It is a Great Day for Hockey

There was a sign on the ice at the Camp Randall Classic that said "It is a Great Day for Hockey" and overall it turns out for New York Ranger prospects a very true statement. While 55,031 braved a 26 degree temperature to see Wisconsin and Michigan play an outdoor game.

But for us it was win-win there was an even better day as Ryan Bourque made one heck of a return from his 2nd concussion with his best game of the season.

First Star Ryan Bourque

The Ranger's 2009 3rd round pick returned to the Quebec Rempart lineup after missing 3 games to his second concussion of the season. Bourque had a 4 point night including his first QMJHL hat trick as Quebec whipped the Gatineau Olympiques 9-5.

The Game's First Star; Bourque got his night going when he scored his 14th goal of the season at 9:35 of the first period which gave the Remparts a 2-1 lead. Bourque had a scoreless 2nd period which set up was the first real time that we got to see Bourque take over a game.

The Olympiques had cut the Rempart lead to 5-4 when Bourque scored his 15th goal for Quebec's 6th goal of the game at 6:33. That goal proved to be the game winner but Bourque was just warming up.

At 10:16, Bourque got the hats flying when he earned the hat trick on a unassisted goal to make the score 7-4 on his 16th goal of the season. Bourque was not done as he nailed the game shut when he set up Jonathan Audy-Marchessault at an 8-4 lead and the dagger was inserted in Gatieneau's hopes for the evening.

While we are very happy to see Bourque back in the lineup with such a big game; we remain concerned about his health. Still Bourque jumps up to 16-23-39 in 38 games which is still nice numbers to have.

Second Stars Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin

We just know you have heard this before; his team is trailing in the 3rd period and Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) makes the plays to turn things around for his team to win. Thanks to Stepan's 2 assists, Stepan's 3rd ranked Wisconsin Badgers rallied to defeat Carl Hagelin's Michigan Wolverines 3-2 in the Camp Randall Classic.

As we mentioned earlier this was an outdoor game played in front of a very loud 55,031 Wisconsin crowd. Stepan and his now all too typical 3rd period heroics was able to turn this event into a very happy one for the Badgers and their fans.

Trailing 2-1 after Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) had set up Kevin Lynch to break a 1-1 tie, Stepan went to work as he teamed with Michael Davies to set up Brendan Smith to tie the game at 2-2 at 14:28. Then with time winding down in regulation, Stepan teamed with Justin Schultz to set up Brendan Smith's 2nd goal of the game and game winner at 18:38.

It was a typical performance for Stepan but Hagelin also played his typical game. Hagelin who leads Michigan in scoring has been becoming more and more of an on ice leader for the Wolverines.

Hagelin is 13-19-32 as he set new highs in both assists (19) and points (32) but he did both in 11 fewer games so we expect him to finish closer to the 40 point mark. It was also interesting to watch Hagelin and Stepan go at it because the offensive force (Stepan) and the defensive checker (Hagelin) canceled each other out for most of the game.

Rest of the Ranger Prospects

Poor Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) as the only part of the Gomez trade still viewed as Ranger's property; people are not seeing numbers from him so they do not think his playing well. Think twice as McDonagh has been a steady force on the Wisconsin blueline.

Against the Wolverines, McDonagh was hitting anyone who came in his vision and was doing a good job in preventing the Wolverine power play from getting anything going.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) had his best weekend of the season as he had another assist on Saturday for a 3 point weekend as his Western Michigan Broncos defeated Notre Dame 4-1 and a sweep of their weekend series. For Campbell it was his 12th assist of the season and 18th point.

Guess we jinxed Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) but pointing out how great a record he has when facing 30 or more shots. Against the Plymouth Whalers, Stajcer faced 35 shots but only stopped 30 of them as his Owen Sound Attack lost 5-1 and lost ground on the Erie Otters who won tonight.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades are battling the Brandon Wheat Kings for the top seed in the WHL Eastern Conference as the Wheat Kings already are heading to the Memorial Cup as the host team but Saskatoon needs to be better or the other WHL representative will be the winner of the WHL's Western Conference.

