2013 – Original Selection #65: Adam Tambellini
According to a 2018 article in The Hockey News, third-round selections make up for 8.4% of the league’s skater. Adam Tambellini has not been and is not currently a part of that percentage.
Adam Tambellini was initially expected to be selected much higher. Prior to the 2013 draft, Tambellini finished 42nd in draft rankings. He had solid bloodlines, the son of Steve Tambellini, a veteran of 10 NHL seasons and GM of the Oilers. Tambellini signed an entry-level contract, played three solid seasons for the Hartford Wolf Pack and then the Rangers opted to not resign him. He was signed by the Ottawa Senators and played for their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators in 2018-19.
Now age 25, Adam Tambellini played 2019-20 in Sweden for MODO Hockey Ornskoldsvik. He finished third on the team in points and first on the team in PPG.
Being that this was in the third-round and Tambellini was expected to go much higher, there’s no real resentment towards this selection. Especially since the Rangers all in all had a successful draft.
New Selection: Jake Guentzel
Originally selected with the 77th pick, Jake Guentzel has developed into a legitimate All-Star. Jake Guentzel was voted to his first All-Star game this season, however, immediately after scoring his 200th career point, he crashed into the boards shoulder first and was sidelined for four to six months.
It helps when you play on a line with Sidney Crosby, but Guentzel, still only 25 years old, registered 40 goals in just his third season in the NHL. The only other player from the 2013 draft to score more than 40 goals in a season is Nathan MacKinnon.
In 243 games Jake Guentzel has scored 200 points.
Additional Selection(s) #75: Pavel Buchnevich, #80: Anthony Duclair
Going back to that 8.4% – two of the three Rangers’ third-round selections play in the NHL today. Not only are Pavel Buchnevich and Anthony Duclair playing, but thriving. Buchnevich is a fixture in the lineup and plays top-six minutes for the Blueshirts today. Duclair bounced around from Arizona (part of the Keith Yandle trade) to Chicago to Columbus (where John Tortorella ripped his game apart) to where he now plays stick-and-puck in Ottawa. The Senators have offered Anthony Duclair an opportunity to flourish and so far he has done just that.
Draft Note(s):
The New York Rangers traded their first-round pick away as part of the Rick Nash trade. They sent Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and the Rangers’ 2013 first-round pick to Columbus for Nash, Steven Delisle and a conditional third-round pick (Pavel Buchnevich). The mentality – Win now.
2013 began a four-year stretch where the New York Rangers went without a first-round pick.
Other notable players available:
#66 Brett Pesce, #79 Mattias Janmark-Nylen, #89 Oliver Bjorkstrand, #104 Andrew Copp #123 Will Butcher
Up Next
2009 to 2013 was far more successful in terms of the talent drafted. However, of the four first-round picks on this list, only Chris Kreider is still on the roster today. Dylan McIlrath plays part-time for an atrocious Detroit team. Brady Skjei was traded away this past deadline and J.T. Miller is setting up a strong foundation in Vancouver. Of the first round draft picks we have profiled in the first two parts of our series, the only picks still on the roster are Chris Kreider and Marc Staal…
John Tortorella was (still is) a vocal coach. He was able to surpass Tom Renney in the postseason by reaching the Conference Finals, but was unable to maintain leadership over his players. It became evident that the players began to tune out their boisterous coach and in 2013 John Tortorella was fired for the soft spoken, gum-chewing, Alain Vigneault.
In our next installment we’ll look at the drafts (and the picks the Rangers could have had) in the years that the Rangers were closest to returning to glory and the fall from grace that followed.
Brady Skjei instead of Colton Parayko? We are sure you have your own favorite choices so feel free to let us know in our comments section below.