We all have our vices, things we are addicted to and can’t imagine them not being a part of our lives. Obviously New York Rangers hockey is my #1 vice. Ive been a die hard fan for most of my life. But, little known to most of you there is a second vice of mine, one nearly as important as the Rangers are for a huge chunk of my life. Yes, I know it’s tough to believe but it is true. What is the vice? Sadly the geek in me is forced to come out and admit it is a game called Diablo, Diablo 2, and Diablo 2x. If you’ve never played these games, I probably would be doing you a favor by suggesting you don’t. Why? Because if you do you will lose countless thousands (yes thousands) of hours lost in an immersive world the likes of which are hard to describe. And unfortunately for my sanity, it appears Diablo 3 is on its way.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

Just a heads up, I will be doing a live blog on July First when the free agent frenzy starts. Interesting year this year for the Rangers. massive amount of holes to fill right now, and a very small amount of money (relatively) that they can do it with.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

-There will be far fewer posts today, probably just covering big trades and the Rangers picks. Round 2 should be starting any minute now.

-Sheesh, if I knew it started at 10 instead of 9:30, I would have gotten an extra 30 minutes of sleep.

-Rangers Select Derek Stepan in round 2

-”Derek is a very good skater who accelerates quickly, pulling away from his opponent. He is quick on the forecheck and he possesses a surprising reach. He has very good hands with a quick-release shot and excellent passing. He is a smart player who will continue to improve.”

- Patterns his game after Dallas Stars’ Mike Modano – “I like the way he makes things happen and is just a natural goal scorer”.

- His nickname is “Dstep” and if he wasn’t playing hockey he would be a tap dancer.

- Yeah, look at the thing I just wrote…It is legit…Oh Jesus…

-Atlanta took Paquette in the 3rd. Great pick for them

-Isles took David Toews in the 3rd, superb pick for them.

-Jyri Niemi taken by the Isles, man, they are having a great 2nd and 3rd round.

-And now the isles also took Petrov, wow, awesome draft for the isles here not counting the first round.

-Evgeny Grachev taken by the Rangers in round 3

-”Evgeny is a power forward with a good physical presence and ability to come up with the puck in traffic areas. He displays strong puck skills and the ability to make plays all over the ice, but needs to improve his acceleration and overall speed.”

-Grachev is a very good pick, this one I like….finally.

-Rangers traded up to #90 and took Tomas Kundratek

-”The 6-1, 180 pounder was a member of the Czech Republic’s world under-18 squad in 2007, and followed that up with an appearance for his country at the 2008 WJC in his home land. He produced one goal, two penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating in the tournament… has already appeared in 36 games in the Czech Republic Extraliga, and could be a full-time member of HC Trinec in 2008-09… has some offensive potential, sound instincts for the defense position and is also right-handed–an added bonus… ”

-Seems like a good pick.

-Carolina just drafted Michael Jordan, first basketball, then baseball, now hockey?

-Dale Weise a Ranger, taken in the 4th round, we traded up to grab him…

- The Predators swung their third trade of the day sending the 111th pick to the NY Rangers for the 201st pick and the Rangers’ fourth round pick next year. So apparently thats how we got Weise. Not sure how we got Kundratek.

-5th Round pick about to happen for the Rangers…

-Apparently Rangers dealt Bourret for the #90 pick, if so, just a disgusting move for the Rangers. You don’t give up on the kid so quickly. Give him at least 1 more season before you give up on him and move him for a 3rd rounder.

-Rangers take Chris Doyle in the 5th, a point a game player in the Q.

-”In his second QMJHL campaign, he placed second on the Rocket with 63 points in 63 games. He also finished second with 27 goals… participated in the 2008 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Edmonton… the 6-0, 193 pounder was rated 130th among North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings… has two-way potential but must play with greater consistency–both with and without the puck–in order to maximize his value as an NHL prospect… needs to add bulk so as to become a better pro…”

-Rangers made their 6th round pick, but not sure who they took just yet since the board is currently empty…

-Mitch Gaulton: 6′ 210lb D-man

-Barring a trade, that should be it. Im done, and very tired, only 4 hours of sleep last night, me thinks its time for a Saturday afternoon nap.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

Everyone, myself included, believes you generally go with Best Player Available in a draft. You don’t draft for need, you draft whoever is the best player left on the board. So with all that said I am going to sound very hypocritical when I say I don’t particularly care for the pick of Michael Del Zotto from Oshawa. Why? Because we already have a better version of Michael Del Zotto from Oshawa, his name is Bobby Sanguinetti, from Brampton, soon to be Hartford, and shortly thereafter in New York playing along side Marc Staal.

