Rushing To Rush To Judgement

ISean Avery there is no need for you to bother reporting to the New York Ranger's training camp but instead please just go directly to jail, do not pass go and leave us the $200 for our troubles.

Wow you want to talk about how fast people have rushed to judgement over Sean Avery's arrest. Why bother using the word "allegedly" because Avery has to be guilty because he is Sean Avery.

Granted that a lot of why Sean Avery is being pre-judged is because Sean Avery somehow finds ways to get the spotlight on himself. Still like Avery or not (and we really don't) this remains the USA and you are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

In today's world where sites like TMZ.com or people like Nancy Grace are given a platform, we are seeing a rush to judgement that is not based upon facts but who the person is and that is scary.

Once upon a time you were supposed to say that a person "allegedly" committed a crime even if you had iron clad evidence that showed a person's guilt. Why bother giving someone even the worst piece of garbage any consideration when you have a bully pulpit.

Sean Avery of course can blame a lot of what he is going through right now on Sean Avery because he has done a lot of the damage to himself. Over the years, this spot has repeatedly said that when it comes to self-promotion; few are better at it than Avery.

But none of that is supposed to matter right now as we are supposed to give Sean Avery the benefit of the doubt that he is innocent. It does not matter what Sean Avery has done in his past as under the eyes of the law then Avery is not guilty until it is proven otherwise.

And we have to agree with Larry Brooks when he writes

But being arrested for battery on a police officer, even if the charge is dismissed along the way, does not help Avery be taken seriously as a social progressive, and it does not make it any more likely he will be called upon to lobby legislators on behalf of issues about which he cares deeply and for which he has been an effective advocate.

See with a cynic like yours truly then it is hard to convince me that the causes that Avery has supported are because he believes in them or is it just another reason for Avery to get himself into the spotlight. But Brooks is right that Avery if he truly does care about helping the gay community gain the equality they seeky that getting arrested does their cause more harm than good.

In today's world there is more often than not a rush to find ways to tear a person apart and the excuse is because bad people draw higher ratings. Sean Avery has found ways to draw attention to himself as he did in the now infamous "sloppy seconds" remark that earned him a suspension as well as an exile from the Dallas Stars.

And as much as we dislike Avery for the antics he pulls at the same time it bothers us more at how fast he is being hung out to dry (and we are not talking just Ranger fans either). So far the reporting we have seen regarding Avery's arrest for battery on a police officer has been an excuse to highlight every single misdeed that Avery has done.

While one is used to trash journalism from sites like TMZ and the New York Post but when you see "The Sporting News" including this nugget as part of their coverage of Avery's arrest then you have to wonder:

In November, Avery was at the center of a brawl between the Rangers and Oilers after what was called a "gutless" punch to Ladislav Smid.

What exactly does this have to do with what happened the other night in Los Angeles? If someone at the Sporting News would like to explain how this has any bearing on this arrest then hey we are all ears.

Even TMZ the site that broke the arrest story for some reason decided to include images of NHL hockey fights. The head scratching comes when not one image is of Sean Avery in a fight but it is TMZ so expecting things to make sense is asking a lot.

And how sad no call it disgusting is that people who dislike Avery are using this arrest to question Avery's own sexual preferences. Huh? Avery is Gay because he allegedly shoved a police officer?

Wow knew that small minded people can be rather stupid at times but if you are going to say Avery is gay because he allegedly shoved a police officer then please help the rest of us by not having any children of your own.

Now understand with 4 family members who have been or are police officers that we like hearing about any police officer attacked. But there is a huge leap from battery on a police officer compared to assaulting one.

If Avery had done something in an attempt to injure an police officer then the charges would be much worse than what they are currently. And they are not so it would not at all surprise us that in the end Avery winds up with a fine for "disturbing the peace", asked to apologize to the officer "allegedly" shoved and asked to pay for the cost of the investigation.

And heaven forbid that all charges get dropped, wonder where the zeal will be the report that part?

It won't be on TMZ or the Post.

(Avery courtesy of the Associated Press)

The Saga Of Yoga(n)

As expected New York Ranger's 2010 3rd round pick Andrew Yogan was traded from the Erie Otters this aftermoon as Victor Fernandes over at GoErie.com reported

One has to wonder if the Rangers helped out on this one since Yogan was traded to the Peterborough Petes. For those who were not aware Peterborough is coached by former Ranger's assistant Mike Pelino.

The Petes surrendered 3 drafted picks to make the deal but our friend in Hartford Bruce Berlet chimed in with quotes from Ranger Asst. GM Jim Schoenfeld who said:

“Because he missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, we feel another year of juniors might be best for him,” Schoenfeld said via email. “But we will monitor him closely in camp, and you may see him in Hartford.”

