COVID-19 and the Rangers’ prospect pool

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the New York Rangers prospect pool

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown all sports into chaos and it is having an effect the future plans for a number of New York Rangers prospects.  There are many considerations, the most important being geographic with the pandemic affecting players in the United States the most.  With some hockey seasons facing long delays or even cancellation, some tough decisions may have to be made. In the case of Morgan Barron, it could be good news for the Blueshirts.

The NCAA

The immediate future of NCAA sports is up in the air. The Big Ten conference announced that they will be conference-only for all sports.  The Ivy League cancelled all sports that were supposed to be played in the fall.  There have been no announcements from other conferences like the ECAC or Hockey East.  What does it mean?

The Rangers have a number of prospects currently enrolled in colleges in the United State.  They include Zac Jones at UMass (Hockey East), Eric Ciccolini at Michigan (Big Ten), Riley Hughes at Northeastern (Hockey East) and Simon Kjellberg at RPI  (ECAC), all sophomores.  Since all four players have seen only one year of NCAA hockey, all they can do is wait and see what the future holds for them.

Morgan Barron is a completely different story.  He just completed his junior year at Cornell, the top ranked college team in the nation.  His dream to win the Frozen Four had been dashed when the season was cancelled and although the Rangers wanted him to sign his Entry Level Contract (ELC) and turn pro, he was waiting to see if he could get another chance at the national title.   There was a risk for the Rangers if he waited.  If he played his senior year he could wait until mid-August 2021 and become an Unrestricted Free Agent.  Another factor was that his younger brother Justin, a defenseman, is eligible for the next Entry Level Draft and Morgan Barron could try to sign with the same team that drafts his brother.

Although Cornell is in the ECAC Hockey Conference, the school is in the Ivy League and that means no hockey for Barron this fall. It has become extremely likely that Barron will ink his Entry Level Contract so he can vie for a job with the Rangers when the 2020-21 season starts.

The CHL

It’s a different situation for the teams in the Canadian Hockey Leagues.  With the pandemic impact in Canada much less than in the United State, the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) are all making plans to resume play.

The WHL is targeting a start date for their fall season on October 2, 2020 while the QMJHL announced an October 1 date a month ago.   While the OHL has not made any announcements, the expectation is that all three CHL leagues will play a full 68 game season with playoffs.  Of course, any resumption of play is dependent on health considerations.

The Rangers have only two players in the CHL and the expectation is that there will be no change in their status.  They include top defense prospect Matthew Robertson of the  Edmonton Oil Kings and defenseman Hunter Skinner who plays for the London Knights.

European leagues

The Rangers largest block of prospects are in Europe and that is good news for the Blueshirts.  All of the European leagues are working towards a normal schedule.  One of the team’s top prospects, Nils Lundkvist, made some headlines with his decision to play in Sweden this season, but it makes perfect sense.

All of the team’s European prospects will be able to play a full campaign and then be in a position to move to North America when their season is over.   With the delayed start to the NHL and AHL seasons, they could get into a lot of games and also burn off a year of their ELC’s.

Prospects in the SHL include Lundkvist who plays for Lulea, Lias Andersson with HV71, Adam Edstrom with Rogle, Karl Henriksson with Frolunda, Calle Sjalin with Leksands and Jakob Ragnarsson with Timra.  Goalie Olof Lindbom is supposed to be playing next season with Mora of the Allsvenskan Swedish league. Prospects in Finland in Liiga are Leevi Altonen with KalPa, Lauri Pajuniemi with TPS and Tarmo Reunanen with Lukko.

The best prospects with the highest likelihood of coming to North America when their season ends are Lundkvist, Andersson, Pajuniemi and Reunanen.  It’s likely that Andersson and Reunanen will be invited to the Rangers 2020-21 preseason training camp since they have signed their ELC’s and are on loan to their European teams.

Possible moves

While the signing of Morgan Barron is the move that makes the most sense, it is also worth watching the Rangers’ other collegiate prospects to see what they will do.   Would it benefit a top prospect like Zac Jones to leave Massachusetts to join a CHL team or even go to Europe?   Jones turns 20 in October and may even be ready to sign his ELC and play in Hartford.

Leaving college to play in juniors or turning pro may be attractive options considering that most of the Blueshirts’ NCAA prospect are facing a school year with no hockey.  Only forward Eric Ciccolini at the University of Michigan in the Big Ten knows that there will be hockey this fall.  Thosee individual decisions will likely depend on whether the other conferences follow the lead of the Ivy League or the Big Ten.

The World Junior Championships

The IIHF is still planning on holding the 2021 World Junior Championships beginning on December 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.   The selecction process for national teams has already begun with Hunter Skinner invited to the Team USA Summer Showcase later this month and Matthew Robertson  going to the Canadian version as well.

No other Rangers prospects are likely to be invited so the tournament shouldn’t affect any decision making on the part of other prospects, especially those in the NCAA.