FANFARE: MICHAEL ST. CROIX

BY: Adam Gavriel

Michael St. Croix has taken the Western Hockey League (WHL) and New York Rangers fans by force this season. The 18-year old center was drafted the Blueshirts fourth round pick of the 2011 NHL entry draft after recording a 75-point season in 68-games for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. This season, St. Croix is 5^th overall in the WHL scoring race with 70-points (28 goals) in just 46-games. His breakout year in what is normally considered Canada’s toughest and most offensively challenging junior league has prompted Rangers analysts everywhere to rethink their current prospect standings.

SPOTLIGHT: SCOTT TANSKI

BY: Bruce Berlet

When Scott Tanski roofed a shot under the crossbar to win his second practice-ending shootout in three days last week, he was mobbed by virtually all of his Connecticut Whale teammates, many of whom leaped into the plexi-glass to try to get at the personable curly-haired redhead.

“It might have been my new stick,” a smiling Tanski said of his latest skills competition victory. “I like to keep it light in practice, and I know the guys knew I hadn’t had a goal yet, so when I win the shootout, it’s pretty special. We’d won a few games, and I just go to practice and try to have fun and work on a lot of things, though a shootout isn’t my specialty. I’ll leave that to Newbs (Kris Newbury) and Zucc (Mats Zuccarello) because they have some pretty moves. I don’t think too much, just think, ‘Shoot the puck,’ and I was lucky to squeeze a few in there. It must be some confidence with that new stick.”

IN THE CORNER WITH BRIAN RING – SCOTT TANKSI

BY: Brian Ring

Rookie forward and Ontario native Scott Tanski was all but ready to head to Carleton University to start the season, but the need for an extra body put him directly on a track that would see him start his professional career by cracking the Whale roster.

After spending the last four seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the OHL, Tanski was looking to take the next step towards a professional career by attending the Ottawa school. A phone call would change that quickly, however, as he had caught the eye of Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark.

BRUCE BERLET REPORTS – TENACIOUS TANSKI

BY: Bruce Berlet

You can’t help but root for Scott Tanski to make the Connecticut Whale.

The day before New York Rangers opened camp, Tanski was preparing to leave on a road trip with his Carleton University team in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, when he got a call saying he had four hours to pack his bags and catch a flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York.

The Rangers had sustained several injuries and defections during and after finishing second in a prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., and needed a few more healthy bodies for the start of their training camp in Greenburgh, N.Y.

FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

And on the third day, they rested – deservedly so.

Yes, Monday was an off day for the New York Rangers’ prospects team that moved to 2-0 in a tournament in Traverse City, Mich., with a 6-2 romp over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night. Left wing Ryan Bourque, son of NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, had two goals to increase his total to a team-high three in two games and a team record eight in three tournament appearances. The Rangers broke open the game with third-period goals by Jason Wilson, Andrew Yogan and Bourque.

J.T. Miller, the Rangers’ first-round pick (15^th overall) in June, Shane McColgan and Bourque scored in the first period, when Scott Stajcer enabled the Blueshirts to enjoy a 3-1 lead by making 14 of his 26 saves. The Rangers allowed a power-play goal with only 17 seconds left in the second period that got the Stars to 3-2 and gave them a 25-20 shot advantage. But after a plea from coach Ken Gernander for better skating and pressure on Stars goalie Jack Campbell, the Rangers got the first 14 shots of the third period in amassing a 19-3 advantage in the final 20 minutes.

FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

The New York Rangers will continue a new tradition when many of their top young players participate in a prospects tournament beginning Saturday in Traverse City, Mich.

All but five of 24 players have their NHL rights owned by the Rangers, and 10 were selected in the past two drafts. With the Rangers’ recent commitment to – and success with – homegrown talent, the faithful in the Madison Square Garden blue seats eagerly await seeing what many believe to be the Rangers’ strongest team in their five years in the tournament.

And the Blueshirts faithful will be able to watch them for the first time without having to travel to Michigan as MSG Network will telecast the Rangers’ four games. John Giannone and Joe Micheletti will call the action, and fans will have an opportunity to comment during the telecasts via Twitter.

FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

Tommy Grant arrived in Hartford in late March unheralded but hardly bashful in his demeanor.

Grant had a bit of an edge from the get-go. Nothing cocky, mind you, just an air of confidence that he belonged in the AHL with the Connecticut Whale after his best of four seasons at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Befitting the tenure of his attitude often accompanied by a wry smile, Grant had two assists in his pro debut, a 4-2 loss at the Providence Bruins on March 27 after signing an amateur tryout contract 24 hours earlier and 10 days after completing his senior year at UAA. The Whale brass thought so much of Grant so quickly that they signed him to a free-agent contract two days later.

FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

Speedy Carl Hagelin is being given a good chance of making the New York Rangers this season off a stellar career at the University of Michigan and a solid showing with the Connecticut Whale in the playoffs in April.

But Hagelin had never attended the Rangers’ prospects camp until late June because of injuries the last two years. He prepped for the camp doing a lot of running and lifting weights with his brother in their native Sweden and felt fortunate to be one of the older players (22) after the standout career at Michigan. He co-captained the Wolverines to the NCAA title game in April, losing 3-2 in overtime to Minnesota-Duluth, and then spent three weeks practicing and playing regular shifts with the Whale after signing an amateur tryout contract.

“Playing for Michigan was pretty tough because of a lot of good players who are drafted, so I was kind of used to the tempo (in prospects camp),” Hagelin said at the Rangers’ training center in Greenburgh, N.Y. “There was always a good pace, but I was used to that. So it was kind of what I expected, but obviously the testing was a bit tougher than I expected. I wasn’t used to skating three laps in a row six times. You never really skate three laps in a game or in practice, so it was obviously good for your mental toughness and overall skating.”

FAN-FARE: BUILDING A CORE

BY: Adam Gavriel

In John Tortorella’s first off-season as Rangers’ head coach he began preaching the idea of the team developing a, “Core,” the idea of getting young and staying young, building a team together and eventually turning it into a perennial winner. That was during the 2009 off-season. Today, 2 years later, waiting for the season to begin, the Rangers have one of the best “core” of young talent in the NHL in place. That groups is complimented by two superstars on the team’s top line.

The primary homegrown core who were all drafted and nurtured by the organization consists of Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi; with honorable mentions to Michael Sauer, Derek Stepan, and Artem Anisimov. From outside the franchise came Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust and Ryan McDonagh.

DRAFT SUMMARY

RANGERS MAKE SIX SELECTIONS IN 2011 NHL DRAFT

Blueshirts select 4 forwards and 2 defensemen

New York, June 25, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather, along with Director of Player Personnel, Gordie Clark, oversaw the club’s activity in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The club, which held six picks in the draft, selected four forwards and two defensemen.