Yogan in his brief time with Hartford actually did play well despite losing most of the year. There is no question that Yogan has talent but the concern with Yogan is with his attitude and character.

Back to Victor Fernandes:

Andrew Yogan, who the Erie Otters traded to the Peterborough Petes today, believes his offensive-minded game didn’t mesh well with Otters coach Robbie Ftorek’s coaching philosophy.

“I like to make some fancy moves. I like to take it to the net,” Yogan said. “He wants me to play a little bit more simple. When you’ve played the one way your whole life, that’s the way you’ve got to play.”

Otters GM Sherry Bassin said a clash between Yogan’s style and Ftorek’s philosophy possibly existed. But Bassin said Yogan wasn’t in the team’s plans as an overager. Bassin also plans to trade overage winger Brett Appio, despite praising him for “what he brings to a team. He’s a hard-nosed, hard-skating player.”

And prior to that in a tweet, Yogan was quoted as saying:

OTTERS UPDATE: Andrew Yogan says he was a healthy scratch, and not sick, for the final 4 games of the Windsor series last season.

So we went back to that playoff series and wanted to see what was said then.

March 27th Game 3 preview

F Andrew Yogan had an assist in Game 2 – his first point in seven career playoff games. But he spent most of the third period and both overtimes on the bench after dropping from the No. 1 line to the fourth line. Coach Robbie Ftorek said rookie RW Macaulay McDonnell provided a better matchup on home ice in the game. “We’ll see what happens,” Ftorek said. “We just have to move the lines around.”

March 31st Game 5 Preview

Coach Robbie Ftorek said F Andrew Yogan missed Game 4 because he was ill and banged up. “We’ve got to see how that works its way out,” Ftorek said.

This was a home game

April 1st Recap

Coach Robbie Ftorek said Andrew Yogan didn’t travel with the team to Windsor because he was sick.

April 4th Game 7 preview

F Andrew Yogan (sick) isn’t expected to play tonight after missing the past three games. “I told him the other day that we’re probably going to go with what we’ve got,” coach Robbie Ftorek said Sunday. “He’s fine, but he doesn’t have the hands and the timing that the other players have because he only played nine games (in the regular season because of shoulder surgery).”

April 5th Audio clip

The early part of the clip is garbled and distorted but as it goes on Yogan says he was ill but could have played. It is very clear in this clip that Yogan and Coach Ftorek were having issues with each other.

We are no fans of Ftorek as in the past he would dress Mitch Gaulton and then glue him to the bench never once getting a shift. Anytime a coach embarrasses a player in public is just wrong with us.

Even worse is these kinds of dust ups hurt the player's reputation as he starts getting labels like "uncoachable" or "me first."

Yogan though should consider himself lucky because we see the Ranger's pulling some strings to help Yogan wind up on a team coached by someone who is well known to both Glen Sather and Jim Schoenfeld as Mike Pelino is.

But if we were Yogan's agent would would strong advise him to knock off telling the media:

“I like to make some fancy moves. I like to take it to the net

Friendly advice drop the first part and just say you like to take it to the net. Say something like fancy moves to a John Tortorella and he will eat you alive and send what remains to the minor leagues.

"When you’ve played the one way your whole life, that’s the way you’ve got to play.”

Here Yogan's biggest mistake is he never once says in this or any other quote anything about being a team player. That rep is one we have heard for the last couple of years before he was drafted by the Rangers.

It would have been a smarter move by Yogan to not take a shot at his former coach on the way out the door but rather say something like how excited he is to have a fresh start elsewhere and he looks forward to helping the Petes.

Yogan hurts himself with his own words, his own behaviors and the coaching ranks are a lot closer than people realize. How Yogan has handled this hurts Andrew Yogan more than it ever will Robbie Ftorek.

Ftorek now can point at the quotes from Yogan and say "see what I had to team with here?"

To someone like us, we already know the rep that Ftorek has and if Yogan had behaved like we suggested then it would be easy for us to say Ftorek is the problem (he has a suspect reputation himself) but Yogan spoke first instead of thinking first.

Yogan does not know how lucky he is right now because he is going to play for a coach in Pelino who has a great track record as a teacher in Pelino. But for Yogan's sake he had also remember he will be playing for a coach who is good friends with Jim Schoenfeld.

(Yogan courtesy of OHL Images)

Victor Fernandes covers the Erie Otters for GoErie.com and Bruce Berlet covers the CT Whale for the Whale website. We thank them for contributing to this.

The Fire Within

The other day George E. Ays did an analysis trying to project whether or not New York Ranger forward Derek Stepan was going to have/not have a sophomore slump over at the Blueshirt Banter.

It is a really well thought out breakdown of what might or might not happen with Stepan during his sophomore season with the Rangers. And as well written as it is , for me it just does not work.

