Rangers Report Blog

There doesn’t appear to be anything close to last year’s deck-clearing Scott Gomez deal or the Dany Heatley talks of June 30, 2009, going down tonight, and from one horse’s mouth, nothing major is expected to happen tomorrow involving the Rangers and the free-agent market.

I guess they will announce the Derek Stepan signing tomorrow, and I imagine they’re working on a deal with Jody Shelley before he hits the unrestricted market. They will surely sniff out a backup goalie—though there are plenty of them available, and no need to rush into that fray. Erik Christensen, meanwhile, might want to think about what happens if he’s not interested in the two-year, $750,000 offer from the Rangers and then doesn’t get a better offer somewhere else. Would the Rangers’ offer still be there?

Personally, I think $750,000 is a bargain for a guy who could play minutes on the top two lines. On the other hand, why should the Rangers go much higher … other than they probably will have to pay more to plug that relatively small hole.

But I’m getting the feeling that the Rangers won’t be in it for Ilya Kovalchuk, and that if he really wants $9M per or more, there won’t be a lot of teams in it, either. The old saying, though, is that it only takes one team.

The fun begins at noon Eastern time. Or Leastern, as we like to say here.

So we are a day away. I just remember the eve of free agency last season when everybody thought the Rangers were about to get Dany Heatley, after they made the Scott Gomez salary-dump trade (in which they got Ryan McDonagh’s rights, not to mention Christopher Higgins). And when the Heatley deal fell through, the Rangers had cleared the deck for Marian Gaborik’s contract the next day.

I don’t know if there will be any action going down tonight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was.

Here, from TSN, is the unofficial list of players who will be free agents from Eastern Conference teams on Thursday.

Here is TSN’s list of players due to be free agents from the West.

I’ll try to publish the official lists when the NHL releases them.
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I was hoping to get to the Garden Monday night, when the Rangers’ top new prospects toured the new design of the building, and Glen Sather and John Tortorella were available. But of course, my “other” job got in the way and I couldn’t go. And I was hoping to get over to the prospects camp one of these days, but of course my “other” job is preventing that so far.

Oh, well.
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I do however, plan to be with youse all day Thursday, whether the Rangers take a dip in the pool or not. Should be an interesting day. Always is.

That is, if the world doesn’t stop spinning for LeBron James.
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MORNING UPDATE, 10:14 A.M.: Gotta tell you, I’m waffling now.

The idea of adding Kovalchuk, if he would come for little more than Redden money, is starting to appeal to me. It’s just that, well, guys like that don’t become UFAs very often, not in their prime. And if you can get him long term, and have Gaborik for four more years, and the goalie is in his prime, and there is still room for the young kids to be incorporated into the team, and Redden’s contract will be gone in September, and Brashear’s will be gone after this season, and maybe you can trade Rozsival and have only one remaining albatross contract (Drury), and still have enough left to sign Staal, well … why not do it?

Why not? Why wait for next year’s UFA class?

Unless you don’t like Kovalchuk as a player. Some don’t.

One other thing: What is Erik Christensen thinking turning down a two-year deal for $750,000 per?
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It used to be a day of excitement and anticipation, like Christmas morning. Now it’s about dread. Nobody is sure what the Rangers ought to be doing Thursday, or might do, but a lot of you are understandably nervous.

Because a lot of things could happen July 1, and a lot of those are bad.

So I’m going to make a suggestion to  Glen Sather and Co., and use the same word George Costanza used when pitching his idea for a sitcom to NBC executives: “Nothing.”

To which the president of NBC replied” “What does that mean?”

Honestly, if the Rangers did absolutely zero on Thursday, I think that would be fine. I also wouldn’t mind if they dipped their toes into the pool and came out with one or two upgrade-type players … guys who are better than what they have at any position, but not at the ridiculous price of a, for example, Ilya Kovalchuk, who is going to want $9 million or something in that ‘hood.

I know the Rangers are in desperate need of top-line forwards and first-pair defensemen. But even if they get one of each, they’re only a team that can contend for a playoff berth. So I say, stay the course.

The course was good last year, even if the result was not. The course included incorporating more youth into the lineup, and there’s more (Evgeny Grachev, maybe Ryan McDonagh) coming behind it.