Klassen was a -1 but his Blades came from behind to win 4-3 in overtime to pass the Wheat Kings for the top seed in the East. The Blades and Wheat Kings both have 78 points but the Blades lead due to having playing 3 fewer games.

In the other half of the WHL's Eastern Conference, Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers faced off with the Calgary Hitmen on the 2nd half of a home and home series. The Tigers, Hitmen and Kootenay Ice entered the night all separated by 1 point for the 2nd seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference.

The Hitmen shut out the Tigers 2-0 to open up a 2 point lead over the Tigers who fell to the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Tigers also have the disadvantage of playing 3 more games than either Kootenay or Calgary.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) and his Sudbury Wolves continued to struggle as they lost to the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 8-3 to fall to 8th in the OHL Western Conference. Maggio did not score but took 3 penalties of which 2 led to power play goals for the Majors.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) and his Chilliwack Bruins have struggling in the 2nd half of the season as they have been falling in the standings. The Bruins have fallen from 6th to now 8th place in the WHL's Western Conference as they were shut out at home by the now red hot Kelowna Rockets 2-0.

As far as we are concerned when the 2010 NHL draft comes along and the Rangers have a chance to select any of the young Portland Winterhawks that they do so. What the Winterhawks have done this season with such a young team is awesome.

Last season the Winterhawks were 19-48-3-2 43 points and last in the WHL Western Conference but this year is a different story. After defeating the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 for the 2nd night in a row, the Winterhawks are now 34-20-2-1 71 points in just 57 games.

The Winterhawks in our book have 7-9 players who could be drafted and there is not a single one who we would complain about if the Rangers picked.

(Bourque courtesy of Katherine Ep, Stepan courtesy of Melody Hasse)

Back To the Future

Even though the premise of this place is to provide a look into the future of the New York Rangers there are times when we jump at a chance to look at the past of hockey. For us it was well worth a trip to Portland where they were holding a tribute to the old Portland Buckaroos.

The Buckaroos were one of the best teams in the old Western Hockey League which was a professional league and not the current Canadian Junior league. Former Rangers Dale Role and Andy Hebenton wore the uniforms of the Buckaroos who despite ending in 1974 remain a big part of Portland Oregon history.

From 1960 until 1972 the Buckaroos were the winning hockey team anywhere. If you are into hockey history then I very much recommend checking out the Buckaroo website

It is also fitting because with the Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds wearing retro jerseys of the Buckaroos and Seattle Totems that we get to see some of the best young talent in junior hockey today.

The Winterhawks boast Nino Neiderreiter, Brad Ross, Troy Rutkowski, Luca Sbisa and our favorite Luke Walker. The Thunderbirds have Calvin Pickard who is expected to be one of the first goalies taken in the 2010 NHL draft.

For us the chance to meet Andy Hebenton who was the original hockey iron man and Ranger legend was too good to pass up. At 80, Hebenton may well be the oldest living Ranger so this is well worth the trip.

Tonight's First Star Scott Stajcer

Last night we said that Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) had to step himself up and carry his Owen Sound Attack out of the 8th seed in the OHL's Western Conference and up the standings as far as he could carry them. Stajcer got that started by backstopping the Attack to a 5-3 win over the Sarnia Sting.

Stajcer stopped 36 of the 39 shots he faced as the Attack improved to 24-24-4-2 on the season still in 8th in the Western Conference. Stajcer is 19-16-3-1 but when he has faced 30 or more shots he is 13-4-1-2 on the season.

In this one Stajcer was tested early facing 19 shots in the first period and 13 in the second. Stajcer held his ground and that allowed the Attack to build a 3-1 lead after 2.

Thanks to Stajcer the Attack were able to keep pace with the Erie Otters and Saginaw Spirit as the 3 teams are separated for seeds 6,7, and 8 by 1 point.

Second Star Max Campbell

It has been a very rough season for Max Campbell (2007 5th) as what should been his breakout season has been one of serious disappointment. Campbell's Western Michigan Broncos have not been a winning team during Campbell's 3 seasons and this year Campbell took steps backwards.

Campbell only has 6 goals this season down from his 16 last season which led the Broncos. So it was a shocker that the Broncos were able to upset Notre Dame on Friday evening.

