PHN Mock NHL Entry Draft: New York Rangers

NEW YORK, NY – Regardless of your thoughts on the New York Rangers and their checkered past in terms of player acquisitions, the franchise has always been noted for drafting the best available talent.  
 
In the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the club went for the best available talent and chose Alexei Cherepanov despite the lack of official arrangements between the NHL and Russian hockey.   For 2008, the Rangers have few

deep holes to fill on their Broadway roster or in the system.   Notably, the franchise is thin in goal but not so thin as to drive them to picking a netminder in the 20^th position this year.
 
Some of the Rangers’ picks, with this philosophy in mind, have panned out well including goalie Henrik Lundqvist while Pavel Brendl sends shudders up and down the spines of many a Rangers fan.  
 
So this year the Rangers are faced with the task of addressing needs and identifying the best talent available at the 20^th slot in the draft.
 
The franchise’s needs seem to remain in the defensive zone.   The youth on Broadway and those awaiting a shot in Hartford are talented and improving with each shift on the ice.
 
A few unrestricted free agents on the blueline may cause some lost nights of sleep for general manager Glen Sather including Michal Rozsival and Paul Mara.   But Fedor Tyutin, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, and Christian Backman anchor a young and developing defensive core of players who may give some respite to Sather and head coach Tom Remey.  
 
On the forward lines the UFA names are those of older players and higher salaried roster spots including Jaromir Jagr who might well have played himself into a spot next season with a late season and postseason surge.   Otherwise a smart approach to the lineup will jettison the aging and not so productive players.
 
If Cherepanov joins the club this season the forward lines will be improved and the blueline will reclaim the focus of the draft.  
 
Headlining the possibilities for the Rangers is John Carlson of the Indiana Ice in the United States Hockey League ( www.ushl.com ).   At 6’2”, 215 pounds, the 18-year old defenseman may be what the Rangers are looking for this draft season.   In 59 games, the Colonia, NJ native racked up 43 points on 12 goals and 31 assists and was a plus-11 for the season.   He added 72 PIMs on the season.  
 
The International Scouting Service has placed Carlson in the 21^st position with a range of opinions from scouts including “raw talent”, “NHL physical tools”, and “NHL strength”.   Other scouts have placed the right-handed shooting defenseman lower in the draft because he is coming out of the USHL where some view the level of play with less than a kind eye.
 
He is reportedly committed to the University of Massachusetts for next season and the Rangers would have an opportunity to see him develop from as close by as Hartford.  
 
Carlson is big, strong and offensively-minded; all desirable and good qualities for a Broadway show.
 
Picking in the 20^th position in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Rangers select John Carlson, defenseman, from the Indiana Ice.
 
Contact the author at lm.davis@prohockeynews.com .