Rangers Announce 2017 Traverse City Roster

Annual prospect tournament begins September 8
by New York Rangers @NYRangers / NYRangers.com

The New York Rangers have announced their roster for the 2017 Traverse City Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. The Blueshirts are making their 11th consecutive appearance in the eight-team tournament, which is set to begin on Friday, September 8.

New York's roster features 23 prospects (14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders), including both of the Rangers' first round selections in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil. In addition to Andersson and Chytil, the Rangers' fourth round selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Brandon Crawley, will participate in the tournament. Ten of the 23 prospects on the Rangers' roster for the tournament were selected by the team in the NHL Entry Draft. In addition, eight of the players on the Blueshirts' roster for the tournament signed with the Rangers as free agents, including defensemen Alexei Bereglazov, Vince Pedrie, and Neal Pionk. Several of the prospects on this year's roster also represented the Rangers at the 2016 Traverse City Tournament, including 2016 draft picks Sean Day, Tim Gettinger, and Ty Ronning.

The Rangers are one of four teams that comprise the Gordie Howe Division, along with the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings. The Blueshirts begin the tournament with a contest against Chicago on Friday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. New York will face Carolina on Saturday, September 9 at 3:30 p.m. and Detroit on Monday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. Following their three round-robin games, the Rangers will have a placement game against a team from the Ted Lindsay Division on Tuesday, September 12.

Over the 10 years the Rangers have previously participated in the Traverse City Tournament, they have reached the Championship Game twice and won the Tournament in 2007. Current Blueshirts such as Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, Brady Skjei, Jimmy Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich, Jesper Fast, and Marc Staal all represented the team at the tournament in recent years.

In every year since the team began participating in the Traverse City Tournament in 2006, at least one Rangers prospect who represented the team in the tournament also played in an NHL game with the Rangers during the same season.

2017 Traverse City Tournament Roster
Player    Jersey No.    Position    Height    Weight    Shoots/Catches    DOB    2016-17 Team    Birthplace    How Acquired
Andersson, Lias    50    Center    6-0    200    Left    10/13/98    HV71 (SHL)    Smogen, Sweden    Drafted (1st Round/7th overall in 2017)
Bereglazov, Alexei    41    Defenseman    6-4    205    Left    4/20/94    Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)    Magnitogorsk, Russia    Signed as a free agent on April 21, 2017
Carbonara, Adrian    65    Right Wing    6-2    204    Right    3/12/97    London Knights (OHL)    Mississauga, Ontario    Amateur Tryout (ATO)
Chytil, Filip    72    Center    6-2    192    Left    9/5/99    PSG Zlin (Czech)    Kromeriz, Czech Republic    Drafted (1st Round/21st overall in 2017)
Crawley, Brandon    73    Defenseman    6-1    205    Left    2/2/97    London Knights (OHL)    Glen Rock, New Jersey    Drafted (4th Round/123rd overall in 2017)
Day, Sean    85    Defenseman    6-2    231    Left    1/9/98    Windsor Spitfires (OHL)    Leuven, Belgium    Drafted (3rd Round/81st overall in 2016)
Fontaine, Gabriel    54    Center    6-1    191    Left    4/30/97    Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)    Sherbrooke, Quebec    Drafted (6th Round/171st overall in 2016)
Gettinger, Tim    97    Left Wing    6-6    217    Left    4/14/98    Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)    Cleveland, Ohio    Drafted (5th Round/141st overall in 2016)
Georgiev, Alexandar    90    Goaltender    6-1    180    Left    2/10/96    TPS Turku (Liiga)    Moscow, Russia    Signed as a free agent on July 19, 2017
Gropp, Ryan    78    Left Wing    6-2    190    Left    9/16/96    Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)    Kamloops, British Columbia    Drafted (2nd Round/41st overall in 2015)
Kotyk, Brenden    87    Defenseman    6-6    240    Right    8/27/91    University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA)    Regina, Saskatchewan    Signed to AHL contract with Hartford
Kovacs, Robin    96    Left Wing    6-0    186    Left    11/16/96    Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)    Stockholm, Sweden    Drafted (3rd Round/62nd overall in 2015)
Leedahl, Dawson    92    Left Wing    6-1    195    Left    3/16/96    Regina Pats (WHL)    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan    Signed as a free agent on May 8, 2017
Lettieri, Vinni    95    Center    5-11    195    Right    2/6/95    University of Minnesota (NCAA)    Excelsior, Minnesota    Signed as a free agent on March 27, 2017
Moore, Ryan    79    Right Wing    5-7    168    Left    4/9/97    Flint Firebirds (OHL)    Troy, Michigan    Professional Tryout (PTO)
Nell, Chris    80    Goaltender    6-1    190    Left    9/2/94    Bowling Green State University (NCAA)    Green Bay, Wisconsin    Signed as a free agent on March 23, 2017
Pedrie, Vince    74    Defenseman    6-0    195    Left    1/17/94    Penn State University (NCAA)    Rochester, Minnesota    Signed as a free agent on March 28, 2017
Pettit, Kyle    46    Center    6-4    200    Left    1/19/96    Erie Otters (OHL)    Komoka, Ontario    Amateur Tryout (ATO)
Pionk, Neal    44    Defenseman    6-0    190    Right    7/29/95    University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA)    Hermantown, Minnesota    Signed as a free agent on May 1, 2017
Ronning, Ty    59    Right Wing    5-9    167    Right    10/20/97    Vancouver Giants (WHL)    Burnaby, British Columbia    Drafted (7th Round/201st overall in 2016)
Smith, Luc    57    Left Wing    6-5    205    Right    1/20/98    Kamloops Blazers (WHL)    Stony Plain, Alberta    Amateur Tryout (ATO)
Stromwall, Malte    84    Right Wing    6-0    191    Right    8/24/94    Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)    Lulea, Sweden    Signed as a free agent on April 17, 2016
Zborovskiy, Sergey    64    Defenseman    6-4    200    Right    2/21/97    Regina Pats (WHL)