While I havent seen Michael play, I have done some reading and looked at a few videos on youtube and looked at some stats, and heres what I have come up with…WE ALREADY HAVE A BETTER VERSION OF THIS KID IN OUR SYSTEM!! Bobby plays a better defensive game from all accounts (though certainly no Lidstrom, hes at least adequate in his own zone which Michael is not…yet), Bobby is a bigger goal scoring threat, and really, Bobby played on teams where he was the primary offensive attacking option on many nights. He was close to the top in terms of point production, ranking 3rd on his team where no player broke 100 points, Del Zotto was 5th on the Oshawa Generals team that featured 2 100+ point players, one of whom being 1 John Tavares, breaker of Wayne Gretzkys records. Looking at Del Zottos stats, you see that a lot of his numbers are from assists, not goals. Thats ok, most defenseman, and NHL players in general work out that way, but when you have a 1 man offensive blitzkrieg like John Tavares on your team, and you see 47 assists, you wonder how many of those are simply Michael passing the puck to Tavares, and Tavares going in and scoring all by his lonesome, and Michael picking up a point. All I am saying is, when I look at Del Zottos stats, and I look at Sanguinettis stats, Sanguinettis stands out more because he was looked at to be “the man”, Del Zotto didn’t have the same pressures if you ask me.

Secondly, the Rangers have a clear area of concern throughout the organization, THEY DO NOT HAVE A BRUISER! Del Zotto appears to be willing and able to make hits, but he isnt a Teubert, or Petrecki, or Orpik kind of a player who will murder players, THAT is what we needed. Maybe Del Zotto might have been the best player available, and maybe I have no right whatsoever bitching about the pick, but I see John Carlson on the board, and I read what I have read about the kid, and I have to ask myself, why the Rangers passed on a kid with so many tools, and who is capable of being that bruiser with some offensive upside?

This pick just does not make any sense to me. Who knows, maybe Del Zotto will combine with Sanguinetti to form a lethal power play pairing the likes we havent seen since Zubov and Leetch lit up broadway 14 years ago. Maybe Staal, Sanguinetti, Del Zotto, and Michael Sauer will be one of the most feared bluelines in the NHL in 4 or 5 years because of how versatile, and complete they are as a tandem. All I know is, if it were me, Del Zotto would not be the player I would have taken. I just think we could have done better organizationally. Maybe not better in terms of talent, but better for the organization.

For a guy who has been looking forward to this day for months now, I find myself quite disappointed.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

-Yep, I am already in NHL Draft mode. Still an hour to go. As usual, the live blog goes older posts at the top, newer posts on the bottom.

-Wow, Habs given permission to talk to Sundin. Man, I did no see that coming.

-Im going to grab some food before the draft starts, I’ll be back in 15.

-Wow, good trade there between the Kings, Ducks, and Flames. Looks like all 3 teams make out well.

-Tanguay to the Habs for #25. Great move for the Habs imho. They get more offense. Though that probably spells the end of Hossa to the Habs because of Tanguays 5 million dollar hit.

-Stamkos the consensus #1 on TV right now, but I gotta tell you, I think the biggest impact player will be Drew Doughty.

-Bettman on the stage, here we go…

-Panthers moved to the ‘Yotes for Boynton, Ballard and a 2nd rounder. IMHO TERRIBLE deal for the Panthers. They didnt get near enough for him.

-Shocking, just shocking, Stamkos taken at #1.

-Rangers shoulda beaten that offer for Jokinen. Hes an elite #1 forward who got traded for a bag of pucks. Unbelievable.

-HAHAHA, did you catch the way Duffy said Daigle?

-Kings are up, Im sure they will take Bogosian or Doughty.

-Doughty, what a great player. Kings got an elite player right there.

-Thrashers are up, Id take Filatov if I were them. I know they will likely go for Bogosian, but Filatov is the best player available right now, and those guys need to think about who is going to best help their franchise right away. Filatov playing with Kovalchuk scares me even thinking about it.

-Bogo to the Thrashers. Bad pick imho….well, not a bad pick, just not the right pick. Bogo is a superb player, but Filatov is the right player for that club.

-Blues on the board, Pietrangelo should be the guy.

-Wow, JD has aged a lot since becoming team president. I guess those responsibilities will do it to ya.

-Good pick for the Blues.

-Isles on the board, they would have to be on crack to trade the pick and give up the chance to get Filatov.

-Oh jesus, the isles are just the worst run club out there, unless somehow Filatov drops to 7.

-Like I said, the only way this one works out for the Isles is if Columbus passes up on Filatov and he drops to 7.

-My guess is Schenn.

-Well, getting 2 picks to move down 2 spots isnt all that bad I suppose.

-Another trade. Wow, Columbus overpaid a LOT to get Umberger.

-Columbus up, they should take Filatov IMHO.

-Filatov gone, Islanders just screwed up big time IMHO.

-Wow, yet another trade…Islanders move down 2 more spots again. Reminiscent of the Thrashers when they moved down to get Bourret.

-Here is where things get interesting. No idea who Nashville will take here.

-Colin Wilson, great pick for the Preds.

-Phoenix is up, id go with a defenseman here if I were them.

-Gretzky, the only guy who could get applause while taking a dump….fwiw, I still wear my Gretzky Rangers jersey while I watch games on TV.

-Well, looks like I was wrong. Don’t know much about this Boedker kid.

-Here come the Isles…I think they go with Myers.

-Nope, they went with Bailey. The 12th ranked player taken at #9.

-Canucks are up, RIP Bourdon.

-I thought for a minute that it might have been Beach there, which scared me. Kyle is someone I hope falls to the Rangers if Carlson and Teubert are gone.

-Chicago is up…F*** Beach is gone. DAMN IT.

-Kings dealt their pick to Buffalo it seems…

-Myers is gone. Good pick.

-Kings are on their way to becoming the Western Conference version of the Pens. Great drafting because of ineptitude.

-F***, F***, F***, F***, F***, F*** There goes Teubert….DAMN IT.

-Here come the Canes, only 2 more players im really interested in, Carlson, and Petrov.

-Nashville is next, were getting close to the Rangers picking…

-Looks like we have another trade…Ottawa and Nashville swap picks with Ottawa throwing in a 3rd rounder.

-Karlsson, I know many people had him falling to us in their mocks.

-Here come the Bruins, I think they may take Carlson here….ugh…

-Screw the Celtics, and that whole city. Whew, Carlson still on the board.

-Anaheim goes with the High Schooler…

-Here comes Nashville again…They will likely go with a goalie…

-Philly goes up, my guess, they screw the Rangers and take Carlson, while we take Del Zotto, a guy im not as high on as others…

-Here it comes…Wow, they went Sbisa, WOOT, Carlson is on the board! Dont blow this!

-Rangers take Del Zotto…Im not a super happy guy right now. Hes a good pick, I just liked what I heard about Carlson more.

-Rangers have a genuine NEED for a big time heavy hitting defenseman. they went and drafted a player whom we already have a better version of in our system. Im not very happy.

-Caps are up, Devils traded down. My guess is the Devils take Carlson just to piss me off.

-Caps take another Swede, Oilers up now…

-Oilers take Eberle, not that big of a fan of this kid.

-NJ moving down again…

-Minny take Tyler Cuma, interesting pick, not a big fan of converted players like this.

-Here come the Devils, and John Carlson

-”All our fans?” Puhlease, there are maybe 6 Devil fans across the world who are watching this. Wow, they took Tedenby. Excellent pick.

-Both Petrov and Carlson still on the board…Maybe trade up and grab em now?

-Nemisz taken by the Flames, pretty good pick by the Flames.

-Sutter, ever the talker. Buffalo about to make their pick, no idea who they are going with.

-Another midget player for an already small Buffalo team.

-Man, how many trades can you legally have in 1 draft?

-Ugh, there goes Carlson to Washington. Caps got themselves a heck of a player.

-Aaaand another trade. Phoenix on the board.

-Wow, Phoenix takes Tikhanov, a guy I hoped we could get in the 3rd round. I cant believe they traded up to get this kid. Hes an excellent player, but he dominated as an older player, but might be close to being NHL ready.

-Thrashers up here, I think they take a goalie…Uhh, who did they take? Leveille? Never heard of him.

-Detroit is up, and the first round will be over in a few…

-Detroit took a goalie. Interesting, I didn’t think they would with some pretty decent skaters still on the board.

