Goalie
The Rangers have one of, if not the best, goalie prospect pools in the world. Coupled with goaltending guru Benoit Allaire, the Rangers are set up nicely whenever Henrik Lundqvist decided to hang up the skates.
1. Igor Shestyorkin
Igor Shestyorkin is the New York Rangers’ clear-cut top goaltending prospect, and one of the best goalie prospects in the entire world. He is the consensus favorite to take over for Henrik Lundqvist in the Garden crease.
Shestyorkin has spent the past four seasons with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, winning the Gagarin Cup last year. This season, he went 20-4-4 with a 1.69 GAA and a .933 save percentage, both very impressive numbers.
Shestyorkin has one more year in the KHL before his contract expires and he can come to North America. When that happens, he should be the backup, and will be groomed to succeed him.
2. Alexandar Georgiev
Alex Georgiev is another talented European goaltending prospect. He was signed by the Rangers and reported to Hartford, where he played 37 games, posting a 2.98 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He then played 10 games with the Rangers, going 4-4-1 with a 3.15 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
Georgiev flashed a lot of talent in his short stint on Broadway, and should be a leading candidate to back up Henrikk Lundqvist next year.
3. Adam Huska
Adam Huska is a Slovakian goaltender who has played the last two seasons at the University of Connecticut. He also faced some action at the World Junior Championships. He was drafted by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
Huska posted a 2.59 GAA and a .912 save percentage this year, impressive numbers on a bad UConn team.
Huska has potential, and could serve as a quality backup to Shestyorkin one day, or as a trade piece. Regardless, it is very useful to have a surplus of goaltending options, as the Rangers do.
Next: Ranking the RFAs by the likelihood that they are traded
Jeff Gorton has done a nice job of rebuilding the Rangers’ prospect group. Gorton and Co. have shown that they are playing the long game with this rebuild, and so should have an opportunity to acquire more picks and prospects, as well as draft some NHL talent.
If they are patient, and make the right moves, the front office may be able to build this team into a sustainable Stanley Cup contender.