Let the Traverse City Countdown Begin
(courtesy New York Rangers)
Saturday is not going to arrive soon enough for New York Ranger fans as for the first time since April 11th there will be Ranger’s hockey. Saturday will be the opening game for the Ranger prospect team as they take on the Columbus BlueJacket’s prospects.
Sadly the NHL once again shoots itself in the foot by not providing any coverage of this 8 team tournament thinking instead that hockey fans would rather watch such interesting programs like “NHL Charity Poker” or replays of previous playoffs. Nice going folks and the same for MSG and the other channels that cover their respective teams.
Anyway getting back to this prospect team; the key here is going to be which prospects will step up and get that big head start heading into the full team training camp. We will break this down into two parts leading off with the forwards today and the defense/goalies later this week
Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd): Will be heading to Traverse City red hot with 10 points in 4 preseason games. Needs to keep up that hot streak and show that he is a 2 way player not just a defensive forward. Bourque needs to show that he can handle traffic and go on the attack.
Evgeny Grachev (2008 3rd): A disappointment last season so the microscope is very focused on Grachev. Reports say that Grachev worked his tail off during the summer so now will be his chance to regain the momentum from his draft year. Want to see him use his size and skill set as the man-child should dominate no excuse for him not to.
Roman Horak (2009 5th): The most underrated Ranger prospect in the system, Horak is a solid 2 way center who has adapted very well to North America. Last year it was Horak’s line that led the Prospect team in scoring as Horak was in 4 games 1-2-3 +5. This year we want to see Horak step out from the shadows and show that he belongs.
Colin Martin (Tryout): Martin is a 19 yr old 6’2 210 LW who plays for the London Knights in the OHL. His supporters say he is a late bloomer with good hands and an offensive skill set. We say his skating is very suspect, his hockey IQ and reaction time is a tad slow for our liking. Still last season Luke Pither was a lot like Colin Martin and he had a monster season that he turned into a contract.
Randy McNaught (2010 7th): One word: Goon. No offensive or defensive specialties but a rep for being on the dirty side. Always goes after the other team’s best players not always their fighters. Here is a video from when he took on now fellow prospect Dylan McIlrath but if he makes it out of the AHL we will be shocked.
Brendan Shinnimin (Tryout) Here is one of those “Rudy” stories as Shinnimin is one of those feel good stories who if he was not 5’9 168 there is no doubt he would have been a draft pick instead of on tryout. Shinnimin does it all; he scores (8-17-29 in WHL Playoffs), kills penalties and despite his size will drop the gloves with anyone no matter the size. Yes we are rooting for him to make it.
Derek Stepan (2008 2nd): Stepan’s first professional camp so our advice to him is to not try to do everything all at once. Stepan has a very promising future ahead of him as he can do it all (except face offs) but we think he is going to try too hard to justify his decision to leave school early. We want to see him with Grachev and Bourque on a line as they can all help each other.
Christian Thomas (2010 2nd): Another smallish forward who has speed and skill but the question is going to be can he survive those who are bigger and equally as fast as he is? Soft hands with a quick release, Thomas can create his own offense but with Bourque and Mats Zuccarello Aasen also the same size but offering a bit more then Thomas has to work that much harder to earn a contract.
Ethan Werek (2009 2nd): The rest of the prospects get the ink and notice but Werek belongs up with Stepan, Kreider and company. In many ways Werek is a better center than Stepan because of his ability to handle face offs. Werek has all the tools to be a player and just might have the best work ethic among the prospects.
Jason Wilson (2010 5th) : The easy thing to say is when healthy he has been productive for the Owen Sound Attack. Has good size to go along with good hands but skating needs work and one does have to wonder how much his injuries have hurt his development. Could become a solid contributor but needs a couple of healthy seasons first.
Andrew Yogan (2010 4th) Has the size and skill to be a power forward but has to work on becoming consistent at both ends of the ice. Traverse City should be exactly what he needs to understand the need for consistent play as he will get undressed if he is not sharp on the ice.