It’s been made public that the New York Rangers have signed goaltending prospect Talyn Boyko to his entry-level contract. Boyko was a 2021 4th-round pick of the New York Rangers, 112 overall, as the netminder has put pen to paper on a deal with the organization that drafted him a calendar year ago. This means that the Rangers now have six netminders under contract, with all six available to the organization throughout the season.
Boyko is coming off a season in the WHL where he played 46 games with the Kelowna Rockets and had a 2.79 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Boyko is not a netminder that is going to challenge for the Rangers starting job any time soon, but this looks like a netminder that has a lot of upside. Perhaps the Rangers have found another steal in the crease in a later round, as the organization seems to have a knack of doing it.
At just 19, this is still a very young and raw talent that the Rangers are hoping can be molded into the kind of prospect they want to have. There is a lot to like with the Rangers inking this young man. He’s going to need time. This is a netminder that is fresh out of the WHL. Whether or not he is great out of the gate is almost irrelevent. Netminders can be horrible at one level, and be incredible at the level above.
Goalies, and especially goaltending prospects, are completely unpredictable. Whatever happens with this player, signing the netminder is always likely to hold some upside. It is important to remember this is a signing for the future. There will be a couple of years in the system with this netminder trying to find his way as a professional. Some float, and some do not. We will see if Boyko can be a great prospect for this organization.
As for the Rangers, this is never a bad idea. Signing prospects to their entry-level deals when you have the chance is worth it for a variety of reasons. Once you have a player under contract, their rights do not expire until they are 27. So just by signing him, New York will be able to keep control of this played until they choose not to either via not qualifying or trading him, or until he is 27 or older and without a contract.