It is not that statistics are evil as they have their place but sometimes we put way too much emphasis in the statistical side of things that we forget the "X factor" which is that fire inside that drives us.

The other problem with statistics is that we can always find a way to bend, twist, turn and distort a statistic in order to prove our point. Whether it is positive or negative we can abuse statistics but see we can't do that with that fire in the belly.

Last year I thought Stepan made a huge mistake leaving school after his sophomore season at Wisconsin. Stepan was not ready I wrote after he left school; he still had a lot to learn.

Even after training camp I thought that at 20 Stepan was not ready so I ticketed him for the AHL. Good thing Stepan does not listen to me then eh?

In fact it is a good thing that Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi and Micheal Sauer did not listen to their critics as otherwise they would not be on the Ranger's roster as we head towards training camp.

Each has fought to overcome what the statistics said, what the critics said and what the "experts" said to establish themselves in the NHL. We see it happen all the time how those who have outstanding talent and skills like a Zherdev yet they fail to live up to their potential.

By all rights there is no reason why a Woljek Wolski is not scoring 30 goals every season. Yet here we are scratching our heads wondering why someone who has the kind of skill set Wolski does have and yet he is on the edge of being dumped from the NHL

We can argue all day and all night about whether statistics are good or bad but at least with statistics we have something we can point directly to. We can not do that when it comes to trying to measure Derek Stepan's or Woljek Wolski's drive.

That is not to say that statistics are all evil as they do have a lot of legit purposes to help guide someone. Not hard to figure out that a person with a 20% winning percentage is not who you want to take a face off in the defensive zone while you are trying to protect a late 1 goal lead.

And we can use all the statistics in the world but if they are not used right they can also do a whole lot more harm than good. Take the stat that says Derek Stepan is 86th out of 86 in the NHL last season on faceoffs.

By all rights there is no way the Rangers should ever let Derek Stepan anywhere near the face off circle right at even strength? Wrong because if the Rangers had gone by the statistics then Stepan would not have scored his team high (tied with Dubi) 18 even strength goals.

On a team as offensively challenged as the Rangers were last season it would have been foolish to not send Stepan out there for the face offs.

If you really look at stats then you realize that it is cold hard numbers with no emotion to them at all. But if this was Star Trek (Gordie Clark reference) then we would forget how illogical we humans are.

We defy logic which is what statistics are supposed to be and we do what we should not be able to do because we want it bad enough. It is that fire inside that took a Brandon Dubinsky to spend his off-seasons working on every single thing the Rangers said he had to do in order to make the team.

Ah but we also can not forget that the other things that statistics can not factor in like a Jaromir Jagr taking a liking to a brash cocky Brandon Dubinsky and asking to have him on his line. To those who don't know Dubi, he is seen as a cocky know-it-all but we know the Dubi who would go back to his billet's house after scoring a hat trick and working on his sticks.

Or imagine what would have happened if Ryan Callahan had sulked about being demoted to the Wolfpack during the 2007-2008 season. Tom Renney sent him down to help him regain his confidence in himself and it is safe to say people might want to send some thank you cards to Renney.

See stats can not tell you that it was the turning point in Ryan Callahan's career other than to say that he went 7-8-15 in 11 games before the Ranger's recalled him. Nor can we find a stat that would have predicted that Callahan would be one of the favorites to replace Chris Drury as Ranger captain.

And I do not need any stats to tell me that Stepan is going to equal if not improve on what he did as a rookie. Why because we know that he is never satisfied with his game and always looks for ways to improve himself.

But remember that stat about Stepan being dead last on face offs last season? Do not even have to ask but I can bet that Stepan knows those numbers by heart.

He is using those numbers to work that much harder during this off-season and I will bet anyone money now that come the end of next season that Stepan will not be the worst in the NHL.

He won't be the best but I can tell you that the fire within Derek Stepan is going to fuel his desire to greatly improve himself.

That is a stat we can enjoy seeing.

Canadian Summer Camp

Christian Thomas made his case clear that he can help Team Canada at the 2012 World Under-20 Championships. Thomas just smoked Tyler Bunz on 4 out of 5 post-practice shootout shots.

Stick tap to Gregg Drinnan of Taking Note for telling us one and this one about 1994 Ranger Jay Wells has signed on as an assistant coach for the Barrie Colts. Wells becomes the 12th member of the Cup winning team to become a coach after his career.

What we want to see is when Well's and the Colts go up against Jeff Beukeboom and his Sudbury Wolves.

(Stepan/New York Rangers, 2004 Dubinsky/Portland Winterhawks, Callahan/Guelph Storm)

Our 2 Cents

We put off a few items so the focus would remain on the New York Ranger's possible Traverse City team. Of course it figures that the moment we decide not to fit other things in that a bunch happens.