Campbell had 2 assists as the Broncos upset the Fighting Irish 7-2 for just their 7th win of the season. For Campbell it was his 10th and 11th assists of the season to bring him to 17 points on the season.

For Campbell, it will take a bit for him to reach even double figures in goals this season as he will have one more season to try to earn a contract from the Rangers.

Rest of the Ranger Prospects

Chris Krieder (2009 1st) scored Boston College's 6th goal of the game for his own 6th goal of the season as the Eagles just whipped on UMass team missing Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) winning 7-1. Boston College now heads to the Beanpot Finals on Monday in sole possession of 2nd place in the Hockey East.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) was held scoreless but his Kingston Frontenacs defeated the Guelph Storm 4-2. The win opened up a 3 point lead for the Frontenacs over the Peterborough Petes in the battle for first round home ice.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) also was scoreless but his Sudbury Wolves dropped an 8-5 decision to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The loss dropped the Wolves into 8th place in the OHL's Eastern Conference.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) had an assist as his Victoriaville Tigres defeated the Drummondville Voltigeurs 5-2 in a key QMJHL matchup. The win for the Tigres gave them a 2 point lead over Drummondville and 3 points on Quebec.

It was Doyle's 29th assist on the season as the trade to the Tigres has turned his season around. Doyle now has 14 points in 16 games with the Tigre.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) was a +1 as his Saskatoon Blades needed 6 rounds of the shoot out before escaping from the Regina Pats with a 5-4 win. The Blades are going to need to start playing better if they do not want to find themselves losing home ice advantage in the first round.

The Erie Otters pulled off one heck of an upset as despite missing Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) and a couple of others they defeated the Windsor Spitfires 5-3. Gaulton is expected to be out for another 10 days with an elbow injury.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) was scoreless for the 2nd game in a row after removing his birdcage but his Portland Winterhawks defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 for the 9th time this season. We got to talk to Walker after the game and he told us he has to enter the draft again but he appreciates the support Ranger fans have given.

We hope the Rangers put aside a draft pick for Walker as he is the perfect team player who always gives 100%. One of the best things about watching the Winterhawks is counting how many of their players will find themselves drafted at the 2010 Draft.

We think that as many as 7-9 could find themselves getting their named called in LA at the draft. The best of the best is Nino Neiderreiter who some people think is a mid-teen pick but not us as the more we see him the more we see a special player.

Neiderreiter has 30 goals but we see a full package player who not only has all the tools but he also has a charisma about him that fans will just go crazy over.

--------------------------------------------------------------

We at Prospect Park wish to express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Brian Burke and his family over the passing of their son Brendan due to injuries suffered in a car accident. Brendan was the student manager of the Miami of Ohio hockey team but he was more know for his coming out as a gay man.

That took more guts than we could be possibly imagine given who his father is and the impact of being a gay person in a very macho sport. The Hockey world lost someone who was challenging the system and maybe we lost too.

(Buckaroo image courtesy of the Portland Buckaroos, Stajcer courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images, Campbell courtesy of Western Michigan)

Scoreboard Watching Can Be So Entertaining

Last weekend was Hockey Weekend Across America but for us at Prospect Park, this weekend is going to be our own version only starring Ranger prospects and a chance to meet a Ranger great.

Thursday night got us off to a nice start as Ethan Werek (2009 5th) fresh off his All-Star appearance had an assist as his Kingston Frontenacs won a key matchup over the Petersborough Petes 5-4.

With the win the Frontenacs passed the Petes for the 4th seed in the OHL's Eastern Conference and holding a game in hand. Not bad for a team that finished 10th last season in the same conference but Werek's Frontenacs have a bigger target in mind the Ottawa 67's who have a 7 point lead for the East Division and the 2nd seed.

Werek had a secondary assist on the Frontenac's 2nd goal of the game; the assist was his 29th of the season and his 53th point of the season.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers on the other hand suffered a bad loss to the Calgary Hitmen 4-1 in the race for the top seed in both the WHL's Eastern Conference and Central Division. Kundratek had a quiet night which was more than can be said for his teammates.

