June 5 in NYR history: A trivia quiz answer birthday

What happened on June 5 in the history of the New York Rangers

June 5 is a quiet day in New York Rangers history (until 2022 that is).    In 2002, there were reports on ESPN that the Rangers were on the verge of hiring Bryan Trottier to be their next head coach as the team had scheduled a 2pm press conference for June 6, but it was not confirmed.

The Rangers had two days off from their Final matches in 1994 and 2014.   In 1994, the Rangers were preparing for Game Four in Vancouver, holding a 2-1 lead in the series.  In 2014, the team was preparing for Game Two in Los Angeles after dropping the opener in overtime.

June 6 is notable as the birthday of a Ranger goalie who made his NHL debut in 2005-06.   No,  it isn’t Henrik Lundqvist‘s birthday, it’s the birthday of Chris Holt.

Who?  Chris Holt was born on this date in 1985 in Vancouver, British Columbia.  He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by New York, a draft that will forever be remembered as the Hugh Jessiman draft.  Let’s not even talk about that pick!

Selected three years after Lundqvist was picked in 2000, both goalies made their NHL debuts in the 2005-06 season though Lundqvist started the season in New York while Holt split his time between the AHL and the ECHL.

Holt made his NHL debut on December 3, 2005 in relief of, you guessed it, Henrik Lundqvist.  The Swede had given up five goals against the Washington Capitals so Holt played the last 10:27 of that game, making two saves. Those were the only ten minutes he played in the NHL for the Rangers as he was promoted when Kevin Weekes had suffered an ankle injury.

Holt was later signed by the Blues as a free agent and got into one game in relief in 2008.  Chris Holt will forever be the answer to the trivia question as the other rookie goalie who debuted in 2005-06 for the Rangers.

Today’s other birthdays

There were 22 NHL players born on June 5 with Holt and two other former Rangers born on that date.

Frank Peters was a defenseman born on this date in 1905 in Rouses Point, New York. He played one season for the Rangers in 1930-31, playing 43 of 44 games.  Nicknamed “Frosty,” he holds the distinction of setting a record for playing the most NHL games without registering a point.  That record was later broken by Gord Strate of the Red Wings in 1959 after 62 games without a point.  Peters was also the first man born in New York State to play for the Rangers and the second New Yorker to play in the NHL after Billy Burch.

Shawn McCosh was born on June 5, 1969 in Oshawa, Ontario.  He was a center who played in nine NHL games including five games in New York in 1995.  Signed as a free agent after he made his debut with the Kings in 1992, McCosh had a long career in the AHL.