Rangers Golf Classic Scheduled for September 10th

Join members of the 2009-10 New York Rangers and distinguished Rangers Alumni for a once in a lifetime golf experience.

This year's outing will honor New York's own Nick Fotiu and Brian Mullen.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Westchester Country Club; Rye, NY

11:30 a.m. Shotgun Start

Your day at the 27th Annual New York Rangers Golf Classic includes:

• Continental breakfast

• 18 holes of golf with a Rangers celebrity

• Lunch, cocktail hour and dinner

• Rangers gift and Honoree programming for four group members.

Foursomes available for $6,500, and Singles available for $1,625. For more information click here.

Drury's Little League Success Began Reputation as Leader

Ross McKeon at Yahoo! Sports takes a look back at how Chris Drury's early success in life made him the leader he is today and will hopefully lead to a successful run for the US Olympic team...

"Those same leadership skills witnessed by a national viewing audience when Drury had barely turned 13 are the same that the U.S. is counting on. Burke talked specifically about those characteristics in terms of Drury, who is likely competing for his last shot at the Olympics since it’s doubtful the NHL will participate in the next Games."

Drury will be enshrined in the Little League Hall of Excellence this week.

...this is a big season for Drury with the Rangers. This is unequivocally his team and he needs to step up his game.

Greatest Messier Photo Ever!!!

Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy posts this gem of a photo with Mark Messier during his Oiler days with Gary Coleman of "Diff'rent Strokes" fame...

"It wasn't just the seeming randomness of the pairing. It's the autograph book and the writing implement that's at least half the size of Mr. Coleman. It's the hair on Messier's head, the pint in his hand and the lingering question of "where's that other hand, exactly?"

It's the random assortment of equipment, hangers and straps behind them that looks like something the detectives discover in a suspect's basement on "C.S.I." And yes, it's the fact that Messier apparently receives VIPs while wearing a washcloth."

...fully laughing out loud at work right now. Awesome stuff.

Staal Joins Brothers at Canadian Olympic Camp

Guest Blogger Day 2 @ Rangers Report

Mike G. takes his turn on Day 2 of the Ranger Reports "Guest Blogger Week" and wonders what the Rangers roster will look like on opening day...

"Glen Sather was a very busy GM this off-season and the Rangers will start the 2009-2010 season with a drastically different look than they had finishing off the 2008-2009 campaign. The revolving door to the Rangers locker room is still spinning thanks to the never ending slew of additions and subtractions we saw go down this off-season. Let’s go through a quick recap of the complete overhaul the Rangers roster went through since the regular season ended."

Mike G. includes possible line combinations and defensive pairings.

Grachev May Still Go Back to Brampton

Earlier today I posted a link to OHL Prospects that stated the Rangers had informed the Brampton Battalion that Evgeni Grachev would not be returned to them and would instead be playing in either the AHL or NHL.

However tonight the author of that post, Brock Otton, stated this in a post on HF Boards...

"Brock from OHL Prospects here. I don't have any confirmed information about Grachev at this time, and didn't mean for the blog to read as it did. What I meant to say, was that it's widely rumored in Brampton that Grachev won't be back. Rumored was meant to be in place in the article, but as a typo was left out. Sorry to get your hopes up."

...sort of an important word you left out there Brock.

...despite the misinformation, it is widely expected that Grachev will be playing in either New York or Hartford this year anyway.

...h/t to Beyond the Blueshirts.

Otton has since corrected his post at OHL Prospects.

Ranger Prospects Heeding Tortorella's Message

Jess Rubenstein at The Prospect Park reports on the early success of Ranger prospects this year which has been attributed to John Tortorella's message...

"In all the reports we have been getting on Ranger prospects the theme is the same; the prospects are showing up in great shape and wanting to work as hard as they possibly can.

Pick the name of a Ranger prospect and the theme will remain the same; their conditioning is excellent, their work ethic is strong and their focus is even better. If these kinds of reports do not get you excited for the season then odds are nothing will."

...this is an absolutley amazing report which should have every Rangers fan tickled pink about the team and organization's future.

...let's hope the Ranger players do the same.

Rangers Officially Announce Traverse City Roster & Schedule

Although it had already been announced by a Detroit Red Wings website, newyorkrangers.com, today, officially announced the Blueshirts Traverse City Tournament roster as well as the schedule...

"Fifteen of the 22 players participated in the Rangers' annual Prospect Development Camp earlier this summer. This includes 2009 draft picks Ethan Werek, Ryan Bourque, Scott Stajcer and Daniel Maggio. Roman Horak, the team's 2009 fourth-round pick out of the Czech Republic, will also go to Traverse City in preparation for his first full season in North America.

Defenseman Michael Del Zotto, the Rangers' 2008 first-round pick and forward Evgeny Grachev, who won the Ontario Hockey League's Rookie of the Year Award last season after being taken in the third round of the 2008 draft, will be returning to the tournament along with forwards Justin Soryal and Dale Weise, who both played for the Wolf Pack last season. Tysen Dowzak, a defenseman who spent most of last season in the WHL, is also back from the 2008 team."

The Traverse City tournament begins Sunday, Sept. 6, in Traverse City, Mich at the Detroit Red Wings' training facility.

Rangers In Talks With Seidenberg

According to Eishockey News, via The Goal Crease, the Rangers are in discussions with free agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes...

More specifically, the talks are currently with the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers. "My agent has spoken with both clubs over the term of the contract. I would like a three-year contract."

...i know the Rangers have two to three spots open on the backend, but why are they talking about bringing this guy in? Only 5 goals, 25 assists last year with a -9 for a pretty good Carolina team.

...unless I'm missing something about this guy, not a good way to use the little cap space the Rangers have left.

Here's what Luke Decock at the News & Observer said about Carolina not re-signing Seidenberg...

"After making that long run last spring, and bringing in much-needed reinforcements on the blue line and in the toughness department while losing only Frantisek Kaberle, Dennis Seidenberg, Patrick Eaves and Anton Babchuk, there is more excitement at this stage of the season than there has been since -- well, since August 2006."

...should the Rangers really be looking to bring in a player whose former team's beat writer is writing that things for Carolina look promising this year because they made a bunch of great moves and only lost a few scrubs including Seidenberg?

Grachev Will Be in NHL or AHL this Year

Brook Otten at OHL Prospects reports that Rangers prospect F Evgeni Grachev will not be returning to his OHL team the Brampton Battalion this season...

"Hodgson and Duchene will most certainly be in the NHL, while Grachev will be in the NHL or AHL (with the Rangers already informing Brampton he won't be returning to them)."

...wow this is exciting news. Even if he doesn't make the club out of camp there's a strong possibility we could see Grachev with the Blueshirts at some point this season.

...h/t Beyond the Blueshirts on Twitter.

Rangers Better Be Ready for Grueling Camp

Stan Fischler at MSG.com says Ranger players better be ready for what could be the most rigorous pre-season camp in NHL history...

"If you happen to range between 18 and 35 years old and seek top-flight physical conditioning, there are two excellent possibilities.

1) You can enlist in the United States Marine Corps and start Boot Camp at Parris Island.

2) Or, if you're a New York Ranger, hockey's version of Boot Camp will begin next month under Master Sergeant John Tortorella. Either way, you pay the price.

If this doesn't evolve into THE most rigorous pre-season camp in NHL history, it certainly figures to be the most physically challenging any Blueshirt sextet has known."

Fischler also offers a list of players who are expected to improve.

...i wonder if these guys are actually scared of what awaits them. I know i'd be.

Guest Blogger Week Starts at Rangers Report

"Guest Blogger Week" started today at the Rangers Report with Nasty1 writing about a chance meeting with Pierre Larouche before a game...

"We were on the second escalator on our way to ice level, when I heard a voice yell to me, “Hey kid, hey little Larouche.” At this point I was half way up the escalator, and I looked to an open door, and standing there in a suit, and on crutches, was none other than Pierre Larouche. I could not even believe it. I immediately jumped from half way up the escalator, down to the bottom and right over to him."

...great idea by Carp getting his readers involved with the blog.

Rangers Inquire About Sundin

Steve Zipay at Blue Notes says Mats Sundin is doing his best Brett Favre impersonation and the Rangers may be interested...

"The Vancouver Province reported that Sundin---the 38-year-old center who spurned the Rangers last December when they couldn't clear enough cap room and the Canucks came up with more dough---will be told by his agent J.P. Barry this week that four or five teams have inquired about a potential return, including the Canucks. A source told me that a Rangers executive (possibly Sundin's one-time agent Mike Barnett) at one point asked about his intentions as well."

...oh please no, not again with the Sundin rumors.

...i know it was just a question about Sundin's intentions, but I had hoped the days of contacting over-the-hill superstars was over.

Rangers Need to Shape Up

Andrew Gross at The Bergen Record reports on what the Ranger players should expect going into their first camp with John Tortorella as head coach...

"Training camp, which opens Sept. 12, will be hell, Tortorella has promised. At least two letters have been sent to the Rangers players warning them to report in the best possible shape.

And tip-top shape is necessary to play Tortorella’s up-tempo brand of hockey."

...the Rangers might not be the most talented team in the league this year, but they will be the most in-shape and hard working team, which sometimes is better.

Tortorella Talks US Olympic Team

Del Zotto Turning Heads

Ryan Pyette at the London Free Press has a nice piece on how Rangers defensive prospect Michael Del Zotto began turning heads after he was traded to the London Knights last season and now may have a chance to make the Canadian World Junior team...

"You know he's talented but until the trade, you didn't really know how good he was," Knights coah Dale Hunter said. "You'd only see him two times a year and it's hard to get an impression. But he came here and it wasn't just the offence.

"He hit hard. He did a great job for us and I think he can help a team (at the international level)."

...let's hope Del Zotto is too busy succeeding with the Rangers this year to worry about the Canadian World Junior team.

...with a wide open competition for the last few spots on D, Del Zotto has as good a chance as anyone to make the big club.

Callahan Wants to Continue Progressing

Jeff Z. Klein at Slap Shots was able to sit down with Ryan Callahan before he left the U.S. Olympic orientation camp...

Here's Callahan on what he expects from himself this year...

“Obviously I want to improve points-wise and continue on progressing, like I was last year at the end of the year — the last 15 or 20 games, when Torts took over, I was putting up quite good points. I’d like to continue with that in the first half of the season and try to get us in a good position in the standings.”

Callahan also talks about the US Olympic team playing a similar uptempo style as the Rangers, possibly being on a line with Marian Gaborik and John Tortorella.

...really looking for Callahan to have a break-out year in Tortorella's system. It suits him to a tee.

Who Wants to Blog for the Rangers Report?

Rick Carpiniello at the Rangers Report is asking his readers if anyone wants to guest blog while he's on vacation...

"So I’m asking the Boneheads. Are any of you interested in taking a day next week (or in subsequent weeks) to do a post? You can talk pretty much anything, as long as you keep it within an arm’s length of the Rangers.

I am not sure how I will choose if there are more than six or seven responses, so I’m up for your suggestions on that as well."

...this is a great opportunity for anyone looking to get into the journalism field to beef up their portfolio.

Rangers Traverse City Roster Announced

The roster of Rangers prospects who will hit the ice on Sunday, Sept. 6, in Traverse City, Mich for the annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament at the Detroit Red Wings' training facility has been announced at Red Wings Central...

FORWARDS
63 Daniel Bartek C — Everett (WHL)
60 Ryan Bourque C - USA U-18 (USDP)
57 Chris Chappell LW — Saginaw (OHL)
58 Paul Crowder C — Alaska (NCAA)
56 Craig Cunningham LW — Vancouver (WHL)
59 Evgeny Grachev C - Brampton (OHL)
64 Roman Horak C - Ceske Budejovice HC (Czech)
67 Luke Pither C — Guelph (OHL)
53 Justin Soryal LW — Hartford (AHL)
55 Luke Walker RW — Portland (WHL)
65 Dale Weise RW - Hartford (AHL)
61 Ethan Werek C - Kingston (OHL)

DEFENSEMEN
47 Mike Berube D — Vancouver (WHL)
43 Michael Del Zotto D - Oshawa (OHL)
48 Tysen Dowzak D — Kelowna (WHL)
51 Mitch Gaulton D - Erie (OHL)
70 Trevor Glass D — Spokane (WHL)
72 Samuel Klassen D — Saskatoon (WHL)
46 Tomas Kundratek D - Medicine Hat (WHL)
52 Daniel Maggio D - Sudbury (OHL)

GOALTENDERS
96 Chad Johnson G - Alaska (NCAA)
94 Scott Stajcer G - Owen Sound (OHL)

...no Bobby Sanguinetti or Derek Stepan? What's up with that.

...h/t Rangers Tribune.