That concludes the draft, Ill probably make a post on what I think about Del Zotto tonight. And I will be back tomorrow.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

I will be Live Blogging both days of the draft. So check in here if you want to be one of only 3 or 4 people pathetic enough to spend their Friday night, and all day Saturday talking about the NHL draft.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

The NHL draft will be taking place in just 4 short days. Usually I find myself knee deep in reading material on these kids, and this year is no exception. Although I would consider myself a prospect novice in most cases, I still read enough, and trust other peoples judgement enough to be able to couple that information with my own perceived needs and wants of the team I follow. With that said, here are my top 4 choices for the Rangers this draft:

1) Stay put, draft John Carlson. The kid has been a big time riser during the combine. Hes shown adult physical attributes, with still room to grow. He hits, he can skate, he can play offense, hes good in his own zone, he has all the tools to be an elite #1 defenseman. However he isn’t without risk. Every year there seems to be a player that comes out of nowhere, or who seems to have his value rise inexplicably only to fall back down to earth the moment hes drafted (Hugh Jessiman anyone?). I’ll admit, its risky, but I really like what Ive read about the kid, and Jess from Prospect Park speaks very highly of the kid, and we know what a prospect junkie Jess is.

2)If John is off the board at #20, as I expect him to be, draft Colten Teubert. Ive seen him go on mock drafts anywhere from 12, to 30, so there is a very good chance he could be there at #20. If he is, and Carlson isnt, take him. Hes a big time hitter, but doesnt have much offensive upside at all. Ive read comparisons to Shea Weber sans the heavy shot, which I am a-ok with. I want a kid who can punish other guys, and while John Carlsons overall game is quite appealing, Teuberts mean streak brings him up to #2 on my most wanted list.

3)If both Carlson and Teubert are gone, which is a pretty good possibilty, draft Kyle Beach if he drops as many expect. The kids attitude is in question, not his playing ability, and attitude is something the Rangers are very concerned with. Usually I prefer to pass on the head cases, but this kid may be the exception. Hes got size, hes got a chip on his shoulder, and hes got skill. He is injury prone as well, which is a little scary, but this might be one of those swing for the fences type picks, where he becomes the next Owen Nolan, or becomes the next Pavel Brendl. Time will tell.

4)If all 3 of those guys are gone, then trade down with Los Angeles, as the kings are likely trying to move up. If you can grab the 28th and 32nd picks from Los Angeles to move down 8 spots, you do it. With the 28th pick, id gamble and take Kiril Petrov. A kid who is likely to sink like a brick in this draft because of his contract situation. Im not entirely clear on what exactly his contract situation is, because I have read conflicting reports from many different places, but basically hes under contract (probably) for the next 3-4 years. He does (apparently) want to come and play in the NHL. Hes a power forward with tremendous skill, and willingness to power the puck to the net and can play either wing. We could also take a risk on Jared Staal, just because I know everyone loves the kid, and you might as well take a gamble on him with the thought that maybe you can entice one of his brothers to play here as well to play with the other 2 Staals. Tikhanov impressed the hell out of me in the juniors, and Id definitely take a risk on him with the 52nd pick. There are a few swedes as well who might be available in the 2nd round that drop because of the abundance of high quality north american players.

So there you have it. That’s what I would do with the draft.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

Rangers Review | Comments Off

No, not because Michal Rozsival is scheduled to go under the knife which may bring him back into a price range the Rangers can afford, but because 28 years ago today, yours truly was unleashed upon the Rangers organization. Yep, it’s my birthday and I’ll cry post if I want to.

Not much on tap for me, and the only reason im even posting this is to actually direct you guys to a pretty well written mock draft by Jess over at PP. Check it out.

Rangers Review | Comments Off

I watched maybe 10 minutes of the Stanley Cup Finals. It didn’t interest me to see either of those teams win it, or lose it. Frankly, I didn’t care. It’s how I always am following the elimination of my team. I don’t like to see other teams play, it reminds me too much of how we lost, and the game is much harder to appreciate then. Regardless, congrats to the Detroit Red Wings. They won it, and they built their team the right way, on the fly, while always putting out a superior product year in and year out. The same can not be said about the Penguins, who owe their success thanks to a decade of losing, and some very lucky lottery balls to draft Crosby.

Now the Rangers offseason really begins. Looking towards the draft in a little over 2 weeks, I think we should go with whoever is the meanest, nastiest SOB defenseman available. I want a guy like Phaneuf, even if he doesn’t have the offensive upside. I want a guy who will level any player, at any time, and can fight, and can end careers. I know we have a shortage of elite offensive talent, but we also have an excess of wussiness. I’m ready to trim the fat.

Rangers Review | Comments Off