The point of the rebuild was to stockpile assets, and that is exactly what the Rangers have done.
Far more than just what’s in the minors at AHL Hartford, the Blueshirts have players in the organization spread all over the world — from college hockey to juniors to the Swedish and Finnish leagues. Some are more important than others, obviously, but all have contributed to a farm system that is coloring how the front office is approaching the Feb. 24 trade deadline.
There will still be three goalies for Thursday’s practice when the big club emerges from its nine-day break that encompassed the All-Star game and the bye week. It’s going to continue being difficult for coach David Quinn to juggle playing (and practice) time for Henrik Lundqvist, Alex Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin, who went back to play two games for the Wolf Pack during the break and continued his excellence — three goals allowed on 62 shots while collecting two wins — before being recalled Wednesday.
But the Rangers also have Adam Huska, the UConn product and seventh-round pick — and you know how goalies from the seventh round have worked out for this club, right? Tyler Wall is also in the system, a sixth-rounder who is currently one of the best goalies in college at UMass-Lowell.
Is having five highly touted goalies a bad thing? No, not at all.
There is also a ton of depth on defense, which makes it palatable to think of the possibility of trading Tony DeAngelo, a pending restricted free agent who is lining up a huge payday with all the points he is accumulating (12 goals and 25 assists through 48 games, good for seventh among NHL defensemen). The club has already seen the NHL potential in Libor Hajek, who is trying to regain his form with the Wolf Pack following a knee injury that derailed his season on Dec. 5.
Yet almost every week there is another report of how well Nils Lundkvist is doing in the Swedish league, now with 22 points in 30 games as a 19-year-old. The first-round pick (No. 28 overall in 2018) could very well contend for a roster spot on the right side if he decides to come over next season. Matthew Robertson, the 2019 second-round pick (No. 49 overall) had himself a nice first training camp this fall, but suffered a knee injury before heading back to his junior team in Edmonton of the WHL — where he is excelling yet again.
Tarmo Reunanen also had a nice camp, but went back to his native Finland where the fourth-round pick is playing well for Lukko in that country’s top league. Yegor Rykov, a big piece of the trade that sent Michael Grabner to the Devils in 2018, is assimilating to North America with AHL Hartford and could very well be with the Rangers by the end of this season.
And arguably the most exciting defensive prospect is K’Andre Miller, who maybe didn’t have the best World Juniors tournament for Team USA — that turnover to Alexis Lafreniere against Canada is still haunting — but is one of the best players in college hockey at Wisconsin. The 2018 first-rounder (No. 22 overall) might have vied for a roster spot this season if he didn’t choose to go back to school for his sophomore year. The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder could very well be on the opening-night roster in October.
Up-front, Morgan Barron is making a name for himself with his terrific Cornell team, as the 6-foot-3, 210-pound center could be a second coming of Brian Boyle. Then there is the terrifically talented Vitali Kravtsov trying to clear up his reputation after his departure to Russia and his subsequent return. And who knows what will become of Lias Andersson, as the No. 7-overall pick now is officially on loan to HC71 in Sweden.
Where do all these players fit in the Rangers’ future? They don’t. But gathering an abundance of talent always was the goal of this rebuild, and sometime soon, the Rangers will try to turn it into a winning team.
For more on the Rangers, listen to the latest episode of the “Up In The Blue Seats” podcast:
