Ranger prospects are off today after suffering back to back shutouts over the weekend -- off insofar as there are no games on the schedule, but no doubt today's optional practice is no longer optional. Although the goal remains player evaluation rather than winning, failing to score a single goal in six periods cannot be sitting well in any precinct. "Ken Gernander was clearly unhappy at the result," Leslie Treff of Hockey's Future reported after the opening game loss to Detroit. "Certain players were called into the coaches office after the game and told what was expected of them next game."
One player does not have to worry about being called on the carpet by Gernander, who is coaching the prospects like he did last year when they won the tournament championship. "Justin Soryal has made the biggest difference so far for New York," reports NHL.com. "Soryal has dropped the gloves in both of the Rangers contests and has been the Rangers’ most dynamic player on the ice." Jess Rubenstein of Prospect Park advises keeping things in perspective. "Once upon a time the Rangers did not have 23 prospects in the system," he writes. "Now they can pick and choose who they want to bring to a tournament like this." Lyon Messier's try-out with the Rangers is the subject of an article here.
Elsewhere, Aaron Voros tells NYR.com that he was a Ranger fan growing up in Vancouver, even in 1994 when the Rangers beat the Canucks in the Cup final. Forgive us if we wonder why Voros never mentioned this before, even when we asked him for our September issue why he chose to come to New York as a free agent. Rangers Report takes a look at several burning issues as the Rangers prepare for the start of training camp tomorrow -- we'll report from the MSG Training Center tomorrow, a day devoted to physical exams and media interviews, and be back each day the rest of the week as the players take to the ice.
Beyond the Blueshirts has some interesting news on ex-Rangers in Russia -- Ivan Baranka, still Ranger property, returned to action after his latest injury, Darius Kasparaitis had twin daughters, and Marcel Hossa was voted KHL player of the week after scoring four goals and two assists in his first six games there, proving quickly and conclusively that the KHL is not in the same league as the NHL yet (although Hossa did have some quick starts to his NHL seasons before fading even faster).
Meanwhile, over in Omsk, having already trotted out the "It's a long season" excuse, Jaromir Jagr is now dusting off the "We haven't played our best yet" excuse. Interestingly, Jagr told a Denik Sport interviewer how different the response would have been in the NHL to being blown out the way Avangard was recently: "Completely different than the NHL. There would be, after this match, the coach putting the team through extra practice sessions. The next morning, two hours of skating without a puck. Here there was an optional practice."
"Completely different than the NHL. There would be, after this match, the coach putting the team through extra practice sessions. The next morning, two hours of skating without a puck. Here there was an optional practice."
What a perfect league for Jaromir. He doesn't have to give 100% effort in order to collect a paycheck and then doesn't have to pay for it afterwards because the coaches there are not holding the players accountable for dogging it. The KHL is a joke from what I'm reading about it.
Posted by: Andrew | September 16, 2008 at 12:34 PM