In those days the Rangers had five prospects playing the Western Hockey League so fast forward to 2021 and the Rangers once again have five prospects playing in the WHL.
It was opening night for the WHL and three of those prospects were in action with mixed results.
Talyn Boyko is the kind of goalie prospect that Rangers goalie coach Benoit Allaire loves. The third of three fourth-round picks the Rangers made in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Boyko is listed as 6'7.5 200 lbs.
He is a lefthanded goalie who plays for the Tri-City Americans and was the starting goalie as the Americans opened their 2021-2022 WHL season at home against the Portland Winterhawks.
It was a very tough test right out of the gate for Boyko and his Americans as the Winterhawks are seen as one of the best teams in the WHL for the coming season.
Boyko had a "bend but don't break" type of game as he earned
"first star honors" as the Americans held off the Winterhawks 5-4 in the shootout. Boyko stopped 38 out of 42 shots in regulation and overtime then four out of five in the shootout to earn his first win of the season.
If not for Boyko, the Americans would have lost this one as they were out-shot 42-19 and pretty much out-played during this game. In the first period, Boyko made nine saves as the Americans scored the only goal of the period. The second period saw the Americans increase their lead to 3-0 before the Winterhawks broke through for an even-strength goal at 15:15. The Winterhawks would add a power-play goal at 19:15 to pull the game to 3-2 after two periods.
The Winterhawks outshot the Americans 18-6 as they dominated the period with Boyko making 16 saves. In the third period, the Winterhawks would tie the game with their second power-play goal of the game at 7:50.
The Americans would take a short 4-3 lead before the Winterhawks would tie the game up at 4 and sent the game into overtime. The Winterhawks would out-shot the Americans 11-5 with Boyko making nine saves.
Neither team scored in the overtime as Boyko stopped all four shots that the Winterhawks took. In the shootout, Boyko didn't stop the first shot that he faced but he stoned the Winterhawks on their next four attempts as the Americans would score in the fifth round to earn the win.
The Americans head to Spokane for a game Saturday against the Spokane Chiefs, with the Americans carrying three goalies it is hard to see Boyko being asked to play back-to-back games this early in the season.
In Moose Jaw, 2021 the second of the Rangers' third-round pick center Ryder Korczak helped his Moose Jaw Warriors start their season with a 7-1 spanking of the Saskatoon Blades. Korczak had a two-assist evening with a +2 and was 9-10 on his faceoffs. The 5'11 173 lb center was the first-line center and was named as one of the Warriors' assistant captains.
In Edmonton, the first of the Rangers 2021 third-round pick center Jason Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels lost to the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-1. Grubbe the Rebels' captain was scoreless on one shot with a minor for cross-checking and was 12-8 on faceoffs.
Grubbe is 6'3 200 and is being asked to lead a rebuilding Rebels team. He is coming off a 2020-21 season that saw him play only five games before going down with a knee injury that ended his season.
So for now, I will be using this site and this was a last-minute decision to decide to resume covering the Ranger prospects but it has been a long time since I saw the Rangers with so many promising prospects that I wanted to do this again.
Please excuse the mess as I try to rebuild this place on the fly. Your thoughts, criticisms are welcome so please tell me what you are wanting to see from this place this season.
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