The Tigers, Hitmen, and Kootenay Ice are all tied with 72 points but the Tigers have fewer wins than the other 2 teams and have played more games which puts them at a major disadvantage. The fun is going to be watching the standings every night as the Tigers went from 2nd to 5th just because of this loss.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) and his Victoriaville Tigres took on the Ryan Bourque-less Quebec Remparts in yet another key matchup this time in the QMJHL. Doyle had a secondary assist on his team's first goal as the Tigres held off the Remparts for a 3-2 win.

While Doyle scored his 13th point since joining the Tigres; Bourque missed his 3rd straight game with a concussion. In the confusing world of the QMJHL; on paper the Tigres lead Drummondville but have played 3 games more.

Overall the Tigres are 3rd in the QMJHL and the Remparts are 5th after the outcome of this game but like in the other leagues these standings are going to change with every game.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) got a great seat to watch why he has to lead his Owen Sound Attack as far away from the OHL's 8th seed in the Western Conference. Finish 8th and they get to face the defending Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires who blasted the Attack 8-2 on Thursday night.

Stajcer watched from the bench as the Spitfires fired 50 shots at his back up Jordan Binnington while holding the Attack to just 18 shots for the entire game. It was ugly and if it does not spur Stajcer to play better then one wonders what will.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) and his Michigan Wolverines struggled to beat a 4-19-4 Bowling Green 2-1 to keep their NCAA hopes alive. Hagelin had his 18th assist on the season on the Wolverines first goal as it was very clear that they were looking past Bowling Green.

Getting ready for a Great Weekend

This weekend is going to be full of great games to watch involving Ranger prospects as playoff seedings as well as traditional rivals battle it out. As we said about Hagelin's Wolverines looking past Bowling Green as they go from facing a very bad team to facing the Ranger's Badger Brothers (Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh) at the Camp Randall Hockey Classic on Saturday.

Michigan taking on 3rd ranked Wisconsin in an outdoor game at Wisconsin's Football Stadium as part of the US Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Game is expected to be a very good match up for the 123rd meeting of the traditional powers. This game will be televised on the Big Ten Network starting at 6 PM EDT and before the Ranger's game take a peek.

Friday night Chris Kreider leads his Boston College Eagles against Danny Hobbs and the UMass Minutemen in the battle for 2nd place in the Hockey East Conference. Both teams are tied with 22 points and the winner of this matchup is going to have an edge in seeding when it comes to league playoffs.

For us Friday night also means a chance to meet a Ranger Great as we are going to meet Andy Hebenton who was ranked as the 53rd Ranger Great by the authors of the book "100 Ranger Greats". If you have not read the book then check out a great look at the history of the New York Rangers.

Adam Raider, Russ Cohen and the late John Halligan worked hard to put together this book for Ranger fans (if you want a chance to get an autographed copy then head to Gerry Crosby's on Saturday night on 31st from 4:30 to 6). However for us a chance to see the history of hockey is too good to pass up.

For us a chance to see the Portland Winterhawks honoring the legendary Portland Buckaroos is too good to pass up. At age 80, Mr. Hebenton may be the oldest living Ranger player and nothing would mean more for us to honor the memory of John Halligan than to interview Andy for the Blueshirt Bulletin.

And of course we will have all the action for you right here.

(Werek courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

And A Football Game Broke Out

Since the season started we have been saying that Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) was the best pick that the Rangers made in the 2009 NHL Draft. Nothing against anyone else who the Ranger's picked but Werek is a cut above the rest.

How the Rangers were able to grab him in the second round at 47 is a nice miracle as this was a player who could have been a first round pick. His performance at the 2010 OHL All-Star Classic very much showed that his skill set and his hockey IQ is just as good as those player who will be going at the very top of the 2010 NHL Draft.

On Tuesday night Werek went one on one against Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires in a Individual Puck Handling contest and beat the prospect who is expected to go number 1 in that 2010 draft. We said that Werek deserved a shot at making Team Canda's WJC team and part of the reason was because this 6'2 200 lb center can play a skilled game.

On Wednesday evening, Werek had a goal to go along with 2 assists as the future Ranger helped the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeat the Western Conference team 17-10. Yes the score is correct it was 17-10 as the East exploded for 9 3rd period goals to break open this game.

