Hockey is back, kind of sort of. While it's not pre-season or regular season games, there is hockey starting Friday, as the Traverse City tournament kicks off. The Rangers participating in the tourney practice Thursday in advance of their first game against the Stars. While it will once again not be shown on MSG, the tournament will be streamed live online via Fox Sports Go.
Here is the full list of this year attendees
OFFICIAL: #NYR Traverse City Tournament roster features 24 prospects including Andersson and Chytil, who both finished the 2017-18 season with the Blueshirts.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) August 27, 2018
The roster also features 3 players acquired in February 2018 trades - Hajek, Howden & Lindgren.#NYRTCT pic.twitter.com/CoF9unGPkY
In the past, I highlighted those players I was really looking forwarded to seeing. Like last year, selecting just a few is difficult because the prospect list and class of prospect is so much better than it was in 2016. From the list, one could easily find a double-digit list of prospects worth viewing. This further evidences the uplift in talent in the organization, several of whom should break camp with the team and/or be a part of the parent club in the near future.
This is the press release sent out by the team
The Rangers just announced their roster for the 2018 Traverse City Tournament, the dates and opponents for the tournament. #NHL #NYR #NYRangers #Rangers pic.twitter.com/Toi4mQlxf9
— Denis Gorman (@DenisGorman) August 27, 2018
Forwards: Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Tim Gettinger, Brett Howden, Michael Lindqvist, Ville Meskanen, and Ty Ronning
(The list shouldn't surprise anyone. Andersson and Chytil both are expected to break camp with the team, so this tournament should be a tune up and hopefully a chance to dominate and enter camp on a roll. Gettinger continued to take steps forward last year and has become a legitimate power-forward prospect. He likely opens the year at Hartford and it's possible he gets a look see this season. Howden came over in the McDonagh/Miller trade and projects as a future third line center. He will open the season at Hartford but should see a few cups of coffee in New York during the year. Lindqvist, the sniper, and Meskanen, the more complete player, both out of Europe, signed with New York this off-season and ironically, are likely the biggest acquisitions the team made. Each are righty shots, bring experience from playing against men in Europe and project to possibly break camp with the parent club. Ronning, a seventh round in 2016, exploded in juniors last season and saw a handful of games with Hartford. His size won't be a limitation, as he plays bigger than he actually is on the ice. Add in Gabriel Fontaine and Dawson Leedahl if you want as names to watch)
Defense: Brandon Crawley, Sean Day, Nico Gross, Libor Hajek, Joey Keane and Ryan Lindgren
(Crawley, selected in the fourth round last season, regressed after projecting as a possible shutdown d-man in the future. His offense and skating are far from his fortes, but improvement in each would go a long way to assisting his possible move up the ladder. With all the d-men added last season, his task to make the squad and even remain in Hartford is harder. The same can be said about Day, who should open the year in Hartford. He still needs work in all aspects of his game, save for skating but especially in decision making, and like Crawley, his prior status took a hit due to all the additions made. That said, he made strides last season and is trending back up. Gross, drafted this season, needs to raise his status and a strong tourney certainly would help. Hajek, considered by some the prime jewel in the Tampa deal over Howden, as GM Jeff Gorton pushed for his inclusion, is a bit of a polarizing player. Gorton obviously views him highly while scouts are somewhat mixed with some siding with Gorton and others pushing down the list of Rangers' prospects. Keane is one I am really looking forward to seeing, as he outplayed his draft status during the summer tournaments. His defense was better than originally advertised and he projects to also chip in a bit offensively. Lindgren is a tough, stay-at-home blueliner who may have slightly more offensive skill than has been displayed. He provides character on-and-off the ice and has the ceiling of a third pair blueliner).
Goalies: Jeremy Brodeur and Chris Nell
(The Brodeur name draws interest just for the sheer shock value of seeing Brodeur on the back of a Rangers' jersey. Neil struggled at Hartford last season and may need a strong tourney to wipe away the stench of that campaign).
The Rangers are in the Ted Lindsay division with Dallas, the Minnesota Wild, and the Detroit Red Wings, and the tournament runs from Friday 9/7 to Tuesday 9/11:
Friday Sept. 7 | Dallas, 7:00 PM ET Saturday Sept. 8 | Minnesota, 6:30 PM Monday Sept. 10 | Detroit, 4:00 PM Tuesday Sept. 11 | Placement Game, Time TBD
New York’s roster features 24 prospects (14 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders), including two of the team’s selections in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft: Gross and Keane and three from the 2017 Draft, Andersson, Chytil and Crawley. New York has consistently had a player who appeared in the tourney play for the Rangers during the regular season. In 2017-18, Andersson, Alexandar Georgiev, Vinni Lettieri and Neal Pionk started their season in Traverse City and saw time with New York during the year.
As a reminder, I will be out of pocket a lot this month. The dates I will be unavailable, which means I am incommunicado starting the night before, are September 10-11, 19, 24-25 and October 1-2.