New York Rangers bound for training camp battles
Jason Arbeitman, our NHLHS New York Rangers Correspondent, breaks down the battles going into this year’s training camp.
With training camp just around the corner (September 12th to be precise) everyone is ready to go and begin battling for spots on the big club for the upcoming season.
First, we will take a look at the players that have spots locked up.
Up front we have Marian Gaborik, Alex Frolov, Vinny Prospal, Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Sean Avery, Derek Boogaard, Brandon Prust, and Artem Anisimov all guaranteed spots.
Erik Christensen is also very likely to be the team’s number one center out of camp but if he were to struggle mightily in the preseason, I don’t think head coach John Tortorella would have a problem cutting him and sending him to Hartford. Players who are going to be looking to win a spot on the team include center Brian Boyle, who centered the 4th line last year and winger Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, who is a small, speedy winger who is a top 6 player who can play either side. Hartford veterans Brodie Dupont, Dale Weiss and Dane Byers also hold an outside shot at making the team despite much more experienced players holding their own.
Also battling for spots will be college stand-out Derek Stepan, who will most likely spend the entire season in Hartford as he adjusts to professional hockey which is much faster and physical than college hockey. Evgeny Grachev could also have a chance to make the team out of camp, but he has to impress the coaching staff a lot more than he did in camp last year. He probably will need more time in Hartford as he struggled mightily in the AHL and most likely needs more seasoning before he is ready for a full-time spot in the NHL.
On defense, unsigned RFA Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michal Rozsival and Michael Del Zotto are locks for the team. However, after the top four there are three spots available with recently acquired Steve Eminger, sophomore Matt Gilroy, college stand-out Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, Michael Sauer, and Jyri Niemi making their case for a spot.
There is also the large elephant in the room that goes by the name of Wade Redden– who will most likely be demoted to Hartford due to his hefty 6.5 million dollar cap hit. If he somehow comes into camp in great shape and outplays all of the other kids that are looking to steal his spot he may just find himself on the New York Rangers as they open the season in Buffalo.
If the team decides to allow McDonagh, Zuccarello-Aasen and Gilroy all play in Hartford to start the season and Staal signs for around 4 million then Redden’s cap hit can be fit under the cap.
This scenario is highly unlikely.
Some predictions as to what the team will look like when they hit the ice at USBC Arena to open the 2010-2011 season are below:
Forwards:
Alex Frolov-Erik Christensen-Marian Gaborik
Vinny Prospal-Artem Anisimov-Mats Zuccarello-Aasen
Brandon Dubinsky-Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Brandon Prust-Derek Boogaard
Brian Boyle
Defense:
Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto-Steve Eminger
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Matt Gilroy
Goalie:
Henrik Lundqvist
Marty Biron
Feel free to leave any comments with your own predictions for camp.
Jason Arbeitman
NHLHS New York Rangers Correspondent
Twitter: NYFan1610
E-mail: Jarbeitman@NHLHotStove.com
Where is the ranger training camp taking place this year?
Jim, Training camp will be held at the Rangers practice facility in Tarrytown, NY.
Exciting! I’ve got a great feeling about this season.
And yeah, I’m wondering about where the training camp will be taking place, too.
why isnt Ethan Werek 2nd round pick 2009 from OHL Kingston not mentioned?
ta- Probably because he plays third line wing on their Traverse City lineup, not first line center like on Kingston.
Maybe the Rangers don’t see him playing any higher than that.
Is the Ranger training camp open to the public? My kids would love to go.
Bob, camp is not open to the public, sorry.
Werek is not listed because he is not a viable option to make the team this year out of camp.
When are the rangers going to learn they cant win with Chris Drury Sean Avery D.Boogarrd.look at Boogaard points 4 in three years and nobody is scared of him.what a waste.come on sather give the ego a rest and play some youg guns blackhawks did it and won a cup. Drury is just milking the system 20 points for $5,000,000.00 my math is not good how much a point is that.I that more than Boogaard.Further you did not want to pay Dubinsky what your paying Boogaard.TuT Tut another playoff missed and your goaltender will want out because he wants a chance to win the cup