Werek's unassisted goal at 8:04 of the 3rd period proved to be the game winning goal which made his evening that much better since the OHL All-Star game was played in Kingston which is also where Werek plays for the Frontenacs.

Werek had himself a very nice night as he had secondary assists on 2 Alex Hutching goals to give himself a lifetime 3-2-5 mark in 2 OHL All-Star Games.

Werek was also a +5 for the game which we hope helps springboard him to a strong finish when the OHL regular season gets back underway on Thursday evening.

Werek and his Frontenacs will be on the road in a very key matchup as they take on the Peterborough Petes in a battle for the 4th seed in the OHL's Eastern Conference.

The Frontenacs trail the Petes by one point in the standings but hold a game in hand but a win would be a huge difference maker for a team that last season finished dead last in the Eastern Conference. The Frontenacs have missed the playoffs for the last 2 straight seasons and Ethan Werek is a huge reason why that streak will be ending.

Oh and the reason we used 3 pictures of Werek is because we are big fans of Aaron Bell who takes many of the images you see here about Ranger prospects. Aaron is one of the very best photographers in all of hockey and these 3 pictures were too hard for us to just pick one.

Sam Klassen ( 2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades are picking the wrong time of the year to fall into a bit of a slump. Klassen had a very quiet evening as his Blades dropped a 7-4 decision to the Prince Albert Raiders.

The Blades are now 5-3-2 in their last 10 games after being the leader for most of the season. The loss kept the Blades in 3rd place in the WHL's Eastern Conference 1 point behind the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Wheat Kings already have secured a spot in the 2010 Memorial Cup by being the host of the event but they could hurt the chances of the Blades making it if they can win the conference as then the WHL spot would go to the Western Conference Champions. The Blades we hope shake this slump in a hurry.

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) missed his 2nd straight game as there has been no word as to when he might return to the Quebec Rempart's lineup. Bourque suffered his 2nd concussion of the season last Friday night was not dressed for the Rempart's game against the Montreal Juniors.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) was able to take the face cage off for the first time since getting injured on December 8th in Everett. He has only himself to blame for why his 12 game scoring streak ended on Wednesday evening as he should have left the cage on until he stopped scoring.

Walker was excellent during the month of January going 6-11-17 and scoring in every game he played in for the Portland Winterhawks, Not a bad month for Walker, a gold medal and a 12 game scoring streak.

The Winterhawks lost to the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 in overtime as former Winterhawk goalie Kurtis Mucha got the last laugh winning his 2nd game against his former team since being traded.

(all pictures courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

Lessons From the Road

Since I spend most of my time covering the New York Ranger prospects then it is only when the Rangers come out west that I look at them as if I do any of the prospects. What I saw over the last 3 games should concern Ranger fans but sadly not all of the concern is about the team itself.

Whether you liked the trade for Ollie Jokinen and Brandon Prust or not; the bigger concern was how quickly Ranger fans started thinking of ways to have Glen Sather trade forIlya Kovalchuk. Not even 24 hours after the Jokinen deal was finished and now the Kovalchuk rumors are heating up.

Here is the question that I would like to ask those who are wanting Glen Sather to make a trade for Kovalchuk: Did you watch any of the games the Rangers played on this road trip?

You know the road trip that the Rangers went 1-2 on and did any of you even bother to wonder what cost the Rangers the games they lost? This constant fixation on the team needing offense is once again hiding the true hole on the Rangers.

It is the same hole that has been on the Rangers since Jeff Beukeboom was forced to retire in 1999 and that is a defensive stopper. Heck let us be honest and acknowledge that the Rangers could have a dozen of top flight scorers but if nobody can play defense then not even 12 great scorers will make a difference.

Against the Los Angeles Kings, that John Tortorella could not find even one defenseman to put on the ice for the power play cost them. To see him say because Michael Del Zotto was in the penalty box that he went with 5 forwards is an indictment of the entire blueline corp.

Last I checked Michael Rozsival, Wade Redden, Matt Gilroy, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal were all dressed and in the lineup for the Rangers. Yet none of those 5 have the confidence of their coach to be out on the ice when the King's Anze Kopitar was able to breakaway and score a shorthanded goal.

