NYR TODAY TUES 6/7: Prospects Review, Alumni Birthdays, TDINYRH

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW:
Brad Morrison, Center: Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Ht: 6' 0"  Wt: 170 Shoots: Left Born: 1/4/1997

Drafted by NY Rangers Round 4, #113 Overall 2015 NHL Entry Draft
Rated by Hockey's Future as the Rangers number 6 overall prospect in the system Morrison finished his 4 season of junior hockey with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. In 72 regular season games he tallied 28 goals and 34 assists with a minus 7 rating and 35 penalty minutes. Morrison is still a bit on the small side, but there is something very special about his creativity with the puck. He has natural offensive gifts—excellent vision, hockey smarts, and great hands–and is willing to play in traffic, where he often loses the battles, but tries to find other ways to make things happen. He is yet to sign an entry level contract with the Rangers and may need another full year in Juniors before he's ready to move to the Pros.

NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/7 
    Giles Marotte D (1973-1976) Leo Reise Jr. D (1952-1954)

Today in NYR History June 7

1994: Mike Richter denies Pavel Bure on a penalty shot in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers would win Game 4, 4-2, to take a 3-1 series lead.


VIDEO RICHTER DENIES BURE

NYR TODAY MON 6/6: Prospects Review, Alumni Birthdays, TDINYRH

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW:
Malte Stromwall Left Wing: AIK Swedish 1st Division
Ht: 5' 10"  Wt:  Shoots: Right Born: 8/24/1994

Signed by New York Rangers on April 17, 2015 as an unrestricted free agent Stromwall is rated as the Rangers number 9 prospect by Hockey's Future. Playing for AIK in the Swedish 1st Division Stromwall tallied 25 goals and 17 assists in 49 games, was a plus 2 and had 26 penalty minutes. 21-year old Strömwall was a teammate of 2015 third-round draft pick Robin Kovács at AIK. He is a fast, agile skater with an excellent shot that loves to carry the puck and strike quickly. His defensive game needs work and it remains to be seen whether or not he can consistently produce beyond a single season but he said to have core strengths to build on that are almost impossible to teach.






NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/6 
Anson Carter RW (2003-2004) Eddie Giacomin G (1965-1975) Aldo Guidolin RW (1952-1956) Niklas Sundstrom RW (1995-1999) Emerson Etem RW (2015-2016)

Today in NYR History June 6

1989: Defenseman Brian Leetch wins the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old recorded 23 goals and 71 points during the 1988-89 campaign.

NYR TODAY SUN 6/5: prospect Review, Alumni Birthdays, TDINYRH

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW:
Brandon Halverson Goaltender: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Ht: 6' 04"  Wt: 203 Shoots: Right Born: 3/20/1996

Drafted by New York Rangers, Round 2 #59 overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft
Turning Pro after his 3rd season in junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds is coming off a sub par season after recording 40 wins one year earlier Halverson recorded 20 wins, 17 losses and 4 ties with a GAA of 3.00 and Save percentage of .907. Ranked as the Rangers number 16 prospect he is a tall, puck stopper who moves well in the crease, has good reflexes and tracks the puck well through traffic. Very communicative and able to play the puck like a third defenseman. The Butterfly keeper needs some technical work but has good upside. On July 2nd of 2015 the Rangers signed the 19 year old goalie to an entry-level contract. A player who some experts feel is the heir apparent to Henrik Lundqvist is also the first Rangers’ draft pick in franchise history to earn at least 40 wins in juniors in one season. Look for him to get a solid chance at making the Hartford Wolf Pack this coming season as their starter.

NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/4 
Chris Holt G (2005-2006) Shawn McCosh C (1994-1995) Frank Peters D (1930-1931)

Today in NYR History June 5

1963: The Rangers select Al Osborne fourth overall of the 1963 NHL Entry Draft, becoming the first player taken by the Rangers in a draft.
Al Osborne never played for the Rangers or in the NHL but did play in five leagues over the course of his career (OHA,CPHL,EHL,AHL,OHASr).