The biggest story right now comes to us via our friend in Erie Victor Fernandes of GoErie.com. If you know Erie is the current home of 2010 3rd round pick Andrew Yogan who missed most of last season due to shoulder surgery.

Victor let us know that it appears that Yogan is on the OHL trade market but given the strained relationship that Yogan had at the end of the season with Erie Otter coach Robbie Ftorek not a surprise at all.

Yogan took ill during the 1st round of the OHL playoffs after game 3 and was scratched for the remaining 4 games. Let us just say that coach and player "agreed to disagree" as to how ill or well Yogan was.

But we knew Yogan's fate in Erie was sealed yesterday when we saw Victor post this on Ftorek getting a new contract. We will not take sides but you know the Rangers have had 2 prospects play for Erie (Mitch Gaulton was the other) and both wound up in Ftorek's doghouse then out of town.

So when we get news like this then we in turn share it with Bruce Berlet who covers the CT Whale for the Blueshirt Bulletin as well as for the CT Whale website. When it comes to covering the Whale then sorry no offense to anyone but Bruce is the dean of AHL writers and is never going to be a "homer."

No sooner had we emailed Bruce when he replied by sending us this link to the Ranger website which of course picked the same day Yogan was put on the market to be the featured prospect of the day. Like it or not Yogan is going to be under a microscope now because getting shipped off is going to raise character issues for him.

Coaches always get the last word in these situations as if Yogan says anything then he no matter what looks bad. We will reserve judgement because we think Yogan himself can address this issue by his play not his words.

One of the first coaches I got to know when we started this was Cory Clouston then coaching the Kootenay Ice. Smart guy who knows how to teach but got the shaft because Ottawa GM Bryan Murray saddled him with a really bad team.

That is OK because Clouston is back in the WHL now coaching the Brandon Wheat Kings and that means the rest of the WHL had best look out the Wheat Kings will get better in a hurry.

The other day Alex Frolov accused/denied that he said nasty things about Sean Avery in an interview with a Russian newspaper. So to those I talked with on twitter and facebook I said that when it comes to covering Russian hockey there are only 2 trusted sources.

Laurie Carr of Beyond the Blueshirts who the very next day posted the entry that I just linked to. The other person is  Dmitry Chesnokov who is one of the folks who contributes to Puck Daddy at Yahoo who if you follow that link has an interview with Pavel Datsyuk.

The word is credibility friends these 2 are the ones who have the most when it comes to Russian hockey. But you know I got to wonder if there is like some kind of annual quota where Russian hockey articles have to say negative stuff about the Rangers.

THANK YOU THANK YOU

OK I thought it was something to earn one Top 30 spot in the monthly Wikio News rankings of hockey blogs but back to back is beyond my wildest dreams. I am here because of you the reader and I really admit to being shocked to repeating.

1	Kukla's Korner
2	On the Forecheck
3	Japers' Rink
4	Hockey's Future
5	The Hockey Writers
6	Red Light District
7	Nucks Misconduct
8	Raw Charge
9	The Blueshirts Blog
10	Preds On The Glass
11	Western College Hockey Blog
12	PensBurgh
13	Canes Country
14	On Frozen Blog
15	Slap Shot
16	Die By The Blade
17	Mile High Hockey
18	USCHO
19	Illegal Curve
20	Five For Howling
21	On the Wings
22	Section 303
23	Goon's World
24	Boltsmag
25	St. Louis Game Time
26	mc79hockey.com
27	Canucks Hockey Blog
28	Hockey From the Cheap Seats
29	The Prospect Park
30	Faceoff Factor

Ranking made by Wikio

Again even being mentioned in the company of these blogs is an honor for which I am very thankful of the support I get from your guys.

Saving Traverse City

Figuring out which goalies will be playing for the New York Ranger prospect team at Traverse City is the easy part. Scott Stajcer and Jason Missiaen with be in the pipes for the prospect team when they hit the ice on September 10th against the St. Louis Baby Blues.

But when Traverse City ends then who winds up where could be a rather interesting battle. With the Ranger's announcing that they had resigned Chad Johnson on Tuesday then for a change the Rangers actually have too many goalies in the system.

First Traverse City as Scott Stajcer who was the 2nd of two 5th round picks in the 2009 draft is coming off an injury plagued season for the Owen Sound Attack. Stajcer actually got off to one great start last season winning his first 8 starts and being named the Vaughn CHL Goalie of the week for the week ending October 3rd.

Stajcer even helped Team OHL give Canada their first win in the Subway Super Series as he stopped all 21 shots he faced to help Team OHL earn a 4-0 win over the Russian Selects on November 11th. 9 days later, his regular season would come crashing to a halt as Stajcer was pulled after giving up 4 goals in just one period.

