New York Rangers: Storylines for the Traverse City Prospect Tournament

By Ben Whitney | Sep 3, 2017

MOSCOW, RUSSIA. APRIL 19, 2016. Metallurg's Alexei Bereglazov (L) and Chris Lee celebrate scoring in Leg 7 of the 2015/2016 Season Kontinental Hockey League finals against CSKA Moscow at CSKA Stadium. HC Metallurg Magnitogorsk won the game 3:1. Artyom Korotayev/TASS (Photo by Artyom Korotayev\TASS via Getty Images) /

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DUESSELDORF, GERMANY – AUGUST 29: Goalkeeper Alexander Georgiev /

The New Goalie Prospects

The Rangers signed Ondrej Pavelec to replace Antti Raanta as the backup to Henrik Lundqvist. But Pavelec only played in eight games for the Winnipeg Jets last season and spent some time in the AHL. They can’t be sure he will be able to handle the workload and provide quality relief for the 35-year old Lundqvist.

The Rangers are confident goaltending guru Benoit Allaire will get the most out of him, as he did with Cam Talbot and Raanta. But the Rangers need a backup plan and will be paying close attention to their young goalies in this tournament.

Alexander Georgiev and Chris Nell are the two goalies on the roster. They are in competition with Brandon Halverson to be the starter in Hartford and emergency call up if Lundqvist or Pavelec goes down.

Georgiev had an impressive season in Finland last season, with a 13-8-4 record and a 1.70 GAA. He has also had international success for Russia. Georgiev was mysteriously terminated from his contract by “mutual consent” and the Rangers scooped him up.

Nell was signed from Bowling Green after his junior season. Nell is known as an aggressive goaltender and led Bowling Green on a surprising run to the WCHA Championship with a .916 save percentage.

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