That alone should be telling people that no more adding scorers until the problems on the blueline are addressed at both ends of the ice. If none of the 5 were good enough to put out there then get rid of them even if it is an unpopular move with the fans.

If that is not the case then John Tortorella made one heck of a boneheaded choice to send out 5 forwards including one (Ollie Jokinen) who he knew so little about. Yet there was Drury and Jokinen on the point which was one very dumb idea that rightfully cost the Rangers.

Nothing is more frustrating that to see Ranger fans wanting more offense when defense has been a problem for so long. If you can not dump Redden or Rozsival on someone then waive them to Hartford.

If neither Staal or Girardi can play on the power play then think long and hard about re-signing the restricted free agents. Really what good is spending a lot of money on players who are not getting the job done?

Then there is this mindset that "If Ollie does not work out then there is 5 million to spend" that so many have. Sure let us give Glen Sather 5 million dollars to spend on the next Ales Kotalik, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury or Wade Redden.

Oh wait you forgot who was going to be spending that money? Maybe what is really needed is someone who takes away the checkbook from Sather and forces him to make do with what he has.

Maybe the best thing for the Rangers is for them to fall down to 14th in the conference and deny the Dolans that playoff money. Maybe just maybe someone is going to come along and show the Dolans that in today's NHL if you stink then rebuild you can make even more money cause your salary costs will be way lower.

Ranger fans will still attend games, they will still watch them on TV and if the Rangers can find a way to draft in the top 5 then they will get a real franchise player (unless Sather trades the pick).
Draft a Nino Neiderriter and Ranger fans will have their merchandise maker.

Heck give them any of Taylor Hall, Tyler Sequin, Cam Fowler or Neiderreiter and fans will flock to the Garden when you toss in what is coming down the pipe.

But if you still want to see Glen Sather spend money or make trades then perhaps what someone needs to do is instead of writing a book called "100 Ranger Greats" (excellent book you should get a copy) that someone writes "100 Ranger Mistakes".

Go ahead and guess how many of those 100 mistakes would be credited to the Glen Sather era? Maybe if fans saw in black and white all these mistakes that they might realize how it is time to stop this madness.

One of these days Ranger fans will realize that the only way to fix things is to stop the spending and endure the rebuild once and for all.

Enough with the just "making the playoffs" which is what you kept hearing that the Jokinen deal would do. How about Ranger fans start demanding that the goal is to win the Stanley Cup not first or second round exits.

The best way to build towards tomorrow is to stop spending today.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Roman Horak (2009 5th) was the only Ranger prospect in action on Tuesday evening and it was funny trying to watch 2 games at the same time. While the Rangers were losing to the Kings 2-1; Horak and his Bruins were just whipping the Lethbridge Hurricanes 9-2.

Watching Horak play is a nice dessert after a bad meal as Horak is a solid 2 way player who is the best face-off prospect we have ever seen. Horak in the games I have gotten to watch has won no less than 75% of his faceoffs.

Horak against the Hurricanes had his 21st assist of the season as part of a 4 goal Chilliwack outburst in the first period. Horak wound up with a +2 for the evening as he is not wearing down as many a first year European prospect will do.

Our friend Victor Fernandes of Shootout passed us the word that Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) got some good news from the doctors on Tuesday as he has no structural damage to his elbow and will only miss 2 weeks. For Gaulton it is good news as this was the same elbow that he had "Tommy John Surgery" on.

Even better news came from Kingston where Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) showed his stuff at the All-Star Skills Competition. Werek was matched up against Taylor Hall in the Individual Puck Handling Skills competition and beat him.

Werek in case you did not realize it beat the guy expected to be the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft; the same guy who was Team Canada's captain on the WJC. As soon as we can find media on it we will post it as this is one of the reasons why Werek is leading the Ranger prospects in just about everything.

(Tortorella courtesy of the Rangers)

Repeating The Same Mistakes

Maybe it is me but I always thought the idea behind a trade was to try to improve your team. When I look at all the stuff being said about the Ales Kotalik for Ollie Jokinen; it makes me wonder why anyone would feel good about giving Glen Sather another chance to spend money?

