The other players to watch in the first preseason game
Preseason game one for the New York Rangers is tonight and there will be a lot of new faces in the starting lineup. Who are they?
New York Rangers training camp team A will play tonight. That means that Ranger fans will see the crown jewels of the team’s youth movement in action. Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin are all in the lineup along with prized acquisitions Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba.
For the most part all of these athletes will be wearing Ranger jerseys in the regular season. Unless they falter badly Lias Andersson, Kravtsov and Fox will stick with the varsity. Shesterkin is destined to cut his teeth in the AHL. The storylines about all of these players have been discussed ad nauseum so it is put up or shut up time. We’ll have a lot to say after the game about their performance.
The fascinating element of this game will be the players we haven’t heard much about who will be in the lineup. It’s a mix of Hartford-bound young players, players fighting for a slot on the Blueshirts and one player just fighting for a contract. . Here’s the backstory on these players.
Team A will face New Jersey tomorrow @TheGarden.
Team A will face New Jersey tomorrow @TheGarden.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 17, 2019
🔥 pic.twitter.com/aTuaUo7AL8
On the cusp
Libor Hajek #43 – While the assumption is that Hajek as won a job, he still only has five NHL games on his resume and is coming back from a shoulder injury. He had a lousy season in Hartford and a solid audition on Broadway. All indications are that Hajek is in the top six, but he has to prove that he is worth it in the preseason.
Gregg McKegg #14 – McKegg was a free agent signee, recruited from the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s a lefty shooter who can play center or left wing (where he is tonight). McKegg was well liked in Raleigh and had excellent numbers in the AHL. He found his way into 14 playoff games for the Hurricanes.
He is a a dark horse to make the Rangers this season, but his $750k cap hit helps him. He’s 27 years old and could find himself on the Hartford-New York shuttle.
Boo Nieves #15 – Nieves signed a new contract in the off-season for a team-friendly $700k. He’s proven to be a solid fourth liner with an ability to contribute to the offense. He is still one of six centers on the team. His cap hit makes him more likely to stick, but he needs to keep an already solid training camp performance going.
Brendan Smith #42 – Smith has two more years on a bloated $4.35 million contract. The 30-year old has been on the cusp since he signed his deal, finding a role last season as a versatile seventh defenseman and 13th forward.
David Quinn likes his physicality and flexibility, but Smith could also find himself buried in Hartford. That would save the team over a million dollars towards the salary cap, money they may need.
Smith has to have a good preseason in order to keep his job. The Anthony DeAngelo holdout is helping Smith as he can play the right side where he will play tonight.
Hartford bound….unless
Brandon Crawley #46 – A fourth round draft pick by the Rangers in 2017, Crawley has played two seasons in Hartford. He had a good training camp last season and was one of the last players sent down, but never got the call up during the season, falling behind Libor Hajek and Ryan Lindgren on the depth chart.
He is a left handed shooter and will play on the third pair with Brendan Smith. He’s more of a stay at home defenseman and David Quinn has singled him out for praise after scrimmages. He has one more year on his Entry Level Contract and with all of the depth in the organization on defense, he will have to impress this season in order to get a qualifying offer.
Jake Elmer #63 – Elmer was signed after a career year in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Some feel his numbers were inflated by playing on the same line as top draft pick Dylan Cozens, but the Blueshirts took a flyer on the undrafted free agent.
Elmer played five games for Hartford last season and was at the Traverse City Tournament. He’s got a future, but this season it will be in the AHL. The right wing is playing to be one of the first call-ups from Hartford.
Nick Jones #71 – Jones is another undrafted free agent, but was signed by the Wolf Pack and not the Rangers. At 23-years old, Jones finished his college career at North Dakota with decent numbers.
He did impress at the rookie camp in June and again in Traverse City. The right wing should have been one of the first cuts, but has made a case to stick around longer.
Danny O’Regan # 65 – O’Regan is a center who was signed by the Blueshirts as a depth move for Hartford. He is a 25 year old center who has seen NHL action in 25 games over four seasons in San Jose and Buffalo. He played for David Quinn at Boston University and was signed to improve the Wolf Pack.
O’Regan is a right handed shooter and unless he blows everyone away, will be headed to Hartford sooner than later.
Fighting for a future
Micheal Haley #38 – Haley is playing left wing on the fourth line and is with the team on a Professional Tryout. He’s a fighter, having led the NHL is penalty minutes in 2017-18. Coaches like players like Haley and he got into 11 playoff games for the Sharks last spring.
With ten goals in 248 NHL games, what you see is what you get. If anyone is going to fight tonight, it is going to be Haley. The question remains, is the role of an enforcer still necessary in the NHL? If the answer is yes, Haley has a shot at making the team.
Related Story. Storylines going into the first preseason game. light