NYR TODAY SAT 6/4: Rumors, Prospect Review, Alumni Birthdays, TDINYRH

NYR Rumors Roundup:

On TSN's Insider Trading today, Bob McKenzie said that the Rangers are believed to be "wide open" for business. McKenzie said that other than Henrik Lundqvist and maybe Ryan McDonagh he believes that Jeff Gorton is talking to a lot of teams about a lot of players.
Bob Mckenzie's exact words were: "I would say that the New York Rangers are wide open for business. That is to suggest that outside of Henrik Lundqvist and maybe Ryan McDonagh, who may or may not be an untouchable, I've gotta believe that Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers is talking to a lot of teams about a lot of players and saying 'hey, we want to shuffle the deck here a little bit. We are not rebuilding, maybe a little bit of a re-tool and he would like to get some younger picks and prospects' if he could' but they also have some cap concerns. Whether it's Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan, they are not giving these guys away. It's not a fire sale but I think that all of those names and just about everyone on the Rangers roster is wide open for discussion." (TSN)

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW:
Robin Kovacs Right Wing: Rogle BK [SweHL]
Ht: 6' 0"  Wt: 172 Shoots: Left Born: 11/16/1996

Drafted by New York Rangers, Round 3 #62 overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft
Ranked by Hockey's Future as the Rangers number 8 prospect in the system Kovacas split his time between AIK of Sweden 1st Division and Rogle BK of Swedish Hockey League for 2015-2016. In 48 games the right winger tallied 21 goals and 14 assists with 54 penalty minutes and was a minus 5 on the season. Kovacs is a tenacious player of adequate size who continues to fill out. He gets off to very good starts, is not afraid to test opposing defenders and push them back while creating space for not only himself, but for oncoming attackers, as well. His passing seems just fine but it is his nose for the net that is so impressive. He has little inhibition finding places to be for strong scoring opportunities, both with and without the puck. The 19-year-old has yet to sign an entry-level contract with New York and is likely to remain in Sweden for at least one more season before joining the Rangers. His size and scoring ability suggest some potential and more should be known about his long-term potential if he can secure a spot in the SHL in 2016-17.


NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/4 

Alan Kuntz LW (1941-42,1945-46) Nick Kypreos LW (1993-1996) Jeff Toms LW (2001-2002)






Today in NYR History June 4

 
1963: Rangers acquire Jacques Plante, Don Marshall and Phil Goyette from Montreal for Gump Worsley, Dave Balon, Len Ronson and Leon Rochefort.

1968: Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion becomes the 12th coach in Rangers history.

1981: Herb Brooks becomes the 19th head coach in franchise history.

NYR TODAY FRI 6/3: Prospect Review, Alumni Birthday

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW:
Ryan Gropp Left Wing: Seattle Thunderbirds [WHL]
Ht: 6' 2"  Wt: 189  Shoots: Left Born: 9/16/1996

Drafted by New York Rangers, Round 2 #41 overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft
In his 3rd year of junior hockey Gropp had his best season yet tallying 34 goals, 36 assits for 70 points and was a plus 10 with 40 penalty minutes in 66 games for Seattle in 2015-2016. In 11 playoff games he scored 6 goals and added 3 assists for 9 points. Is said to have the frame of a power forward and excellent leg drive and balance. Has good speed and scoring ability. Well disciplined and deliberate on the attack and in his own zone. shows promise as a future sniper. He gets to loose pucks and uses his balance to win along the wall. There are long spaces when he seems to do little to impact a game despite his speed size and abilities. Still needs to improve his work in the defensive zone. Gropp has been compared to Tampa Bay Lightning's Jonathan Drouin. Gropp is listed as the number 5 prospect in the NY Rangers system by Hockey's Future.

NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/3 

Barry Beck D (1979-1985); NYR Captain 2/4/1981, to 5/9/1986

NYR TODAY THURS 6/2: Prospect Review, Alumni Birthdays, TDINYRH

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW: In the System
Igor Shesterkin Goalie: SKA Saint Petersburg
Ht: 6' 1"  Wt: 187  Shoots: Left Born: 12/30/1995

Drafted by New York Rangers, Round 4 #118 overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft
Currently playing with SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Splitting the season between 3 teams, SKA St Petersburg, SKA-Kareliya Kondopoga and SKA-1946, the 2nd overall ranked New York Rangers prospect posted a 21-8 record in 34 games last season. In his 3rd year in KHL Action his best GAA a 1.19 and save percentage came in 25 games with SKA-Neva last season.  Shesterkin is said to be a "Dominic Hasek" type of goaltender who is very sound technically, extremely athletic and very calm under pressure for his age. He moves well in his crease and has a very quick glove hand. He's calm and confident in goal, and he does an excellent job at tracking the puck and has the potential to be a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL.

NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/2 
Russ Courtnall RW (1996-1997) Ott Heller D (1931-1946) Christopher Higgins LW (2009-2010)

Today in NYR History June 2

1978: The Rangers hire future Hall of Famer Fred Shero as the 17th head coach in franchise history.

NYR TODAY WED 6/1: Notes, Prospects, Alumni Birthdays, TDINYRH

RANGERS NEWS & NOTES: ICYM
@RNYRF Staff Report

New York Rangers Assistant Coach Ulf Samuelsson has signed with the Carolina Hurricanes to become the head coach of their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers. Samuelsson had been the Rangers assistant for the past 3 seasons focusing on the defense and penalty kill. He was originally thought to be a canidate for the Hurricanes head coach position before they opted to go with Bill Peters as their choice.

Head coach Alain Vigneault was recently interviewed after finishing a golf outing in his native home of Gatineau. The topics focused on the Rangers with Vigneault commenting on the following subjects:
No player on the Rangers will be untouchable this off season as they look to add "new blood" and "energy" to the team.
The Rangers have a good core and they know which players to keep and those they need to move on from as the team has hardly changed personel in the last 5 seasons. They have a good core from which to work along with young players to add to the roster and more to be brought in from outside the orginazation but with the salary cap situation trades are few and hard to make.
The Rangers have had a trend of giving up too much at the trade deadline trying to win it all the past few seasons and that is a trend they want to move away from.

Hockey's Future released their list of the Rangers Top 20 Prospects
Topping the list at number one is recently signed Pavel Buchnevich the top 20 is as follows:

1.Pavel Buchnevich
2.Igor Shesterkin
3.Brady Skjei
4.Ryan Graves
5.Ryan Gropp
6.Brad Morrison
7.Adam Tambellini
8.Robin Kovacs
9.Malte Stromwal
10.Dylan McIlrath
11. Sergei Zborovskiy
12.Nicklas Jensen
13.Boo Nieves
14.Adam Huska
15.Mackenzie Skapski
16.Brandon Halverson
17.Calle Andersson
18.Daniel Bernhardt
19.Steven Fogarty
20.Tyler Nanne

RANGERS PROSPECTS REVIEW: In the System
Cristoval "Boo" Nieves Center Hartford Wolf Pack
Ht: 6' 3" Wt: 200 Shoots: Left Born: 1/23/1994

Drafted by New York Rangers, Round 2 #59 overall 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Nieves spent the 2015-2016 season split between the University of Michigan where in 35 games he tallied 10 goals, 21 assists for 31 points was called for 18 penalty minutes and was a plus 9 in 35 games. In a short 8 games after signing his entry level contract with the Rangers on March 28, 2016 he posted 2 goals, 3 assists for 5 points and was a plus 2 with no penalty minutes. Neives is ranked in the Rangers top 20 prospects is said to be a very skilled forward with good speed and a talent for playmaking but is said to need to "bulk up" for the rigors of NHL play. He competes well at higher levels of competition and is a very creative offensive player with potential to one day be a top 6 forward in the NHL.





NYR Alumni Birthdays 6/1 
Mike Dunham G (2002-2004) Michal Grosek LW (200-2002) Leo Reise SR D (1929-1930) Ron Talakowski RW (1986-1988)

Today in NYR History June 1

2000: Glen Sather is hired as the 12th President and 10th General Manager in Rangers history.