His Owen Sound Attack announced that Stajcer was being held out to rest a chronic injury but the injury which turned out to be his hip never go better and Stajcer underwent surgery in December.

Stajcer wound up missing the rest of the OHL regular season but worked his butt off to get ready for the OHL playoffs. Stajcer missed out on the first 4 first round games but got in some garbage time in game 5 and nobody really thought much about it since Owen Sound won the series 4-2.

In the 2nd round of the OHL playoffs, Stajcer came into the first game to start the 3rd period and earned a overtime win. Then Stajcer ripped off 3 more wins to help Owen Sound sweep Plymouth in 4 games.

In the conference finals, Stajcer earned a game 1 win then lost for the first time in the playoffs before rebounding to win the next 3 to lead Owen Sound into the OHL finals. Stajcer's luck ran out in the finals as his injury woes returned dropping his first 2 starts then got tagged for the loss in Game 3.

What outsiders did not know at the time was that Stajcer because he had stopped and started his hockey season also had to restart breaking in his skates which led to an infection that led to his being knocked out of action yet again.

And to make matters worse for Stajcer was that by the time he was healthy again he was asked to do the impossible in the Memorial Cup. His Attack had been decimated by injuries (no read that as 2 really dirty hits that knocked out players) and the Attack went with Stajcer in the tiebreaker game.

Stajcer took a ton of heat for giving up 6 goals before getting pulled but the truth was his team had ran out of players and then gas. It was a shame that for many Ranger fans that was their only viewing of Stajcer.

We gave him most of the space here because the Stajcer fans saw in that Memorial Cup game was nothing like the Stajcer we saw make one hell of a comeback from hip surgery. Stajcer blamed himself for the loss when he did not have to.

Stajcer's fellow goalie at Traverse City will be Jason Missiaen who was signed as a UFA back in March. The move was seen as a very curious one as Missiaen had yet to post a winning record on any of his teams during his junior career.

Originally a 2008 4th round pick of the Montreal Canadians, Missiaen was not signed by the Canadians and became a UFA. This will be Missiaen 2nd straight appearance in the Traverse City tournament as last season he was on the Columbus Bluejacket team.

The big thing on Missiaen is just that he is big at 6'8 and most scouts see him more as a "fun" project for Ranger goalie coach Benoit Allaire. You can not teach size which is what Missiaen has but that size is also we fear going to paint a very misleading picture of Missiaen for those seeing him for the first time.

Because of his size, to the average fan Missiaen is going to appear clumsy and awkward for a kid just a couple of months past his 21st birthday. He has a 3 year deal with the Rangers which gives Allaire that much time to see if he can turn him into a real goalie prospect.

Right now we project Missiaen at best as a member of the ECHL Greenville Road Warriors as we seriously can not see him beating out Chad Johnson or Cam Talbot for a spot with the CT Whale.

Which leads us back to the signing of Chad Johnson by the Rangers to a 1 year deal as to be honest it is a signing that has us scratching our heads. Why sign a guy who you lost confidence in last season because an ECHL goalie took away his job?

Once Marty Biron went down CJ was at best the doorman for the Ranger bench as he got in all of 20 minutes of action for the Rangers. Biron is healthy and there is no disputing that he is the Ranger backup.

Maybe it was because Cam Talbot could never stay healthy long enough to make the Whale job his or because last season's Whale MVP Dov Grumet-Morris has not been signed by the Rangers (or did not want to sign with them) as we honestly do not know where he is going to play in 2011-2012).

We are currently projecting the Ranger goalie depth chart as such:

1- Henrik Lundqvist (if you need an explanation why then please seek help)

2- Marty Biron- Forget Brad Richards as the Ranger season is actually going to wind up riding on his shoulders. With the start in Europe followed by the west coast swing then Biron has to stay healthy for the Rangers.

Every game that Biron can start means that much more rest for Henrik Lundqvist as if the Rangers can squeeze 25-30 games out of Biron then the Rangers have a real shot of getting out of the first round.

3-Chad Johnson- is on a short leash with just a 1 year deal and 3 other guys with 2-3 years left on their deals. If he struggles like he did last season and Cam Talbot plays well then Johnson is in trouble.

4-Cam Talbot- if he could have stayed healthy would be 3rd but he played in all of 20 games which might explain why Johnson got another season. If he does stay healthy then he too had best play well because.

5- Scott Stajcer- despite his own injuries woes was actually the 3rd best Ranger goalie from a statistical point of view. 10-3 2.91 GAA and .901 save percentage. In his 14 regular season appearances Stajcer up 2 or fewer goals in 6 of those games.

But because last season was a lost one for Stajcer the ideal situation would be to send him back for an overage season in the OHL. The problem with that idea is that his Owen Sound Attack already have replaced Stajcer.

