New York Rangers: Ranking the top five rookies who could make the team
The New York Rangers don’t have a ton of expectations going into the season. However, the possibility of a few rookies making the team out of camp should be plenty to be excited about come September.
It’s no secret that the New York Rangers aren’t planning on contending this upcoming season.
With the trading of Captain Ryan McDonagh and key players in J.T. Miller, Rick Nash and Michael Grabner, they were able to receive many assets to their future. But this doesn’t mean that they should give up on the season.
There are many young players in the organization that may get a shot at playing in the NHL sooner rather than later and if that doesn’t excite every Blueshirts fan I don’t know what will.
It seems that the Rangers top-six is set in stone and their bottom-six are up in the air. The first line consists of Mika Zibanejad centering Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich. The second line looks like it could be Kevin Hayes centering Vladislav Namestnikov and Mats Zuccarello. The rest is up in the air.
Ryan Spooner is a versatile forward that can play both the center position and on the wing so he can go anywhere on the third line. You would hope that Jimmy Vesey would have a larger role under head coach David Quinn but nothing is guaranteed. Jesper Fast is more likely to play on the wing with more of a fill-in role under Quinn on that third line as well. Leaving the fourth line open for business.
It’s just a matter of how the Rangers plan on using 34-year-old grinder Cody McLeod and if they would rather fill the fourth line with young players.
The Rangers’ defensive depth possesses a very similar structure to their offensive depth. Their first pairing is strong with Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk who is coming off of surgery on his left knee for a torn meniscus back in January. Their second pairing is Marc Staal and possibly Brendan Smith or Neal Pionk being the other defenseman on the second pairing. Which makes the third pairing uncertain.
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The Rangers prospect pool is sneakily packed with talent. Though it isn’t the best in the league, it’s filled with role players and scorers which they have needed for quite some time. They acquired a couple of highly touted prospects in the past 2 years that have a shot at making the roster at some point this season.
#5: Ryan Lindgren
Age: 20, 6-foot, 198 lbs, left-handed defenseman, 4G/9A in 45 GP this year. (NCAA, 35GP) (AHL, 10GP)
Ryan Lindgren was acquired by the New York Rangers in a package deal with the Boston Bruins for veteran power forward Rick Nash. The University of Minnesota and Team USA product is a traditional defenseman with a stay at home mentality.
He’s not offensively gifted but is strong in his own end. Although not the biggest guy on the ice, he’s never afraid to throw the body and is relentless on puck battles.
The gold medal winner at the 2016-2017 U20 World Junior Championship, who was playing a ton of minutes for Team USA, was unable to play in the gold medal game due to a stomach bug, but ended up leading the chant in the locker room shortly after the US victory. Take a look.
It’s a long shot that he cracks the roster due to him not being 100% NHL ready but if he impresses his coaches during training camp he could possibly steal a spot on the final defensive pairing.
#4: Ty Ronning
Age: 20 (21 in Oct.), 5-foot-9, 172 lbs, right-handed right wing, 63G/23A in 73GP. (WHL, 70GP) (AHL, 3GP)
Ty Ronning was drafted by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The Vancouver Giants leading scorer had a historic season this year in the Western Hockey League notching 63 goals in 70 games.
Ronning is very deceptive when he skates and is incredibly fun to watch with the puck. He never gives up on a play and forces the opposition to rush. Ronning’s shot is probably his best asset in front of his work ethic and hockey sense.
The only thing he truly lacks is size but from what we’ve seen through players around the league such as Mats Zuccarello (5-foot-7, 179 lbs), Johnny Gaudreau (5-foot-9 157 lbs), and Brad Marchand (5-foot-9 181 lbs) who are all around Ronning’s build, that doesn’t really matter as long as everything else checks out.
Ronning’s mental toughness was tested before the 14-15 season in which he broke his collarbone during the preseason and was forced to watch from the sidelines while his team played the season through. He had returned late and his point totals were disappointing. Just two points in 24 games (one goal and one assist).
How did he bounce back?
In the 2015-2016 season, he scored 31 goals and tallied 28 assists in 67 games.
Ty Ronning could be the dark horse in cracking the 4th line this year and working his way up to the higher lines in the coming years. His wrist shot in incredibly underrated and he can use his speed and hockey sense to find open areas when he does not have the puck in his possession.
#3: Libor Hajek
Age: 20, 6-foot-2 203 lbs, left-handed defenseman, 12G/27A in 58GP with Saskatoon (WHL, 33GP) and Regina (WHL, 25GP)
Libor Hajek was acquired by the Rangers in a last-minute trade deadline deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The deal included Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Lightning for Hajek, Brett Howden, and Vladislav Namestnikov along with Tampa Bay’s 2018 1st rounder and a conditional 1st rounder in 2019.
He played with the Czech Republic in January at the U20 World Junior Championship this year and logged a ton of minutes (around 23 minutes per game). He was relied on heavily against stacked teams like Canada and USA. And he even logged around 31 minutes in the quarter-final against Finland.
Hajek might possibly be the most NHL-ready defensive prospect that the New York Rangers have in their prospect pool. His positioning is excellent and his poise with the puck is fantastic. He’s very much a puck moving defender but will step up and play the offensive side of the game if he determines it’s a good choice.
Hajek’s shot isn’t overpowering but it’s accurate. His skating could use some work but that’s something that will come with the experience of playing in the NHL. There really isn’t any incredible holes in his game and that’ll impress Rangers coaches and management. It might be enough to put him on the last pairing to start the year.
#2: Lias Andersson
Age: 19, 5-foot-11, 205lbs, left-handed center, 13G 17A in 54GP with Frolunda HC (SHL, 22GP) Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL, 25GP) and the New York Rangers (NHL, 7GP)
Lias Andersson is number two on this list because he’s already had NHL experience. The Rangers didn’t think they saw enough of his game to give him a spot on the roster last season. Instead, he was brought up with seven games left in the season to give him a taste of what the NHL is going to be like during his career. He scored one goal and one assist during that span.
The 2017 first rounder used part of this year in Hartford to situate himself on American ice and he had no problem doing it. He notched 14 points (5G, 9A) in 25 games for the Wolf Pack before being called up at the end of the NHL season.
Andersson is a hardworking team player that leads by example and plays a complete two-way game. He has great hockey sense and never takes a shift off. The Rangers are an organization that love work ethic and class, Lias Andersson oozes it. He will definitely be part of the Rangers future, it’s just a matter of how he’ll be used and when it’ll be.
#1: Filip Chytil
Age: 18, 6-foot-2, 203lbs, left-handed center, 12G/22A in 55GP. (AHL, 46GP), (NHL, 9GP)
Filip Chytil is number one on this list due to the fact that he made the roster out of camp last year and he’s probably the best prospect that the Rangers have at this moment. He’s offensively dynamic, has great hands that compliment his speed and he loves carrying the puck in open ice.
Chytil, like his 2017 draft partner Andersson, used most of his year adjusting to North American ice and he’s seemed to fit right. He scored 11 goals and 20 assists in 46 games for the Wolf Pack. He also played for the Czech Republic during the U20 World Junior Championship as Libor Hajek’s teammate and they connected for a couple of plays during the tournament.
Filip Chytil is almost a guarantee to make the New York Rangers roster for opening night due to the lack of players and holes in the lineup.
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Now the problem is if he gets stuck on a line with Cody McLeod and is only playing limited minutes a game. It’ll be interesting to see how Coach Quinn runs this team. Only time will tell.