Long Road Trip Comes to an End

No this was not a scene out of the move "Euro Trip", nor was it a prolonged vacation.  This was the brutal beginning to the 2011-2012 hockey season for the New York Rangers.  A trip that spanned over 20,000 miles, across 2 continents, measuring almost a month's time, and countless cities.  The Rangers finished off their 7 game road trip on Monday night with a victory against the recently renewed Winnipeg Jets.

Preliminary Training Camp Cuts (9/24); Marc Staal Injury Update

John Tortorella wanted to trim the roster down quite significantly prior to the club's European trip later in the week.  They did just that with the teams' first round of training camp cuts on Saturday.

Back to the Ranger's AHL Affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, are goalies Cam Talbot, Jason Missiaen and Chad Johnson; defensemen Lee Baldwin, Collin Bowman, Sam Klassen, Tomas Kundratek, Jyri Niemi, Jared Nightingale, and Pavel Valentenko; and forwards Johnathan Audy-Marchessault, Jordan Hickmott, Tommy Grant, Tayler Jordan, Kale Kerbashian, Chad Kolarik, Matt Rust, Chris McKelvie, Scott Tanski, Kelsey Tessier, and Jason Wilson.

Seven players were also returned to their CHL clubs.  Among those players were defensemen Peter Ceresnak of the OHL team Peterborough, Samuel Noreau of the QMJHL's Baie-Comeau, forwards Shane McColgan who returns back to Kelowna of the WHL, J.T. Miller goes back to Plymouth of the OHL, Christian Thomas returns to Oshawa of the OHL, Andrew Yogan join Peter Ceresnak back in Peterborough, and Michael St. Croix returns to his WHL team Edmonton.

Who Vacates the Hole on the Top Line Left Wing Spot?

There have been several discussions about who should be the player that fills the spot on the top line alongside Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards.  Wojtek Wolski was given the first crack at the spot in training camp and has shown some good chemistry in the early scrimmages with the aforementioned players.

Ryan Callahan Named 26th Ranger's Captain

It's the dawn of a new era in New York Rangers hockey.  Today marked the day where Ryan Callahan was named the 26th Captain in franchise history.  Callahan will be taking over the duties that were vacated by the ousted Chris Drury after his mid-summer buyout.

Callahan not only has earned the respect of his fellow teammates and people within the organization, but throughout the league.  Players across the league have taken notice of what an impact Callahan truly provides on the Rangers.

Callahan will upgrade his role as assistant captain to the new voice of the team.  Marc Staal will remain an assistant captain, and big time free agent acquisition Brad Richards will dawn the other assistant captain spot.

Ranger's General Manager Glen Sather spoke of Callahan in high regard. "Ryan Callahan embodies all the leadership qualities we seek from our Captain. He leads by example with courage and a tireless work ethic on and off the ice, which is why he is so deserving of this honor."

Even the opposition takes notice of Ryan Callahan.  Recent free agent signing Mike Rupp talked about how when he played in Pittsburgh against Ryan Callahan and that he would someday want to be on his team because of his battle and work ethic.

If the Captain is supposed to lead by example, then there really isn't a better player to follow in their footsteps.

Brad Richards overtook Brandon Dubinsky for the final assistant captains spot.  His long history with Tortorella and his success under his tutelage with hopefully be a calming voice in the locker room.  A very quite-spoken man, Richards is yet another player that leads by example.

Russian Plane Crashes Killing 43 Members of KHL team Lokomotiv and Crew

An absolute tragic event has taken place today thousands of miles around the world.  A Russian plane leaving from the city of Yaroslavl in Central Russia crashed shortly after takeoff on it's way to Minsk, Belarus.  The plane was carry the entire KHL team Lokomotiv's active roster.

In The System - A Look At The Top Ranger Prospects Fall 2011

I have here a video that goes along with the previous blog I wrote about the Ranger's top prospects for the Fall of 2011.

This video highlights some of the talents that the Rangers currently have in their system, and some are on the cusp of making the NHL club this year.

Enjoy.

Ranger's Top 10 Prospects - Fall 2011

The Ranger's have a dearth of organizational depth in their system.  The Ranger's have had quite the ability to pump out quality NHL talent for the last few seasons.  Gone are the days of the Blueshirts patching a team together with aging stars that are on the back 9 of their career.  Enter the days where most of the team is assembled from within, surrounded by superstars that fit the system the team is building.