The other prospects at the Traverse City tournament

The New York Rangers announced the roster for the 2019 NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City.  While everyone has heard of the team’s top prospects, there are some unfamiliar names.

The NHL Prospect Tournament is an opportunity for New York Rangers draft picks to strut their stuff and potentially win a job with the team or in some cases, earn a contract.  While everyone is excited about seeing prospects like Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov skate in a real game, there are some new faces to get familiar with.

There are few unfamiliar names you haven’t heard of before at the tournament.  Some of them are non-roster players who have signed Entry Level Contracts and are expected to play in Hartford this season.  There are also some players who were signed by the Hartford Wolf Pack and will play in the AHL or for the Maine Mariners in the ECHL.  The largest group of prospects is made up of unsigned and undrafted players who are hoping to stick with the Rangers organization.

Rangers non-roster players

Jake Elmer  –  Of all the players on Entry Level Contracts, 20 year old Elmer has a decent chance of making the big club if he shows something in training camp.  The right winger was undrafted and the Rangers signed him to a three year deal in March after he had a breakout season in the WHL.

He set career highs in goals, assists, and points while playing for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He even had a 13 game goal scoring streak that lasted almost a month, notching 17 tallies in that time span.  It was the longest goal scoring streak in the WHL since the 1996-97 season.

One of the top offensive players in the league, he definitely benefited from playing on a line with prospect Dylan Cozens who was selected seventh overall by the Buffalo Sabres. He finished with 39 goals and 81 points in 68 games.  He may have benefited from playing with Cozens, but he also displayed an ability to finish.

Elmer played five games for Hartford at the end of the season, scoring two goals and adding two assists.

Patrick Newell –  The 23-year old Newell, is a right wing who was a Hobey Baker finalist, playing for St. Cloud State last season.   St. Cloud was the top ranked NCAA team and he led the team in scoring with 21 goals and 47 points.  Newell is on the small side at 5’10”, 170 pounds and that may be a reason that he wasn’t drafted.

The Rangers signed Newell to a two year deal on March 30.  He played six games in Hartford, scoring one assist.

Hartford Wolf Pack signees

Hartford signed a foursome of free agents to amateur tryout contracts at the end of last season and all four were extended and will be at Traverse City.

Ryan Dmowski – Dmowski is a 22-year old left winger who graduated from U.Mass-Lowell.  Undrafted, he had his best season in his senior year he notched 23 points in 37 games.  He’ll be certain to be a fan favorite in Hartford as he is  from East Lyme, Connecticut.

Dmowski was second on the team in scoring and was a teammate of Ranger goalie draft pick Tyler Wall.  In a ten game tryout for Hartford, he had one goal and three assists.  Dmowski has good size at 6’1″, 209 pounds.

Nick Jones – Nick Jones,  is a  23 year old center who just finished two excellent seasons at North Dakota.  He opened some eyes with his moves at the prospect camp in June.  Known as a good faceoff man, he had a 59.3% winning percentage in 2017-18, fourth best in North Dakota history.

The Edmonton native took an interesting road to the pros.  After two years at Ohio State University, Jones went back to Canada and played two years in the British Columbia Hockey League.  After that, he returned to college for two years at North Dakota.   He’s another smaller player at 5’11”, 176 pounds.

Shawn McBride –  McBride is a 24 year old who plays both center and defense. At 6’2″, 201 pounds, McBride was the captain for an American International College team that had a record of 23-1-17.  He  finished last season with four goals and 19 assists.

It appears that McBride is slotted to play center for the Wolf Pack.  He played five games for them with one assist last season.

Lewis Zerter-Gossage  – Right winger Zerter-Gossage, 23,  was the team captain and top scorer for Harvard last season.  He had 18 goals and six assists for 24 points in 33 games.   A native of Montreal, Zerter-Gossage is 6’2″, 190 pounds.  He was a linemate of Ryan Donato of the Minnesota Wild.

Zerter-Gossage took part in the Rangers prospect camp in June and scored two goals in a five game tryout with Hartford last spring.  He also participated in the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect camp 2018 and the Montreal Canadien’s camp in 2017.  He had opportunities to sign with both clubs, but preferred to finish his college career, a decision that may benefit the Rangers in the long run.

That’s it for the players under contract.  There are six more players are at the tournament, hoping to earn a chance at a professional future.