{"id":14708,"date":"2017-08-16T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=14708"},"modified":"2025-10-10T22:55:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T02:55:39","slug":"tsp-new-york-rangers-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/08\/16\/tsp-new-york-rangers-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: New York Rangers Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2017 edition of \u201cTop Shelf Prospects\u201d. During the summer, I will feature a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. I will follow the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no trades). You\u00a0can find all the articles here<\/a>. Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted this year. There have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

I will link you to those articles; as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2017-18 roster.\u00a0<\/em>I will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later; or an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as a dark horse to make the NHL. 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old is the cut-off for prospects. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n

TSP: New York Rangers Prospects<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>It was an up-and-down season for the New York Rangers<\/a>. They came out of the gate red-hot, scoring a ton of goals, and challenging for first place in a tough Metro Division. The momentum would not last though. They cooled considerably in the second half of the season. Even star goalie Henrik Lundqvist<\/a><\/strong> struggled. The team would end up with the first wild card. They would defeat the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>\u00a0in the first round, before falling to the Ottawa Senators<\/a> in the second.<\/p>\n

The off-season brings change, with Derek Stepan<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Antti Raanta<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0traded to the<\/a> Arizona Coyotes<\/a>; and the cap savings spent largely<\/a> on free agent\u00a0Kevin Shattenkirk<\/a><\/strong>. The Rangers have also added<\/a>\u00a0Ondrej Pavelec<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and David Desharnais<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>from the free agent market<\/a>. Dan Girardi<\/a><\/strong> was bought out<\/a>, and Kevin Klein<\/a><\/strong> has retired<\/a> from the NHL, to sign in Switzerland.\u00a0He joins Brandon Pirri<\/a><\/strong>, who also signed<\/a> with ZSC Zurich.<\/p>\n

2017 NHL Draft Picks:\u00a0Lias Andersson<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Filip Chytil<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Brandon Crawley<\/strong>,\u00a0Calle Sjalin<\/strong>,\u00a0Dominik Lakatos<\/strong>,\u00a0Morgan Barron<\/strong>,\u00a0Patrik Virta<\/strong>
\nGraduates: Jimmy Vesey<\/a><\/strong>, Brady Skjei<\/a><\/strong>, Matt Puempel<\/a><\/strong>,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Prospect: Pavel Buchnevich<\/a><\/h3>\n

Right Wing — Shoots Left
\nBorn April 17th, 1995 — Cherepovets, Russia
\nHeight 6’2″ — Weight 193 lbs [188 cm \/ 88 kg]
\nDrafted by the New York Rangers in the 3rd Round, #75 overall at the 2013 NHL Draft<\/p>\n