If they can find a good home for Stajcer then yes send him back and save a season on his entry level deal. But what we left out until now was that Stajcer was goalie coach Benoit Allaire's star pupil and if he shows the same level improvement as he did last year then bye-bye Johnson and/or Talbot.

5-Jason Missiaen- have to be honest as at the first glance we thought this was a bad idea but since it saved the Rangers from having to use a draft pick they did not have then why not? Worst case is that if he does not pan out then the Rangers are only out 203 K in salary.

The Rangers can bury him in the CHL like they have done with other failed projects so why not? It is only money and to us a chance to see Beniot Allaire show us something. Seriously with Lundqvist and Biron already established then what has Allaire done since joining the Rangers?

None of the Ranger goalies prospects has established themselves during Allaire's time so maybe it is time for him to show off his teaching skills.

Of course we do have to wonder why the Rangers ask that guy who used to wear number 35 to come in and work with the Ranger kid goalies? If you have an asset then use it as we have seen Mike Richter's efforts as a volunteer coach at Yale.

All he did there was turn the Yale goalies into top notch performers so Glen pick up the phone, swallow some ego/pride and use Richter (and Brian Leetch too) to build tomorrow.

(Stajcer courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

Forward To Traverse City

New York Ranger fans got a bit of a stir to get their week off to a strange start that is for sure. You know if Alex Frolov moved as fast as he did to deny the supposed remarks he made on Sean Avery he still would be in the NHL.

It seems just like our look at the prospect forwards we expect to see the Rangers send to Traverse City. Yesterday the keywords were "physically imposing" but that will not be the case among the prospect forwards.

Today's words are "Mutt and Jeff" as the more skilled prospects will be the smaller player while it seems like each line is going to be assigned a protector.

There is a very good chance you will see the Rangers put out on occasion a line where none of the players are bigger than 5'9. Pretty sure you will then see Dylan McIlrath and Samuel Noreau as the blueline pair as big brothers if that happens.

All the eyes will be on 2011 first round pick JT Miller but by the time the day (or tournament) is done then Carl Hagelin will have stolen the show. Talk about irony as the Rangers 6th pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft spent 4 years in Michigan and never once did he play for the Ranger prospect team thank to NCAA rules.

That he makes is Ranger debut in the same state where he played his college hockey has to be special for him. And the possibility of getting to make his professional debut in his native Sweden is going to motivate Hagelin that much more.

Hagelin is our pick as the rookie who has the best chance of earning a roster spot with the Rangers. Yes better than fellow Swede Tim Erixon who most are expecting to earn a roster spot.

Hagelin will show why he was so popular with the Michigan Wolverines with his overall game. Hagelin can play both center and left wing but we expect that he will be a LW in the NHL.

From a very good first step that give him acceleration away from those trying to defend against him to a hockey IQ that is almost off the charts; you are going to see why Hagelin had his named chanted at Michigan home games.

The player we would kill to put Hagelin with is 2010 2nd round pick Christian Thomas as we see their skills complimenting each other despite the duo being on the smallish size. Hagelin is only 5'11 and Thomas 5'9 but make no mistake as both are NHL bound as the combination of speed as well as skill is going to make life miserable for other teams in the NHL.

The player who might be the lucky center at Traverse City could just be Andrew Yogan the 2010 3rd round pick. At 6'3, he has shown some good offensive skills in limited action with the Whale. The question on Yogan is will he remember that he has 2 linemates on the ice with him?

Yogan has talent, he has skill and size but it is never a good thing to come to a camp with a bad rep from a coach no matter if you are right or not. All people will see is the labels not whether or not it was fair or just.

JT Miller might be the one prospect none of the others want to play with just because he was the most current first round pick. That and because of his draft status is going to mean every little thing Miller does will be under a microscope which will extend to his linemates.

We would put Ryan Bourque out there with Miller because Bourque has a talent of helping his linemates adapt and adjust. Other than Christian Thomas, only Bourque is going to understand the microscope Miller will be under.

Bourque the Ranger's 2009 3rd round pick is going to be finally getting his chance to shine as no other prospect the Rangers have is the kind of team first player that Bourque has always been. Bourque puts his team first at times at the expense of his own personal statistics.

Forget Bourque's size issues as he is a terrific forechecker who can defend against anyone no matter how big he is. The other thing to like about Bourque is that his upbringing has helped his decision making process as Bourque is very very good at reading plays and breaking them up.

And the right wing here for us will be UFA Tommy Grant who quickly showed that he adapted to the pro game from the NCAA. The Rangers are really high on Grant who has good hands to go along with his 6'2 180 frame.

Want to see more muscle on Grant but overall we like how he adapts to those he is playing with. Going to be very much a nice surprise on the defensive end but we can see him and Bourque developing chemistry in a hurry.

