Last night was one that give you hope for the future. The Rangers kids delivered, with Dylan Garand getting his first win, Adam Sykora getting his first goal, Jaro Chmelar getting his first assist, and Drew Fortescue getting his first NHL game and NHL point (assist). A dominating 6-1 win over Chicago also saw contributions from Matthew Robertson (goal), Alexis Lafreniere (goal), and Will Cuylle (assist). In a lost season, wins from the Rangers kids mean a lot more than wins from the veterans.
It is far too soon to make any definitive statements about the Rangers kids, but in a season that saw Robertson and Noah Laba win spots out of camp and stick, followed by the addition of Gabe Perreault in a top six role, then Jaro Chmelar seeming sticking on the fourth line, and now this trio of Rangers kids added this week, it gives us hope for the future. And perhaps hope for longer run on sentences.
Rangers development has been called into question–for good reason–over the course of the last decade. But perhaps that statement is overblown because of some pretty rough draft misses like Lias Andersson, Vitali Kravtsov, and Brennan Othmann. Sometimes it’s scouting, sometimes it’s luck, and sometimes you just need to be patient. Robertson in particular is a good example as he’s a late bloomer and has been a pleasant surprise.
The Rangers kids have a lot more work to do. While most of these guys, save for Perreault, project to be bottom of the lineup players, they still have an outside shot at moving up in the lineup. Laba, Fortescue, and Sykora are the two players of note here, as there’s a solid chance all three could wind up as solid middle of the lineup players. Sykora could be what people think Brett Berard is too.
Watching the Rangers kids over the last month has been a breath of fresh air and a nice distraction from whatever it is JT Miller (a goal and two assists last night, by the way) is doing out there. Naturally this season is lost, but if the Rangers are able to plug in kids on entry level contracts into key spots, it gives them cap space to add a big name, perhaps Jason Robertson, in a trade or via offer sheet.
We are all watching what Chris Drury does to thread the needle and make the Rangers true contenders with a quick turnaround. Getting kids to contribute on cheap contracts is a part of that process. They may not be stars, but if they can be key contributors for cheap, then that’s a win too.