#RyanMcDonagh

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NEW YORK RANGERS MAKE JACOB TROUBA 28th TEAM CAPTAIN

BY: The New York Rangers New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced today that defenseman Jacob Trouba had been named the 28th captain. "Since he joined the Rangers, Jacob has consistently displayed all of the qualities we want in a leader on and off the ice," Drury said. As we look to take the next step as an organization, he is a role model for all of our players to follow and the perfect choice to be our captain." "Right away when I got here, it was clear that Jacob had a certain presence in the locker room and among his teammates that exemplify what you need out of a captain," said Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant. "With where our team is at and where we want to be, he is the right person to lead us there." Trouba, 28, will be the Rangers' first captain since Ryan McDonagh (2014-15 - 2017-18) and becomes the 12th defenseman in team history to be named captain. The Rochester, Michigan native is the fourth straight American-born skater the Rangers have selected as captain. The Rangers are the first franchise in NHL history to have four consecutive full-time American-born captains (Trouba, McDonagh, Callahan, Drury). In addition, Trouba is one of three defensemen in the NHL to hold the captaincy for their respective teams, joining Minnesota's Jared Spurgeon and Nashville's Roman Josi. A respected voice in the locker room, what Trouba does off the ice is equally remarkable to his performances on the ice. His enthusiastic support of the Garden of Dreams Foundation (GDF) and Junior Rangers Youth Hockey has generated a lasting impact on many tri-state area children. His passion for making a difference in youth communities is consistently displayed in his participation in hockey clinics, Make-a-Wishes, and visits to local hospitals. Trouba, who was named one of the Rangers' alternate captains before the start of the 2020-21 season, has skated in 597 career NHL games over nine seasons (2013-14 - 2021-22) with the Rangers and the Winnipeg Jets, registering 62 goals and 195 assists for 257 points, along with a plus-53 rating. He has averaged at least 21:00 of ice time per game in each of his nine NHL seasons, and he has posted a plus/minus rating of even or better, 90 or more hits, and at least 100 blocked shots in eight of his nine seasons in the league. Last season, the 6-3, 208-pounder scored a career-high 11 goals, notched 28 assists for 39 points in 81 games, and posted a career-high plus-25 rating. His 11 goals were tied with Adam Fox for the most among Rangers defensemen in 2021-22. In addition, Trouba tallied 177 blocked shots last year, the second most in the NHL, to go along with his 207 hits. He was the only player in the NHL in 2021-22 to record both 175-plus blocked shots and 200-plus hits and was the first Ranger since Dan Girardi in 2014-15 to notch both in the same season. The Rangers acquired Trouba from Winnipeg on June 17, 2019. The Jets originally selected Trouba in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. See this story on the Rangers website HERE NEW YORK RANGERS HOME Read the full article

[stamkos]

me, someone who has like 15 saved urls: PEOPLE HAVE AMAZING URLS SAVED THAT I WANT AND ITS NOT FAIR THEYRE NOT EVEN USING IT

[official-sports]

. . . #RyanMcDonagh #JTMiller #NBA #MLB #NFL #NHL #UAAP #NCAA #PBA #PSL #PVL #WNBA #Tennis #sport #sports #sportsday #lifeinism #sportsday #sportscenter #sportsillustrated #sportlife #sportday #sportsbar #sportsspecialties #sportive

[lokibones]

Goodby Mac 😕 #nyrangers #rangers #blueshirtbanter #tradedeadline #trade #trades #nhltradedeadline #nhl #ryanmcdonagh #jtmiller #rebuild

[johncerilli]

#NYRangers captain #RyanMcDonagh during the pregame skate around tonight. #NYR #MSG #MadisonSquareGarden #NHL #hockey #Rangerstown (at Madison Square Garden)

[official-sports]

. . . . . #RyanMcDonagh #TampaBay #Lightning #TampaBayLightning #NHLFreeAgency #NBA #MLB #NFL #NHL #UAAP #NCAA #PBA #PSL #PVL #WNBA #Tennis #sport #sports #sportsday #lifeinism #sportsday #sportscenter #sportsillustrated #sportlife #sportday #sportsbar #sportsspecialties #sportive

[nhl]

Using what your Mama gave you.

[trendlr-blog]

RT @Chris_Berkin: Can't believe Ed Milliband is trending, when his name is Ed Miliband. #oops

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CANTLON'S CORNER: LINDGREN GETTING PRIMED FOR THE NHL

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The New York Rangers may be attempting to battle their way through a five-game losing streak down in the Big Apple, meanwhile, though, back on the farm, the Hartford Wolf Pack remain undefeated, their only blemish a shootout loss (5-0-0-1). They're currently preparing for their first weekend of three-games-in-three-days with the Laval Rocket on Friday and a home-and-home set with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Among the young stallions being readied for a possible NHL recall, is defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Among the last cuts from training camp, Lindgren has a natural sting for a player but is not taking the pouting route. “It wasn’t what I wanted, but Gord (Associate Head Coach, Gord Murphy) has talked to me since I got here about my work in the defensive zone, and he’s got us all on the same page, so I will be ready when we get to the NHL,” Lindgren, with a the sound of affirmation in his voice, said. The arrival of Murphy, with over 700 games of NHL playing experience as one of the league’s top defenseman,  and his 17 years as an NHL assistant coach, are being utilized every day by Lindgren. “I just love it. I try to get as much information from Gord as I possibly I can. A guy who's played over 700 NHL games and be able to make it, but also stay and stick around there, knows what it takes. I want to learn everything I can. I pick his brain every day. He’s been great to talk to, and very easy to talk to. He really listens to and helps you with what you ask." Last weekend the coaches instituted a defensive partner switch for Lindgren, moving him from Jeff LoVerde to Darren Raddysh. It's part of the master plan. “I played with Jeff early on here, and we hit it off pretty good. Now I’m with Raddysh, and Gord is trying to see what we can do together (as a unit). It’s good to mix things up,” remarked Lindgren. Murphy is already a Lindgren fan. “For some players, it comes naturally playing in your own end, and some it takes time. Ryan is a competitive athlete. He takes pride in his game and knows that's his strength. He is a very mature young man, and that's a benefit to his play,” Murphy said of the rugged, left-handed shooting rearguard. In fact, last week, Lindgren broke a 74-game scoreless streak with a gorgeous rush into the offensive zone during the Bridgeport game. “That felt so good after going all last year with none. Nice to get the monkey off my back,” Lindgren said with a laugh. He gave an extra fist pump after the tally. When asked if it was more like a gorilla, he replied, "It felt like that.” His last goal was game-winner in Hershey against the Bears and was the game’s first star on March 25, 2017, in a 4-2 win. It made Murphy smile as well. ‘We're working on having him make that rush. Make him a 200-foot player and the goal surprised a lot of people including himself. It was good to see him have that confidence with the puck. Everybody was happy for him and it showed he’s not a one-dimensional player,“ Murphy said while putting emphasis on the phrase one dimension. Murphy likes a lot in Lindgren and how despite his physicals style, and his self-admitted penchant for trash-talking, he doesn’t hurt his team. “He isn’t in the penalty box a lot for a player who loves contact. He is not taking selfish penalties or hurting his team. He has the ability to play physical or with intimidation if you will, and he makes sure the other guy is going to have a lot of ice bags on after the game.” The early season winning is important to Lindgren. “We want to build a winning culture here. Last year was my first pro season, and all the losing we did wasn’t fun. Now we have new coaches, and all the coaches and (management) have emphasized, is that this is a new beginning here.“ Lindgren is putting his imprint on this team, but he is clearly a player who might find his way to Broadway at some point his season in a way reminiscent of Ryan McDonagh, who was here some years back. NOTES: The Wolf Pack's first three-in-three begins Friday at 7:15 pm against Laval where it's possible that Lindgren will possibly skate against his older brother, Charlie, a goalie for the Rocket. The two have never played against one another as both took different paths to play and have four years apart in age. One organizational move - Foward Shawn McBride, who played one exhibition game and was nursing an injury playing up with the Pack's ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners, along with a full boat of other players, was recalled and reassigned to play to the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL). Ex-UCONN Husky captain, and defenseman, Miles Gendron, was recalled from Brampton (ECHL) to Belleville (AHL). Sam Gagner, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Dave Gagner, was recalled from Bakersfield by Edmonton. Ex-Pack, Drew Melanson, signs a try-out deal with EV Bayreuth (Germany DEL-2) Former Sound Tiger, Andrew MacDonald, signs a Euro deal with SC Bern (Switzerland-LNA). No news on the Ryan Gropp suspension front, Hartford, of course, has its arena issues, but they're not alone. As they celebrate the 15th year of minor pro hockey in the city, The Stockton Heat have problems of their own.  Read about it HERE. Read the full article

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CANTLON: (SAT) CHECKERS KNOCKED OFF 5-2 BY PACK IN SEASON OPENER

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - It was the rookies that were touted, but it was the veterans on the Hartford Wolf Pack roster that provided the balance of the offense while rookie goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, shut the door on the Charlotte Checkers in an opening night 5-2 victory before the lowest home opening night crowd in franchise history, 5,040, at the XL Center Saturday night. “(We) didn’t look great at the start, but we needed to settle down and we didn’t get rattled. That was important and answered back. When we made mistakes, Shesty was great back there. He made the saves we needed. One thing though, we can’t rely on (the goalie) holding the fort all the time,” Kris Knoblauch said after his first win at the AHL level and as the Pack's new head coach. The veterans consisting of Danny O’Regan (three assists), Matt Beleskey (two goals), Vinni Lettieri (goal and an assist), and Vincent LoVerde (goal and an assist) were the offensive fulcrum for the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack built a commanding 5-1 lead at 24 seconds into the third period when Beleskey, in a net-front special, on a LoVerde play, tallied his second of the night. “I was happy for Matt who played so well for us. He overcame his disappointment with Rangers camp and (the veterans) showed their maturity. (They) did the little things, made quality plays all over the ice, from dumping in pucks to making good passes. I’m very happy for all those guys. I hope some of those younger players were watching, not that the young guys played bad, they did good, but, there is a learning curve. You need your leaders to lead, and they did that tonight,” Knoblauch said. The Checkers made a game of it scoring twice to make it a two-goal game. David Gust put a rocket of a shot over Shesterkin's glove hand at 4:10 to make it 5-2. Julien Gauthier followed when he was all alone in front of Shesterkin and swept in the rebound of ex-Pack, Brian Gibbon’s shot at 10:22 to make it 5-3. It seemed like that queasy feeling of a season ago where leads would disappear quickly and often felt like it could be making a comeback, but the difference over last season was in the net in the form of Shesterkin. “We didn’t play bad, but more passive than I would like, and Shesty was the difference,” Knoblauch said so succinctly. Morgan Geekie, Hunter Shinkaruk, and Gauthier all tested the Russian rookie, but were all denied. Plus the Pack defense, led by Ryan Lindgren, blocked shots either fully or partially to aid their goaltender's efforts. Hanging in his stall was the Wolf Pack team's “World Heavyweight Championship Belt” for his performance in the game. “He bailed us out, if he doesn’t make some of those saves, we wouldn’t have the two points,“ Beleskey, who pointed out the belt, said. In the second period, it was Beleskey who outworked the Checkers defenseman, ex-Ranger, Frederick Claesson, with a forehand sweep as he took the rebound of O’Regan's shot to make it a 3-1 Hartford lead. “Well, when I’m playing well, that’s the staple of my game. Getting rebounds. Winning battles, taking a few whacks, giving a few whacks back. That’s what makes me effective.” Shesterkin had a quiet first period, but showed the dazzling form that had the Rangers salivating at the prospect of him being on Broadway midway through the second period. He turned a series of shots over a three-or-four-minute period from the Checkers as they peppered him with four quality shots and owned the puck inside the Wolf Pack zone. Eutu Luostarinen, then Gauthier from the right-wing circle, a deflection by Gibbons, and then defenseman Jake Bean's drive, all acrobatically turned aside. The Pack made it a three-goal advantage late in the second period. Newly-minted captain, Steven Fogarty, beat two Checkers, Bean and his defensive partner, Ross McKeown, to the puck behind the goal line and flipped a backhand pass to Lettieri just coming into the right-wing circle. He wasted little time unleashing his shot and the puck was in the back of the net at 17:05 and the Wolf Pack had a three-goal lead. The Wolf Pack earned their way to an early two-goal advantage The second period saw the other part of the Russian connection, Vitali Kravtsov, pinned to the bench by the head coach after a listless first period of play. A little early-season tutorial for the prized prospect, a first in Pack history, or likely anywhere else in hockey that a player, no less than a prized first-rounder was parked on his keyster in Game 1. Knoblauch addressed it head-on. “It's tough for players to adapt because they are so close to playing in the National Hockey League, and getting sent down here can be disappointing. A lot of players think its gonna be easy. "I experienced it a lot in juniors. A kid is so close to making the NHL team and he comes back and they're terrible for a couple of weeks. If you don’t work, and you wait for the puck to come to you, you won’t have much success. Vitali is a good player, and he will be a very good player. He just has to fight through the disappointment.” The Checkers started where they left off from last season scoring early on the Wolf Pack. Just 1:28 in, off a two-on-one off the right-wing, Janne Kaukonen, whose season last year was cut short by injury, banked his shot off the inside of Shesterkin’s left pad and gave the Checkers a 1-0 lead. To the Wolf Pack’s credit, they answered back quickly. Joey Keane came off the right point in the faceoff circle received a perfect cross-ice pass from O’Regan, who exercised great patience with the puck, and Keane beat goalie Alex Nedejlkovic to the far side for his first professional goal at 4:03. Boo Nieves started the whole sequence off with some strong forechecking. “We had a pretty balanced attack I thought. We have a lot of talent up front and the veterans kind of led the way,” said O’Regan.” I had the puck a little longer than I wanted, but he was pretty wide open, and Boo made a great first play on that and I was happy for him (Keane) getting his first pro goal. We did good job getting the puck and getting shots off. "It was a strong start to the season. We have a good team playing hard, playing the right way. He (Shersterkin) played a great game. Good teams, have good goalies and he stood strong.” The Wolf Pack gained their first lead as the veteran, right-handed shooting LoVerde, took a cross-ice pass from rookie Patrick Newell and beat Nedejlkovic from the lower part of the faceoff circle to the far side at 12:06. NOTES: The Pack record low attendance beat the previous mark by a 1,000 set in 2017-18. Pack Scratches: Jeff Taylor Brandon Crawley Ryan Gropp Ville Meskanen Lines: Fogarty-Lettieri-Di Giuseppe Fontaine-Chytil-Kravtsov Gettinger-Jones-Newell O’Regan-Nieves-Beleskey The Checkers lineup included Gibbons (Salisbury Prep) whose one season in Hartford was an exercise in futility. The other local products were Chase Priskie (Quinnipiac University) and ex-Sound Tiger Colin Markison. Friday night the AHL’s first action of season 84 featured eight games, six were decided by two goals or less and there were two shutouts Ontario 5-0 over San Jose and Tucson 2-0 over Texas. Last Wolf Pack off the ice was Kravtsov. He was preceded by Lettieri, Gabriel Fontaine, and Di Giuseppe. Fan Wolf Pack hockey jersey of the night; #44 Mike Ouellette, #41 Stu Bickel, and #17 Ryan McDonagh. Other jerseys of note; Beast of New Haven #24 Steve Washburn, and a favorite player and jersey #16 Michel Goulet, of the Quebec Nordiques. A very nice tribute to the late Bob Guarente, the long-time Chief of Off-Ice Officials who passed away over the summer after his second battle with throat cancer. He served from 1975 till last February when he retired. Now the longest-serving off-ice official is Frank Camera of Bridgeport who served with six different teams in New Haven including the last three AHL teams in the Elm City, the Nighthawks, Senators, and Beast of New Haven. Read the full article

