On October 6 in Rangers history: Lafrenière is the #1 pick

What happened on October 6 in the history of the New York Rangers

It was one year ago today when the moment Ranger fans had been dreaming about for years came about.  For the second time in franchise history and the first time since expansion, the Rangers had the first pick in the NHL Entry Draft and with that pick they selected Alexis Lafrenière, the consensus top pick and player with stardom in his future.

Lafrenière had been named the top player in Canadian junior hockey for two years in a row, joining Sidney Crosby as the only player to win the award twice.   He starred for  Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and was the MVP of the 2019 World Junior Championships, leading Canada to a gold medal.

The Rangers had won the right to pick first in the draft lottery held on June 26.  It was a long 14 weeks between the lottery and the draft, but picking Lafrenière was never in doubt.  The 2020 Draft was held over two days with the first round on this date. It was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nick Fotiu’s debut

On this date in 1976, native New Yorker Nick Fotiu made his debut as a New York Ranger.  He had played for the New England Whalers of the WHA for two seasons before signing with the Blueshirts, becoming the first New York City native to play for the team.

Fotiu got the start in the season opener against the Minnesota North Stars.  The Rangers won 6-5 in a game that featured some dubious officiating, according to Rangers coach John Ferguson.  As for Fotiu, he didn’t score, but did take six minutes in penalties.  He was called for charging early in the first period and took a high sticking penalty late in the second.  He made a “gesture” towards the officials and got an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Fotiu wouldn’t get his first point until an assist in his fifth game and his first NHL goal came on December 4.  Interestingly, he didn’t get into his first NHL fight for a whole month, when he took on Buffalo’s Lee Fogolin in a 6-2 loss to the Sabres at MSG.

Fotiu endeared himself to the Blueshirts faithful by throwing pucks after warmups into the cheap seats at the Garden, the same seats he would sit in when he grew up as a Ranger fan on Staten Island.

Today’s birthdays

25 NHL players have been born on October 6, but none of them have ever played for the New York Rangers in the regular season. One did play in the playoffs.

Joe Miller was a goalie, born on this date in 1989 or 1900 in Morrisburg, Ontario.  Miller was never officially a regular season New York Ranger, but he played three games for the team in the 1928 playoffs.  Here’s the story.   In the 1927-28 season, Miller was with the New York Americans and midway through a mediocre season, he was sent to Niagara Falls of the Canadian Pro League.  When their season ended he was at home in Ontario and that’s when it got interesting.

The Rangers were playing the Montreal Maroons in the Stanley Cup FInal when their goalie, Lorne Chabot, was injured in Game Two and couldn’t play.  That was the game when coach Lester Patrick was forced to play goal as the Rangers won 2-1 in overtime.  In need of a goalie, Patrick tried to sign some of the best goalies in the NHL for the rest of the series, but was rebuffed by the Maroons.  They finally allowed him to sign Miller, regarded as one of the worst goalies in the league.  All Miller did was win two of three games, allowing one goal in the last two games of the Final as the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup.  Miller went on to play three more seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates/Philadelphia Quakers, before leaving hockey in 1931.  Miller is well known for starring for two Grey Cup championship teams in the 1920s, one of only three players to have their names engraved on both the Stanley and Grey Cups.