Speaking of Sanguinetti, Steve Zipay at Blue Notes says the young blueliner has a shot at making the club out of camp and that Upper Deck rates him highly enough to be one of 14 Top NHL Prospects to be including in an Ontario photo shoot next Wednesday in Ontario, along with John Tavares.

ESPN's Burnside Chats Rangers

Over at ESPN.com, Scott Burnside held a recent web chat with hockey fans which included numerous Ranger questions on subjects such as Callahan making Team USA, Marian Gaborik's health and the Brashear signing. Here's a snippet...

Lazar N. (Brooklyn, NY)
With all the new faces during the offseason, do you think the NY Rangers will be a better team this year?

Burnside (4:06 PM)
Every time I look at the Rangers' off-season I think of Glen Sather back in the pre-cap days when he'd scrounge up a pile of over-paid, underachieving free agents and then wonder why nothing ever happened. The good thing for the Rangers is that head coach John Tortorella will have the team from the start of the season. The bad news is there are more question marks now than a year ago and I don't think the Rangers are any closer to being a Cup contender.

...nice to see lots of Ranger fans participate in this chat. Unfortunately, every answer from Burnside regarding the Blueshirts was negative. C'mon Scotty stop being such a hater.

Sather Comes Full Circle With Zherdev Moves

Ryan Classic at Classic Blog does a great job breaking down what the Rangers are left with after the numerous moves Glen Sather made to bring Nikolai Zherdev to the Blueshirts then ultimately get him out...

"In 18 months the Rangers managed to give up Tyutin, Backman, Fristche, Reitz, and Zherdev, while also trading two 4th-round and one 7th-round picks. Besides one year of Zherdev, what do they have to show? Their own 2008 4th-round pick that they had to trade two more picks to get. That's right, the Rangers gave up five players and three picks for a net total of their own draft pick. To make matters worse, Backman and Tyutin were deemed expendable because Sather thought Redden was a great signing, and the Rangers now only have four NHL defencemen under contract, and two are Redden and Michal Roszival."

...this actually made me sick to my stomach when I read it. Paging Mark Messier. Mark Messier please pick-up the courtesy phone.

...h/t Puck Central Twitter page.

Rangers on NBC Flex Schedule

Steve Lepore at Puck the Media was able to get the NBC flex schedule for the up-coming season, which includes three possible Ranger games.

Mar. 14, 12:30 PM
Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers
OR
Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay
OR
Washington vs. Chicago
OR
Colorado vs. Dallas

Mar. 21, 12:30 PM
NY Rangers vs. Boston
OR
Buffalo vs. Carolina

Apr. 11, TBD
Boston vs. Washington
OR
NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia
OR
Detroit vs. Chicago

...h/t Puck Daddy.

Rangers Looking for More Offense

In NHL.com's 20th installment of their 30 Teams in 30 Days feature they focus on the Rangers and their off-season dedicated to finding offense...

"It certainly will be an interesting mix for the Rangers in 2009-10. Of last season's top six scorers, only team captain Chris Drury, who was third with 56 points, currently is under contract. Leading scorer Nik Antropov left for Atlanta, Scott Gomez was dealt to Montreal, Markus Naslund retired and Nikolai Zherdev became an unrestricted free agent after the club lost his arbitration hearing and opted to walk away from the one-year, $3.9 million deal the player was awarded. Brandon Dubinsky is a restricted free agent, but likely will get a new contract.

To spark the up-tempo offense Tortorella favors, the Rangers spent big for free agent forward Marian Gaborik. The Slovakian right wing has been better than a point-per-game player each of the last four seasons, but he's played just 207 of a possible 328 games in that span."

...i think by adding Gaborik, Kotalik, Higgins and Prospal the Rangers have addressed their need for offense up-front. The issue now is trying to get something offensively from the backline.

In addition to the above feature, there is a story by Adam Kimelman on Tortorella changing the culture with the Rangers as well as a number of Ranger videos on the NHL.com homepage.

Anisimov a Calder Candidate

John Grigg at The Hockey News gives his Top 10 candidates to win the Calder Trophy as top rookie in the NHL this year and includes Artem Anisimov at #9...

9. Artem Anisimov, C, New York Rangers
Although little-known, expect Anisimov to have every chance at a big season on Broadway. The 21-year-old was the 54th pick of the 2006 draft and last season led New York’s American League affiliate, Hartford, in scoring with 37 goals and 81 points – good for fifth in the league. With Scott Gomez gone to Montreal, the Blueshirts need someone to fill the offensive void down the middle and Anisimov will be given every opportunity to be that player.