Better yet what we are seeing here is yet another move designed to squeak into the playoffs so Sather can show the Dolans what a great GM he is and how ungrateful Ranger fans are towards them. It is just an endless circle that pushes the Rangers further and further away from winning another Stanley Cup.

You want to say that Sather was able to clean up 2 of his mistakes; sorry but I will say that all he has done is just extend the original mistakes he has made since his first year as Ranger's GM. I would be here for a couple of hours if I posted all of the players that Sather has brought in and then dumped after discovering what a mistake it was to bring them in the first place.

The short version here is that Sather cleared up cap space this past off-season when he somehow suckered (or so we thought) Canadian GM Bob Gainey into taking Scott Gomez off the Ranger books. While Gomez has found new life with the Canadians, the Rangers got Higgins who was good defensively but could not out score a blind man this season.

But I digress because no sooner than Sather cleared that ugly Gomez contract away then he signed Marian Gaborik. Yes I know Gaborik has earned his money but that is not the point because while Gaborik may have 65 points; what he is not is a stay at home defenseman that the Rangers have needed since Jeff Beukeboom was forced to retired.

If Sather wanted to make a deal then he would have found a way to address the defensive corps that is a combined -23 and can not stop anyone. That is what a trade is supposed to do address a weak area on the team.

OK you want to say the Rangers needed to add scoring which might be right except if all of the scoring is put on one line then the move still makes no sense. All this trade is doing is potentially giving Sather a chance to find another bad player to sign next July 1.

The player I feel sorry for is Brandon Prust as what role is he going to fill on the Rangers? Yes he leads the NHL in fighting majors and yes he does a decent job at it but that is all he does which means he does nothing else.

We must also remember who is the Ranger coach and how little he likes to use a player like Prust. Prust most likely will have more PIMs than he will have ice time under Tortorella.

The player who loses out here is Aaron Voros who despite his limited talent deserves credit for showing up every night when he does play. He and Brashear now will get to hog all the food in the press box unless 1 or both are sent elsewhere.

In adding Ollie they are getting a player who has not done anything with his talent since his days with the Panthers. He has found a way to get big money without having to put up big production which means he fits right in with the current Rangers.

But at least Ranger fans will have a new soap opera to watch instead of "Larry and John at the Bus Stop" cause unless somehow Ollie finds a heart and some courage on his way to Los Angeles then expect him to be in Tortorella's dog house in Olympic record time.

-----------------------------------------------------------

There was one Ranger prospect in action on Monday as Chris Kreider (2009 1st) returned to the 14th ranked Boston College lineup in time for the "Beanpot Tournament". Kreider had missed Boston College's last game for unknown reasons but given the way things have gone for Ranger prospects missing one game is a blessing.

Still in watching Kreider play against Harvard, we are left wondering if perhaps Kreider might be better off playing in the QMJHL than he is at Boston College. Now nothing against Boston College as a hockey power but our focus is what would be the best way to develop Ranger prospects.

The more we watch a "green" Chris Kreider the more we believe that the best thing for his development is to play as many games as possible. 40-45 games at the college level is not the same as getting to play 68 regular season games plus playoffs in the juniors.

Ideally we would prefer that Kreider play in the OHL to develop his 2 way skills but because his rights belong to a QMJHL that is where he would have to play. In watching Kreider against Harvard we did not see him used in situations where his size and offensive skill would do the most.

Didn't the folks at Boston College see Kreider play at the World Under-20 Championships? Team USA took Kreider off the boards and put him right in the middle where Kreider was a monster on offense.

We saw Kreider on the first power play unit for Team USA but the 2nd and sometimes 3rd unit for Boston College. In 20 games with Boston College, Kreider has now 5 goals after scoring 1 against Harvard.

Kreider had 6 goals in 7 games with Team USA and no it was not simply a player on a hot streak; it was using a player to the best of his potential. The goal Kreider scored is exactly the kind of goal we believe he can score more of if used in the middle.

Kreider parked himself right in the crease and the puck deflected in off his leg. Kreider is a power player and power players need to play in the middle of the ice where they can use all of their skills. It was his 5th goal of the season as Boston College just whipped on Harvard 6-0 to advance to next Monday's Beanpot finals against Boston University.