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CANTLON: NHL DRAFT NIGHT - FIRST ROUND

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The New York Rangers made three first round selections in Dallas in Round One of a made for TV 2018 NHL Entry Draft. It was just the fifth time in Rangers history that they had multiple first round picks. The remaining rounds will be conducted Saturday starting at 11 am (NHL Network). None of these picks are likely to see Hartford any time soon. The Rangers' first pick, Russian right winger, Vitali Kravtsov, was a bit out of the box. There were other higher-rated options waiting to be snatched. Among them was another top scoring forward, the BC-bound, Oliver Wahlstrom. He was selected by the Islanders in the eleventh slot. Also on the board were defensemen Evan Bouchard (Edmonton) and Noah Dobson (Islanders 12th pick). With their highest pick at ninth, the Rangers tabbed the lefty shooting, Kravtsov, who at age 18, stands at 6’4 and weighs 185 lbs.  Kravtsov is from Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL). Kravtsov was the second Russian taken in the Top Ten picks. The Carolina Hurricanes took right winger, Andrei Svechnikov. Kravtsov's regular season numbers with the big club weren’t eye popping. He tallied four goals and seven points in 35 games, but he was a boy playing in a men’s league. His post season numbers however were excellent and very well may be a greater indicator of his talent. He put up 11 points (6 goals - 5 assists) in 16 KHL post season games. Playing against his peers with Chelmet Chelyabinsk (Russia-VHL), Kravtsov tallied seven points with four goals in nine games. In one game in the Russian MHL Junior League with Belye Medvedi, he popped in a goal and had three points. Kravtsov is eligible for the CHL Import Draft to be held next week. He has one year left on his Russian contract. If he plays in the KHL, he could only play in Hartford once his Russian season end under the current CBA. One caveat could be similar to the one with Filip Chytil last year. He played with the Pack as an 18-year-old in part because a formal transfer agreement with the Czech Hockey Federation exists while one does NOT exist with Russia. Kravtsov could play in Hartford if an agreement between the Rangers and Traktor Chelyabinsk could be worked out on his Russian contract. Kravtsov did earn the KHL's Alexei Cherepanov Rookie of the Year Award. Cherepanov, of course, was a Rangers first round pick (17th overall) in 2007. He died tragically at a KHL game on October 13, 2008 while with Avangard Omsk. His team and linemate was one-time Ranger, Jaromir Jagr, who was right next to him on the bench with what was called an undiagnosed heart ailment. Subsequent investigations showed the possibility of blood doping, though it was later stated doctors were treating a heart condition that never showed up in the Rangers pre-draft medical evaluation. The Rangers successfully argued that since he was never under contract with the Rangers they were awarded a compensatory draft pick in the second round in the 2009 Draft. That ruling is now known as, "The Cherepanov Rule." The rule is that if a player was selected and should pass away, the team drafting that player will receive a compensatory draft pick.

The second first round pick was an 18-year-old defenseman who has lots of room to grow into. K’Andre Miller from Minnesota is 6’4 195 lb. He played the last two years for the US Development Team program in the USHL. He played international competition for the US U-17 and U-18 teams. Miller is a left-handed shot who played 22 games this season for the USHL squad. He tallied four goals and 12 assists and is a big, punishing hitter. Later, while with the U-18 squad, Miller played 58 games and had nine goals and 29 points. Miller has played the equivalent of an NHL regular season schedule. The U-18 team garnered a silver medal at the IIHF U-18 World Championships. Miller will be heading to the Big 10, where he will play for the University of Wisconsin Badgers program that's coached by former Ranger, Tony Granato. Miller was selected three years ago in the WHL bantam draft by the Saskatoon Blades in the 9th round, 177th overall. He was two sport (football & hockey) athlete at Minnetonka High. The Rangers thought enough of Miller to move up from the 26th pick to 22nd and gave up their 26th and 48th pick to get him.

