Yes, it’s true, the Rangers did call up 21-year-old winger Ryan Callahan from the AHL Wolf Pack yesterday, but don’t be alarmed – there are no plans to do something crazy like actually putting the kid in the lineup.
“With Hartford having the week off, we wanted to take the opportunity to take a good look at Ryan and get a feel for what he’s all about,” coach Tom Renney said before last night’s match at the Garden against the Thrashers.
“He’s not here for the purpose of playing at this point in time.” Callahan, the Rangers’ fourth-round pick and 127th selection overall in the 2004 entry draft, has recorded 15 goals and six assists for 21 points in 19 games with the Wolf Pack in his first pro season after completing his junior career at Guelph.
He leads the Wolf Pack in goals, points, powerplay goals (nine) and is tied for the club lead in plus-minus (plus-3).
“He has tremendous hockey sense and great competitive spirit,” Renney, who scouted Callahan during his draft year, said. “He’s a responsible two-way guy. We have to determine whether he can play at this pace and whether his skating is good enough for the NHL.” Callahan was an early cut in training camp coming off a 52-goal season for the OHL Storm. But that was only a speed-bump in the ice for the 5-foot-11, 185-pound winger.
“Ryan plays a lot like Petr Prucha,” VP Don Maloney said. “By that I mean, he goes to the net, he plays in traffic and gets most of his goals that way.
Callahan joined etchedinstone scratches Darius Kasparaitis and Thomas Pock in the stands last night as Renney dressed the same lineup for the 13th time in the last 14 games. The Nov. 19 game against Tampa Bay in which Pock replaced Colton Orr as a seldom-used fourth-line winger is the only exception this month.
Orr does not have a point and is minus-1 in 16 cameo appearances in which he’s gotten as much as 5:00 of ice three times.
He played 2:07 on Sunday against the Sabres, all in the first period.
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Rangers were shorthanded 10 times on Sunday, 16 times over their last two games and 36 times over their previous five games as opposed to earning 25 power-play opportunities the last five matches.
“It could be a real crack in the foundation if we’re not careful,” Renney said.
He also decried penalties taken while playing short-handed, such as the ones Matt Cullen took in both games over the weekend.
“When that happens, it’s time for some video and time for some man-to-man conversation,” said the coach, who did almost all the talking when he and Cullen met on the ice for a chat at the morning skate.
