemen from playing in the show. Ryan Graves, Neal Pionk, and even Anthony DeAngelo could see time in Hartford. If they are not properly developed, the Rangers will be wasting some of their top prospects. That cannot happen. Not again.