Our prospect 3rd line will be centered by the 2011 4th round pick Michael St. Croix who played for the Edmonton Oil Kings. St. Croix is just 5'11 but has some nice hands and a quick release. On his right side we think that the Rangers will put either Shane McColgan (5'8 165) or Andreas Thuresson (6'1 214).

We are not sure if the Rangers will ask Thuresson to attend Traverse City but since they got him in the Brodie Dupont deal it is possible so Ken Germander will have an idea what they will be getting for the Whale. Other than that we do not have much on him so you will learn just like we will.

The left wing should be 2010 5th round pick Jason Wilson who is used to being the bodyguard for his smaller teammates but Wilson we think is going to fool a lot of people as the 6'3 205 winger moves a lot faster than people expect.

Wilson played on Niagara's first line with the 2011 5th overall pick Ryan Strome. Wilson was supposed to be just a bodyguard but showed some smart offensive skills during the second half of the season eventually finishing with 18 goals.

Shane McColgan is a player who when he shows up is a lot of fun to watch but it was his inconsistency that caused his stock to drop to the 5th round of 2011 Draft. But when McColgan brings it then he is dangerous as he can be a game changer all by himself.

He can score with anyone but again it goes back to his consistency as sometimes we wonder if he spends too much time reading his headline after a big game.

Now on the 4th line, we hope that the Rangers bring in Max Campbell even though he is under a AHL contract. Campbell also spent 4 years playing in Michigan for Western Michigan but his hometown of Strathroy Ontario a 4 hour drive to Traverse City.

Yes we admit that Campbell is a favorite prospect but we also believe his own hard work merited the invite to Traverse City. The "Soup" is a natural goal scorer who despite being the size of a twig has repeatedly proven himself to be almost impossible to clear from the crease.

The rest of the Traverse City roster in all honesty we just do not know who right now will be added as it is doubtful that Jesper Fasth or Oscar Lindberg will attend since their regular season in Sweden will be getting underway about the same time.

Randy McNaught who was the 2010 7th round pick and missed all but 8 games we are not even sure if the ankle that was badly injured will have healed in time for him to play this year. We have him ticketed for Greenville in the ECHL anyway but will not be shocked if he winds up starting even lower in the Central Hockey League.

The original idea was to try to turn the 6'4 McNaught into a power forward but his fighting skills is what will keep him in the pros for a while.

The Arena Loses But So Did Hockey

Nassau County voters turned down the 400 million dollar proposal for fix up the Nassau County Coliseum which is their right in a democracy. What was not right was the less than classy glee in which some Ranger fans took in the Islander fan's misery.

Images of decals for other cities have been making their way around the web but before Ranger fans push the Islanders out of the Tri-State area, they might want to think twice about how much pleasure they taking in a possible relocation.

If the Islanders do relocate then it won't be to Kansas City or Hamilton because Gary Bettman does not want to lose any team out of the New York TV market. The thing about karma is that she can be very cruel and if the Islanders do relocate it will be to Brooklyn and the Barclay Center.

Gary Bettman controls enough votes on the NHL Executive Committee that there is almost nothing that the Dolans will be able to do to stop the Islanders from moving to Brooklyn. If you think that the Dolans will sue think again because the last time they tried to sue the NHL they lost and Bettman turned right around and sued the Rangers as a spanking.

Not to mention that the Dolans are not wanting to lose another sports team off the MSG Networks so they will take a cash payoff and be quiet. And bad news the Islander prospect pool in many ways is deeper and more talented than the Rangers.

Now for the Ranger fan's worst nightmare the Brooklyn Islanders winning a Stanley Cup before the New York Rangers. If you do not think it is possible think again as it is very possible if the Islanders can stabilize their arena situation.

Be very careful about what you ask for as sometimes you really do not like what you get.

Tomorrow Goalies

(Hagelin courtesy of the Michigan Wolverines)

This Way To Traverse City

OK now that we have gotten all the distractions out of the way it is time to start looking ahead to what should be a very interesting 2011 Traverse City tournament for the New York Ranger prospects.

While most want to look at JT Miller, we want to start by looking at what is the deepest position within the New York Rangers; the blueline corps.

If there was one area where Ranger fans can feel comfortable then here we are as the Rangers have a very good young group of defensemen who can be summed up in two words; physical imposing.

The player that everyone will be watching will of course be Tim Erixon who will be making his North American debut after his rights were acquired from the Calgary Flames when they could not sign the son of former Ranger Jan Erixon.

The 23rd pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Erixon is going to bring a 6'3 205 lb body and the first thing those who know him well enough say is that his hockey sense is just as good as his defensive minded father despite Jan played forward.