Still we see a player who is going to hopefully develop into a natural power forward for the Rangers as he does have not just offensive skills but he has defensive skills as well.

(Sather courtesy of the Rangers, Kredier courtesy of Dennis Peace)

How Many is Too Many?

It turns out that Friday was an even worse day for Ranger prospects than we realized. It turns out that during the Quebec Rempart's game against the Halifax Mooseheads that Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) suffered his 2nd concussion of the season.

Of course we do not know how bad or how long Bourque will be out of action but in our eyes 2 concussions is enough for us to want to see him shut down for a while. We did not like how fast Bourque returned to the lineup after the first one he suffered back in November as he was out less than a week.

This time we think he needs to be out for a month to make sure that he fully recovers because 2 concussions in less than 3 months scares the heck out of us and we would rather err on the side of caution. Bourque just turned 18 on January 3rd and we want to make sure that when he is 81 that he can remember that he won a gold medal when he was 18.

Bourque is a great kid and we want him to make it because of who he is as a person but at the same time; what price is a hockey career really worth? There is a huge uproar over dirty hits but where is that same uproar over teenage kids suffering bluntly brain injuries?

From what we have seen and heard the hit was not dirty, heck on the scale of any of the hits that have gotten people upset this season this one is mild. However Bourque got hurt and we just know his size is going to get most of the blame for his injury anyway.

Bourque is listed as 5'9 166 but we have our doubts given how someone who is 5'7 can look him dead in the eye with flat shoes on. His size will take the blame as it typically does but more importantly is how long do they keep him on the sidelines for his own good?

We are not looking to trash anyone but what we want to see is the 3 Canadian Junior Leagues come up with a mandatory rule about concussions and how a player is treated. Our own experience has taught us that once you take a blow to the head then it becomes a lot easier to suffer further injuries to that area.

We also hope that the Rangers as a get well present will send Bourque one of the Mark Messier helmets with a note telling him that if he wants a Ranger contract to put it on. It will not provide 100% protection against suffering another concussion but in our eyes, it is the best helmet out there.

In any event the most important issue here is making sure Ryan Bourque is well checked out before he is even allowed to begin workouts let alone given the OK to play.

After all this is one thing that we do not want to see Bourque get a hat trick in.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Prospect Action

People wonder why we keep including Luke Walker (Traverse City) in these reports given how by rule he is not a Ranger prospect. Our answer is that because he more than deserves to be one and we hope that the Rangers make sure that when the Winterhawk season ends that he is in Hartford on an ATO.

The New York Rangers have also had some pretty good luck with former Winterhawks in their lineup like a Mark Messier and Brandon Dubinsky but Walker earns his spot because he as we wrote the other day another Matt Barnaby only with better offense.

Walker had a secondary assist as his Winterhawks defeated the Vancouver Giants on the road for the first time in 5 years 4-3. The reason why we are yapping about Walker here is that assist gave Walker a 6-11-17 record for the month of January.

Walker who accepted being a 4th liner on the gold medal USA team at the Under-20 Championships returned to the Portland lineup after the tournament and elevated his game big time. A 11 game scoring streak for Walker which is not bad but when you think back to how Walker was badly injured prior to even trying out for Team USA.

For the season Luke Walker is a very nice 21-26-47 +19 in 43 games for a now very dangerous Winterhawk team.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) had a power play assist for his 16th assist and 25th point of the season as his Sudbury Wolves defeated the Brampton Battalion 4-3 via the shoot out. Maggio ended the month of January 0-6-6.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) ended his January on a positive note as well scoring his prospect leading 24th goal and 28th assist to lead his Kingston Frontenacs to a 5-1 win over the Niagara Ice Dogs. With the win the Frontenacs were able to pull within 1 point of 4th placed Peterborough while holding a game in hand.

Werek who is the leading scorer among Ranger draft picks is 24-28-52 +11 as he finished the month 7-6-13 +3.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) was scoreless as his Victoriaville Tigre dropped their 2nd straight to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Doyle ended his month 3-9-12.

(Bourque courtesy of the Quebec Remparts, Walker courtesy of the Portland Winterhawks)