On June 22 in NYR history: A draft that could remake the Rangers
By Steve Paulus
What happened on June 22 in the history of the New York Rangers
On this date in 2018 the New York Rangers had three first round draft picks for the first and only time in their history. While the picks have yet to fully live up to their promise, there are signs that this was a draft that could change the destiny of the team.
The first Rangers’ pick was ninth overall and with it, they chose Vitali Kravtsov, a young winger from Russia. The pick raised some eyebrows as the Rangers went with a highly regarded Russian player instead of some Canadian prospects like forward Oliver Wahlstrom and defensemen Noah Dobson and Evan Bouchard.
The second first round pick for the Rangers was 22nd overall and the team traded up to get there., sending a first and second round pick to Ottawa to move up four spots. They sent the 26th overall pick acquired from Boston in the Rick Nash deal along with the 48th pick in the second round acquired from New Jersey in the Michael Grabner trade in exchange for the 22nd pick from Ottawa so that they could draft defenseman K’Andre Miller. Miller had excelled with the U.S. National U18 team and was committed to attend the University of Wisconsin.
The Rangers’ final first round pick was 28th overall, acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the deal that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T Miller to Florida. With that pick, they selected defenseman Nils Lundkvist, the 14th ranked European skater by Central Scouting. He was the 10th European taken in the draft.
Three full seasons have elapsed since that draft and we are starting to see results. K’Andre Miller surprisingly made the varsity and had an excellent rookie season on the second defense pairing. Vitali Kravtsov played a full season in the KHL and made his NHL debut late in the season, showing some of the potential he had shown in Russia. Nils Lundkvist had an outstanding season in Sweden, named the best Swedish defenseman in the SHL. After his playoffs and the World Championships, he signed his Entry Level Contract and is expected to vie for a job with the Rangers in the fall.
The three picks for the Rangers was not the most for one team in one year. In 1974, the Montreal Canadiens had five picks in the first round, while Boston (1970), Colorado (1998) and the Islanders (1999) had four first round picks in one year.
Another draft first
In 2003 on this date the Rangers drafted defenseman Philippe Furrer, the first player they have selected from Switzerland. He was picked in the 6th round, 179th overall and he never made the trip across the Atlantic, playing his entire career in Switzerland.
43 players from Switzerland have played in the NHL including two for the Rangers. Defenseman Mark Hardy was born there because his Canadian father was playing for a Swiss team. Raphael Diaz was a defenseman born and raised in Switzerland and he played for the Rangers in 2014 in their run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Some of the most well known Swiss players include Nico Hischier, Roman Josi, Timo Meier and Nino Niederreiter.
Today’s birthdays
20 NHL players have been born on June 22 with two former Rangers among them.
Darroll Powe was born on this date in 1985 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was a center who traded to New York in February 2013 from Minnesota for Mike Rupp. Powe was more known for his defensive play and penalty killing and he was scoreless in 35 games over two seasons for the Rangers. He spent the 2013-14 season in Hartford coming up to New York for only one game. He retired after one more season in the AHL at the age of 28.
Dean Turner was a defenseman, born on this date in 1958 in Dearborn, Michigan. Drafted by the Rangers in the third round of the 1978 Amateur Draft, he made it to the Rangers for one game in 1978-79, spending the season in Hartford where he totaled 275 minutes in penalties. He was included in the big trade to Colorado for Barry Beck in 1979 and he played 31 games for the Rockies. He retired after the 1982-83 season mostly spent in the AHL with three games for the Los Angeles Kings.