New York Rangers: The best and worst draft classes of the 1990s
Honorable mention: Class of 1991
Standout
Alexei Kovalev (1st round, 15th overall, left wing)
Notable
Corey Hirsch (8th round, 213th overall, goalie)
Analysis
Kovalev had moves that could dazzle and the strength to win puck battles, thanks to his frame of 6 feet, 2 inches and 220 pounds.
He also had a knack for scoring big goals, perhaps none more important than his tally in Game 6 of the 1994 conference finals. Facing elimination and trailing 2-0 in the second period, Kovalev scored with 1:41 left. He the notched assists on the tying and winning goals of Mark Messier’s hat trick in the final period for a 4-2 New York win.
Kovalev dazzled from start to finish in the ’94 playoffs with nine goals, 12 assists and 21 points. He had a goal in each match of a four-game sweep of the New York Islanders in the first round. In the Stanley Cup Finals, he scored three goals, including the winner in Game Four.
What the 20-year-old didn’t have was consistency or maturity, which frustrated Rangers’ brass. Perhaps, no one more than his first NHL head coach, Mike Keenan.
Keenan was irked by Kovalev’s penchant for holding the puck too long, leading to turnovers, and for taking long shifts.
“Iron Mike” reached his boiling point during a match against Boston at Madison Square Garden, when Kovalev didn’t come to the bench after a long shift. Seething, Keenan ordered Kovalev to stay on the ice for a “shift” of over five minutes.
(Unfazed, Kovalev drew two penalties and scored on the power play in the period’s final minute.)
Kovalev was traded to Pittsburgh in 1998, dealt back to the Rangers by the Pens in 2003 and swapped to the Montreal Canadiens in 2004. He finished his career with second stop in Pittsburgh between stints with Ottawa and Florida.
In 492 games for the Rangers, he had 142 goals, 188 assists and 330 points.
Meanwhile, the Hirsch pick is notable not because of his 1-2-1 record with New York, but for whom he was traded in April 1995. That would be Canucks forward Nathan Lafayette, whose one-timer hit the post (and stayed out) with six minutes remaining, and the Rangers clinging to a 3-2 lead, in Game 7 of the finals.
Hirsch also allowed the shootout goal to Peter Forsberg that gave Sweden the gold medal in the 1994 Olympics.
Honorable mention: Class of 1994
Notables
Dan Cloutier (1st round, 26th overall, goalie)
Kim Johnsson (11th round, 286th overall, defense)
Analysis
The Rangers won the Stanley Cup exactly two weeks before this draft, and therefore had the last pick of the first round. They also had the absolute last selection (No. 286) and nabbed a player who ended up playing ten seasons as a regular in the NHL.
Considering the championship and the Johnsson pick, the Rangers get the benefit of the doubt here, even though they missed out on Patrik Elias, Milan Hejduk, Daniel Alfredsson, Tim Thomas and Tomas Holmstrom. The reality is, the Rangers have had far worse drafts after failing to win the Cup.
Despite spending much of his ten NHL seasons off Broadway, Cloutier nonetheless secured a spot in Rangers’ lore April 4, 1998 at the Nassau Coliseum by absolutely destroying Islanders counterpart Tommy Salo.
Salo’s troubles began when entered a bout between teammate Mariusz Czerkawski and Rangers’ tough guy PJ Stock. Just as Salo was about to intervene, he was grabbed by Cloutier and subsequently beaten into submission. Cloutier next challenged the Islanders bench for good measure.
Those too young to remember can Google it or watch it here.
The last pick of the draft, Johnsson played 151 games in two seasons with the Rangers, scoring 11 goals and 36 assists for 47 points before being traded with Jan Hlvac, draft-bust Pavel Brendl and a third-round pick for Eric Lindros.
Honorable mention: Class of 1995
Notables
Christian Dube (2nd round, 39th overall, center)
Marc Savard (4th round, 91st overall, center)
Dale Purinton (5th round, 117th overall, defense)
Analysis
This class isn’t anywhere close to being the team’s “best” of any Rangers’ era. But, it probably was the best the Rangers could do without a first-round pick. And, at least they didn’t miss out on any future Hall of Famers.
Purinton, at 6 feet 2 inches and 228-pounds, essentially fought his way to a roster spot and played with a snarl in 181 NHL games. He had 578 penalty minutes, many the product of pounding opponents who took liberties with his teammates, especially Mark Messier and Brian Leetch.
Savard spent just two of his 13 NHL seasons on Broadway, posting 51 points in 98 games. However, he was traded in June 1999 to Calgary for Jan Hlavac and the Flames’ first-round choice in the Entry Draft the following month.
The Rangers used that pick, 9th overall, on center Jamie Lundmark (more on him later). Savard wound up playing over 800 NHL games and producing more than 700 points.
Hlavac became a part of the Rangers’ “Czechmates” line with Radek Dvorak and Petr Nedved. In 2000-01, the trio combined for 91 goals and 209 points. Dvorak and Hlavac had single-season career bests in goals (31 and 28 respectively) and points (67 and 64), while Nedved led the Rangers that season with 32 goals.
The Rangers’ biggest gaffe was taking center Christian Dube at 39th overall. But other than forward Jochen Hecht (458 NHL points) and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff (Vezina winner in 2006), the Blueshirts didn’t miss much else.