The last pick is a 17-year-old, right-handed shooting defenseman. His name is Nils Lundkvist and he's from Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League. He went 28th overall. Lundkvist is 5’11 and just 172 pounds. He played on Lulea’s J-20 team. In 26 games, Lundkvist had three goals and 14 points and was voted best defenseman. He also played with the SHL club for 29 games scoring two goals and had five points. He was 16 for most of the season playing against men. He played on Sweden’s U-18 team that won the bronze medal at the IIHF U-18. championships. All three players are eligible for their national World Junior Championship squads. Expect to see them at the tourney which will be held in Vancouver, and Victoria, BC starting December 26 on Canada's Boxing Day. The aforementioned four sets of Rangers dual first round draft picks were interesting parts of Ranger history. In 1971, Steve Vickers, who had a solid Rangers career playing in 698 games and scoring 241 goals, registered 340 assists (586 points), and the highly combustible, the late Steve Durbano. He never played a game for the Rangers and was traded to St. Louis, but in the words of the late great Ranger broadcaster, Bill “Big Whistle” Chadwick,“ speaking of Durbano he said, "He was suspended in every league he ever played in." The words came during his wild fight with Nick Fotiu at the Garden in 1979 when he was on his second tour with the Blues. It set off a major bench clearing melee after a hat trick goal was scored and he exited the ice surface by bending over and mooning the MSG crowd. In 1972, Al Blanchard, who never played a game with the Rangers but played in the AHL with Providence and Springfield, and Bob MacMillan, who played 22 games with the Rangers, but would have a nice career with St. Louis, Atlanta/Calgary Flames, the Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils and Chicago, but not the Rangers. He is presently an amateur scout with Calgary. In 1977 they took Lucien DeBlois and Ron Duguay. They played well in New York. Two years later went the team went to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens where they lost in five games. The Rangers passed on Mike Bossy who would become one of the greatest scoring right wings in NHL history who helped the New York Islanders win four consecutive Stanley Cups. The last set of multiple first round picks came in 1999 at the draft in Boston. The picks that year were Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark. Brendl never played in New York. His lack of conditioning and inflated ego impaled his career in North America. He played in just 77 NHL games with four different teams none of whom were named Rangers. After a stellar junior year with Calgary (WHL), Brendl was assigned to the Wolf Pack for the post season of their Calder Cup winning spring. He ended up being sent home after two games when he tried to instruct head coach John Paddock on how to run the team’s powerplay during practice. Brendl played in Europe last season after taking a year off due to a medical condition. He's rostered to the HC Arlanda Swedish who play in the first division. Lundmark played in 114 games posting 11-19-30 with the Rangers. He had 295 NHL games in total. He played parts of his time with Calgary, Phoenix (nee Arizona) and LA. While with the Wolf Pack, Lundmark played 165 games with 50 goals 68 assists and 118 points Lundmark retired this season after a six year career with Klagenfurter AC in the Austrian Elite League. The first 19 years of the NHL Draft were held in Montreal. 1985 was the first year that it wasn’t. That year the draft was held in Toronto. The first time it was held in the US was in Detroit in 1987. HOCKEY NEWS Late Thursday, Rangers GM, Jeff Gorton, confirmed that Adam Tambellini was not going to receive a qualifying offer. He is free to negotiate a new deal elsewhere. Steven Fogarty was given a qualifying offer and it remains to be seen if he takes it or tries his luck elsewhere. Two more AHL’ers are off to Europe. Miro Aaltonen, from the Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies, heads back to a yet unnamed KHL team. Leland Irving leaves San Diego for HC Bolzano (Italy-AEHL). Read the full article