New York Rangers: Five players who could shock us going into training camp
In a few short months, we’ll be gearing up for another season of New York Rangers’ hockey. With all of these new players in the system, we will be given a chance to see what’s in store for this season.
The dog days of summer are dwindling and there is a renewed sense of excitement over the 2018-2019 hockey season. We are just over two months away from the regular season, and have just over a month to go to training camp.
In training camp, rookies and veterans will get their chance to show their stuff and fight for a roster spot. This season, the Rangers have a plethora of rookies and young guns who deserve playing time. With the team being in the middle of a rebuild, it can’t hurt to give these players the majority of the playing time. Both so they can get used to playing in the NHL, and develop and prosper as players.
However, you can’t just ice a team entirely of rookies. You need to have some veteran presence to provide guidance to these young players. While the New York Rangers do have a plethora of both veterans and rookies, they do have certain veterans who have been under performing, such as Brendan Smith and Marc Staal. Both of whom have the opportunity to regain their footing and start this season on a clean slate.
While the majority of players will remain steady in their play, there are a few who can come in and unexpectedly play well. Let’s take a look at five players who could do just that.
Filip Chytil
I fully believe that Filip Chytil will be a force during training camp.
The 2017 draftee quickly became one of the Rangers’ most highly touted prospects, almost overnight.
Chytil amazed everyone in his first professional season. Though he only played 46 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, he recorded 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points. Come December, he was chosen to represent his country for in the World Junior Championships. In seven games played for the Czech Republic, he put up two goals and two assists for an even four points.
When the Rangers continued their downward spiral during the second half of the season, it became apparent that Chytil, along with Lias Andersson, would be called up. Sure enough, they were.
Chytil looked miles better than he did in the two games he played at the start of the season. In the seven games he played come March and April, Chytil recorded his first NHL goals along with two assists.
Chytil showed flashes of brilliance in his short time in the NHL. At 18 years old, he showed that he could hold his own against veteran players.
As for this training camp, I fully expect Chytil to be incredibly successful. Afterwards, I believe he will definitely be on the NHL roster. And, under David Quinn, I expect him to receive serious playing time.
Brendan Smith
There’s no other way to put it: Brendan Smith was downright awful last year.
Smith was acquired at the 2016 trade deadline to provide some aid on the Rangers’ struggling defense. In that short period of time, Smith did just that. He meshed amazingly well with Brady Skjei and quickly became the team’s best pairing. This lasted throughout the playoffs and his performance was enough to land Smith a four year extension.
Smith came into training camp completely out of shape last season. He was slow and seemed to be in his own head. It soon became apparent that Smith was too much of a defensive liability, and he was eventually sent down to the AHL to play with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
This season, Smith has the chance to turn himself around. With the Rangers missing the playoffs, he had (and still has) the entire offseason to regroup and train.
While some people may believe Smith’s amazing 2016 run was a fluke, I don’t. I think that Smith played too well for too long for his performance to have been a fluke.
New seasons are blank slates, especially when the team hires a new coach. A change in coaching staff should be a good thing for Brendan Smith.
Hopefully, a fresh start and some training time will land him a spot with Brady Skjei again. And hopefully, he will be able to recreate his performance from 2016, in addition to being a veteran presence for the younger players.
Brett Howden
Brett Howden could come out of nowhere come training camp.
Honestly, I’m probably higher on Brett Howden than most people. But after looking at his stats and highlights, t’s hard not to be.
Howden was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Ryan McDonagh trade. He’s played for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL for the past four years and has put up a substantial amount of points.
Most recently in the 2017-2018 season, Howden recorded 24 goals and 51 assists for 75 points in 49 games. In the 2016-2017 season, he recorded a career high in goals with 38 and 43 assists for 81 points in 58 games.
Additionally, he had a short stint in the AHL with Tampa Bay’s affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In five AHL games, Howden put up three goals and one assist for four points.
Howden has also found success playing for his country. During the World Juniors this season, Howden recorded three goals and four assists for seven points in seven games.
Howden provides much of what the Rangers want. He’s a center, and at 6’2″ and 194 lbs, a big one at that. He has the ability to play the body while also being able to score goals. He has proven leadership abilities, and was an assistant captain with Moose Jaw, eventually becoming captain in the 2016-2017 season.
If his five AHL games show us anything, it’s that he has the ability to adjust. Howden could be a force to be reckoned with come training camp. He may just make the NHL roster.
Lias Andersson
Much like Filip Chytil, I believe Lias Andersson will come into training camp ready for an NHL spot.
It’s hard to not link the two players together. They were both drafted in the first round of the 2017 draft class, and not much was known about either player at the time of their draft. However, the two are quite different.
Andersson isn’t exactly the flashiest player, but he gets the job done. He has impeccable hockey sense and, at such a young age, brigs leadership qualities to the table. This past world juniors he captained team Sweden to a silver medal, recording six goals and one assist for seven points in seven games.
Andersson split last season between Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League and the Rangers’ own Hartford Wolf Pack. With Frolunda, he recorded seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 22 games.
Eventually, he found himself in North America with the Wolf Pack, where he recorded five goals and nine assists for another 14 points in 25 games. Come the end of the season, Andersson was playing on Broadway where he recorded one goal and one assist for two points in seven games.
Overall, Andersson adjusted well. This probably due to him playing against grown men in Sweden. This is all the more reason why Andersson could come flying out of the gate come training camp.
Like Chytil, he never looked out of place playing in the NHL. I fully expect him to start recording points in the preseason and I don’t expect it to stop come the regular season. The sky’s the limit for the young center.
5. Marc Staal
Somebody who could really shock everyone during training camp is Marc Staal. Yes, yes I know. Hear me out:
Staal is sticking around for at least one more season on Broadway. The 31-year-old alternate captain has been in New York for 11 seasons now and has three years remaining on his contract.
Staal has been declining for quite a few seasons now. The once steady defensive defenseman has appeared slow and listless in recent years, yet still earns top four minutes. However, with a little assistance from David Quinn, Staal could become serviceable again.
Now Staal will not shock everyone in the sense that he will all of the sudden become a top-pairing player again. However, at the start of last year, Staal was fairly serviceable. With the possibility of a buyout a year away, it would be best to make the best of this situation.
So how could Staal shock everyone in training camp? The short answer: David Quinn. Quinn can give Staal sheltered minutes which would help him not be exposed as much.
A few seasons ago, former coach Alain Vigneault did a similar thing with Dan Girardi. In those sheltered minutes, Girardi looked fresh and looked okay in his outings. Now that system was never stuck to, and inevitably Girardi was bought out.
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But, with Quinn sticking to his guns, Staal could become a decent defenseman both in training camp, and during the season.