Sunday round up: NCAA news, minor league update and alumni notes

Time to catch up with some news about the New York Rangers

It’s mid-November and that means we should be about one month from the beginning of NHL training camps.   The New York Rangers hit a snag this week when three Knicks employees at the MSG Training Center tested positive for COVID-19 and the center was closed “to allow for a thorough cleaning of the facility.”   The Rangers share the facility with the Knicks and players have been allowed to use the facility on a limited basis.

Collegiate news

On November 12, the Ivy League announced that they are cancelling their hockey seasons.  Six of the schools are in the ECAC Conference.  They are Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.

What that means for the other teams in the ECAC, but not in the Ivy League, is unclear.  Those schools include Clarkson, Colgate, Quinnipiac, RPI, St. Lawrence, and Union.  Only one New York Rangers prospect could be affected.  Defenseman Simon Kjellberg is going into his second year at RPI.  Kjellberg was a sixth round draft pick in 2018 and had five goals and six assists in 32 games for the Engineers last season.

The Ivy League announcement makes Morgan Barron’s decision to forego his senior year at Cornell a smart one.  Barron decided to sign his Entry Level Contract and turn pro when the future of the college hockey season was uncertain.

According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post Barron has been training with Chris Kreider at the Prentiss Academy in Connecticut.

Meanwhile, another NCAA conference is going to begin play with the Hockey East starting  play on November 20.  There are three Ranger prospects in that conference.  2020 Fifth round pick left wing Brett Berard is a freshman at Providence College.  2019 second round pick Zac Jones is a sophomore at U of Massachusetts.  He is one of the more highly regarded defense prospects on the team.    2018 seventh rounder forward Riley Hughes is going into his second year at Northeastern University.

Hockey East has a full scheduled posted with each team playing 20 league games starting on November 20 and with the season concluding on March 6.  Hockey East teams will also play games out of the conference, with the numbers varying by school.

The Big Ten began play this weekend.  One Rangers prospect, right winger Eric Ciccolini plays in the Big Ten for Michigan who played Arizona State.  Ciccolini was not in the lineup for their opening game, an 8-1 win.  He had undergone shoulder surgery in the spring, but was participating in all practices leading up to this weekend.

He did play in the second Wolverines game over the weekend and scored.  Michigan shut out Arizona State 3-0 and Ciccolini scored their second goal with five second left in the first period. He also had five shots on goal.

Minor League Schedules

While the NHL is still figuring out what their timeframe is for a return to play, the two top minor leagues have set their schedules.  The ECHL will be the first pro league to get under way in North America.

The ECHL announced that training camps will open on November 27 for 13 teams that will begin league play on December 11.   Those teams do not include the Maine Mariners, the Rangers ECHL farm team.   The teams that will begin in December are Allen, Florida, Greenville, Indy, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Orlando, Rapid City, South Carolina, Tulsa, Utah, Wheeling and Wichita.  Those teams will have a 72 game regular season.

The remaining teams will begin training camp on December 31. Their season will start on January 15 and they will play 62 games.  The teams include the Maine Mariners and  Adirondack, Atlanta, Brampton, Cincinnati, Fort Wayne, Idaho, Kalamazoo, Newfoundland, Reading, Toledo and Worcester.   The Norfolk Admirals have decided to not play this season.

Meanwhile, the American Hockey League (AHL) will not begin play until February 5.  That means AHL teams like the Hartford Wolf Pack will begin their training camps mid to late January.

What does that mean for the Rangers?  It all depends on what happens with the NHL season.  If it starts as currently planned on January 1, prospects who go to the Blueshirts’ camp and don’t make the varsity will have to remain at the training facility working out until the Wolf Pack camp can begin.

In that case, it’s possible that the NHL will allow teams to expand their rosters for the first month of the season since there won’t be a farm team to draw from in case of injury.

Alumni news

Micheal Haley signed a one year, two-way deal with the Ottawa Senators for $700k.  The physical forward played in 22 games last season with one goal before going down with a bilateral core muscle injury that required surgery.  In limited action he was fifth on the team with 50 penalty minutes and he had four fighting majors, second most on the team.

With Haley signed, there are still a few players from the organization in the free agent ranks. Unsigned players with NHL experience include Boo Nieves, Nick Ebert, Danny O’Regan and goalie J.F. Berube.   From Hartford wingers Ryan Gropp and Dawson Leedahl are available.

Former Rangers defenseman Ulf Samuelsson was hired by the Florida Panthers as an assistant coach.   Samuelsson played for the Rangers from 1996-1999 and was an assistant coach with the team under Alain Vigneault for three years.

A Ranger fan at the Masters

The Rangers tweeted out a fun picture.

Joe LaCava, Tiger Woods’ caddie was spotted wearing a Rangers t-shirt under his white coveralls this week.   Ranger fans are everywhere.