We keep hearing a 2-way defender with offensive flair but as highly touted as Erixon is what he is not is better offensively than Michael Del Zotto. A smooth skater with strong fundamental skills, Erixon has a nice sneaky shot from the point but if we are John Tortorella the biggest challenge is to convince Erixon to fire away from the point.

Forget the differences in rink sizes, the biggest adjustment for Erixon is going to being a bit selfish. Europeans at times tend to look for the best possible play so Erixon has to avoid the "pass first" mindset he has been brought up with.

A lefty shot it is going to be interesting to see of the Rangers pair Erixon up with 2010 1st round pick Dylan Mcllrath. McIlrath has worked hard during the off-season to improve the accuracy of his shot.

Having seen the shot, McIlrath is going to hurt someone with the heavy shot he has. Even better is if McIlrath's accuracy has improved then his shot will generate plenty of garbage goals for his teammates.

McIlrath has also matured a bit into his body as well as worked on improving his footwork. And bad news for everyone else is that McIlrath just might be a much stronger player as his body has firmed up.

The second pairing should be interesting to see if the Rangers bring Mikhail Pashnin over from Russia for Traverse City as the 2009 7th pick has grown 2 inches to 6'1 but do the Rangers have a spot for him in the AHL?

Pashnin wants to sign a NHL deal with the Rangers very badly but unless the Rangers choose to carry 7 defenders and 13 forwards then where Pashnin winds up might just be back in the KHL for another year. If Pashnin does indeed play at Traverse City then expect him to make some noise.

Pashnin's offense is a couple years behind his defense but defensively our reports say he is more NHL ready than many people realize. Pashnin has to learn not to try to hit everything that comes within the range of his vision.

One thing though while people are giving Erixon and Del Zotto the lead in the race to the Ranger roster; DON'T count Pashnin out just yet. Our Russian friends say that Pashnin has been working since his first Ranger camp to become a Ranger.

Our experience has taught us that the X factor with prospects is how badly they want it and from all reports Pashnin wants it really bad.

In many ways his desire to become a Ranger is equal to the kind of drive that both Dubinsky and Callahan had when they were the prospects. You can call him a long-shot but Tortorella is going to fall in love with this prospect's fire and determination.

If it was us then we would pair Pashnin with Peter Ceresnak the Ranger's 2011 6th round pick. Ceresnak is ticketed for former Ranger Assistant coach Mike Pelino and his Peterborough Petes.

The Rangers gave up their 2012 6th round pick to be able to draft this 6'3 210 Slovakian defender. A righty shot who we think is ideal for Pashnin as a partner at Traverse City for no other reason that Pashnin would best be served with a partner who is focused on his defensive positioning.

Ceresnak has the NHL body but his footwork as well as his speed in making decisions is where he has to work the hardest. Mike Pelino is the perfect coach for Ceresnak during the regular season but our expectations for Ceresnak this year are on the low side as he adjusts to North American life.

Not a knock on Ceresnak as he will have some very good teachers in Peterborough but Traverse City is going to help Ceresnark learn the areas in which he has to improve his overall game.

Key thing we will be looking for out of Ceresnak is to show us some emotion and a bit of a nasty streak. Skinny is that he is a nice friendly guy but we want defenders not buddies here.

We expect a quiet Traverse City for Ceresnak which is not a bad thing as he does have a long list of things to learn. This is a project player who has a high reward low risk potential going for him.

The 3rd pair is also going to be interesting as 6'5 210 Samuel Noreau will be one part of the pair as the 2011 5th round pick but who the Rangers bring to Traverse City is the big question.

But first Noreau is a righty shot who in all honesty was playing on a very bad Baie-Comeau Drakkar int the QMJHL. Noreau was 4th in the QMJHL for fighting majors with 17 (4 more than Dylan McIlrath) and 7th in PIMs with 141 (McIlrath had 153).

Nothing against Noreau but right now it is hard to view him as a serious prospect given where he played and what he specialized in. Right now we are leaning towards Blake Partlett as the 2nd year professional as his career path is almost identical to Dan Girardi's.

An undrafted free agent who started his career in ECHL with the Greenville Warriors but earned a promotion to the CT Whale. Worked hard enough to earn himself a 2 year entry level deal from the Rangers.

Hard working player who put up respectable number for both the Warriors as well as the CT Whale. We want to see him push past some of the other CT Whale defensemen before giving Parlett any kind of serious consideration.

We also expect the Rangers to bring in at least 1 free agent defender for a look (or as a favor to CHL franchise) just in case. But Traverse City for the Ranger prospects begins with the blueline prospects as we seriously do see 3 very possible NHLers in McIlrath, Erixon and Pashnin and 1 good gamble in Ceresnak.

Tomorrow The Forwards

(Cerensnak courtesy of the New York Rangers)