...hope the Rangers give Anisimov a chance to succeed. The worst thing they could do is panic if he struggles early and send him back down to Hartford or bring in another center.

...having said that, I'm with Grigg and expect a big year out of the kid.

Maybe Avery Was Better Off in Dallas

...always thought having "Ice Girls" was minor leagueish but not anymore.

Rangers to Appear on Versus Eight Times

The NHL announced it's national television schedule today which includes the Rangers on Versus eight times...

"Versus has exclusive rights in the United States to the time slot for 26 games this season, meaning there can be no other game being broadcast in the country at that time. The network will air 54 games in total.

Pittsburgh and Detroit will appear eight times on Versus, including their March 22 rematch of the last two Stanley Cup Finals. The New York Rangers, Chicago and Philadelphia will also appear eight times on the network."

For the entire Versus schedule click here.

The NHL also announced NBC will once again have its flex scheduling in place, meaning producers can wait until 13 days prior to the game to choose between at least two pre-selected games. Teams can appear on the network a maximum of four times.

...man, the Versus telecast is the worst. There have been a few rumors about ESPN being interested in televising the NHL again but unfortunately all have been shot down. So I guess we're stuck.

Boyle Looking For New Start

Mike Loftus at the Patriot Ledger has a nice piece on new Ranger Brian Boyle looking for a new start with the Blueshirts after a disappointing 2008-09 season with Los Angeles...

“I’ve got a lot to prove. This is definitely the most important year in my career to date. I want to get over the hump, be an everyday (NHL) guy. To be able to play well in New York is something a lot of people would want to do, so this is a great opportunity.”

...another player looking for a fresh start with the Rangers (see Kolalik and Prospal). Which I think is great for the players and the team. Nothing wrong with having a bunch of hungry players looking to prove people wrong.

Drury, Callahan Discuss Trying Out for US Olympic Team

Tortorella: We're Soft Mentally

Jeff Z. Klein at Slap Shot was able to sit down with John Tortorella after yesterday’s practice sessions at the U.S. Olympic team orientation camp...

On players needing to earn their time this year...

“It’s a process, it’s accountability, it’s merit,” he said, then outlined a program of eternal Darwinian struggle. “No one’s locked into any positions — people are going to earn their time, they’re always going to have to earn their time. Even if they get some, if they don’t keep on going they may get moved around a little bit. I think that makes it into more of a hard-type situation. This is a hard game. I just think we’re soft mentally, and I think we have to grow in that area.”

...i really love the level of accountability Tortorella brings to the team. Although Torts might have to work on his own accountability (See last year's playoff water bottle incident). I thought Renney did a good job of holding players accountable when he first came in but it trailed off at the end. I don't see that happening with Torts.

Tortorella also spoke about Prospal, training camp, the Messier hiring, Gaborik, and had this to say about Scott Gomez being traded...

"With us moving Scotty, I don’t think he played that well — I think Scott Gomez is honest about that too, I don’t think he thought he played that well — and we had an opportunity to get out of a contract there that was jamming us a little bit with the cap. I thought that Glen did a terrific job in taking care of that part of it. But I don’t begrudge Scotty anything as a hockey player, and he’s a good guy. Some of the onus belongs on our organization: we didn’t have a whole bunch of wingers that could help him."

...i also love his honesty. Sure Gomez didn't play well as a Ranger, but it did have a lot to do with not having a sniper on the wing. Pretty ironic that when the Rangers finally bring that sniper in (Gaborik) they move Gomez out.

Blogs: Future, Burke, Band, Yo-Yo, Drury and Rozsival

Jess Rubestein at The Prospect Park continues his look at the Rangers future by spotlighting two goaltending prospects.

The Dark Ranger wonders what the Rangers line-up could look like if Brian Burke were GM.

Scotty Hockey says John Tortorella continues to put the Tampa Band back together by getting Vinnie Prospal.

Over at Rangers Review, Inferno says the Rangers continue to play with his emotions this off-season.

Gootzman at The Corner of Section 420 and Glendale feels that its Chris Drury's team and time.

Ryan McFadden at The Manic Ranger plays GM and finds a way to trade Michal Rozsival.