Stay that course. Then in the fall, take Wade Redden’s contract off the cap books by sending him to Brashear country, the city with the crooked mayor. And if you can trade Michal Rozsival, do that. Then continue to develop the kids, see what you’ve got this year, see if John Tortorella can cultivate it (if not, he’s out) until the next wave (Chris Kreider, Ryan Bourque, Ethan Werek) start to produce NHLers. By then, you’re getting to the end of Chris Drury’s contract, too. And you will have all this youth and all this cap space, and then, who knows, maybe you can have something that resembles the Chicago Blackhawks, not a patchwork collection of players that can’t contend for the big prize.

So for now, this July 1, I’d take a look at players like Matthew Lombardi (age 28) and Colby Armstrong (27, but apparently headed to Pitt), or any of the under-30 guys who might fit with Marian Gaborik on the top line, if they will come for a reasonable price. Once they start talking $5M per and more, walk away.

Then I’d take a look at my own guys, and re-sign Marc Staal and Brandon Prust, try to re-sign Jody Shelley (or another legit enforcer) and maybe even Vinny Prospal if the market brings nothing else, and maybe Eric Christensen. I’d re-sign Dan Girardi, too, unless I could trade him. I think the Rangers could definitely use an upgrade on defense.

As for McDonagh, I get the feeling he’s testing the water before he makes like he wants to sign. He has leverage in that he would be going back to a great situation if he returns to college for his senior year. I am guessing that he wants some assurances that he will have a job, and that he will play, and that he won’t be in Hartford (with Redden and Brashear).

I think the Rangers are still high on Matt Gilroy, even though he found himself in street clothes in the stretch drive. He needs work. I think they have bigger plans for Artem Anisimov this season. So I don’t see what good it will do to bring in older, expensive free agents to push these kids down. Let them grow into something big together. Then you can spend whatever Jim Dolan has leftover after the Knicks’ shopping spree to make a good team better next year or the year after.

I just don’t think that happens by signing one player to a gigantic contract this year. Signing a Kovalchuk or another offensive star improves their chances to make the playoffs, no doubt, but it doesn’t help the goal of becoming a Cup contender. Staying the course might accomplish that.

Maybe I’m wrong about that. I don’t know. You could argue that signing Kovalchuk now gives you two top threats for the next four years, and though that will tie up your cap space for that time period, you can then build around them with your youth. That’s a gamble the Rangers’ management has to consider, I suppose. In other words, two years from now, would you rather have all these young players and cap space and hope there’s a player of Kovalchuk’s caliber on the market; or would you rather have Kovalchuk already in hand, all the young players, and no cap space?

Here’s the sure thing: We can expect the unexpected on Thursday.

Thoughts?
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AFTERNOON UPDATE, 1:05 P.M..: Sad news. Willie Huber passed away at the age of 52.

One of the most misunderstood and underappreciated Rangers ever. Booed often because of his size and his lack of real toughness. If he’d been 6-1 instead of 6-5 or whatever he was, maybe the physical stuff wouldn’t have been expected. He was a terrific puck-handler, passer, shooter, pretty good at moving people out of the crease, too. Just not a banger and not a fighter.

And this: He was a good, good man. A guy his teammates truly liked. I knew him pretty well, and he was a gentleman who never complained about the booing. He will be missed.

Here’s my feeling on the NHL Draft for the Rangers, and it’s the same as every draft:

I don’t know. You don’t know. They don’t know. Nobody knows.

And we won’t know for years. That’s the nature of the animal. Unless you’re getting one of those clear-cut NHL-ready stars like a Crosby, an Ovechkin, a Taylor Hall, there’s no way to judge a draft until, like wine, it ages.

Kids picked in later rounds routinely turn out to be better than players picked in the first round. The Rangers have historically done better in later rounds: such as when they selected Henrik Lundqvist in the seventh round (after taking Filip Novak, Dominic Moore, Premsyl Duben, Nathan Martz, Brandon Snee and Sven Helfenstein) in 2000; or when they selected Doug Weight second after picking Michael Stewart first, and then got Sergei Zubov in the fifth round and Sergei Nemchinov in the 12th round (!) in 1990.

I always go back to the first NHL draft that defined the Edmonton Oilers dynasty (overseen by Glen Sather, as you know). Well, they got a fabulous player in Kevin Lowe in the first round. But they got Mark Messier in the third round and Glenn Anderson in the fourth. You can give Slats all the credit in the world for that draft, but honestly, if he had known that Messier was going to be one of the top five or six players of all time, and that Anderson would score 1000 points and almost 500 goals and go to the Hall of Fame, well, what was he waiting for? And what the hell was everybody else thinking (the Rangers selected Doug Sulliman and Ed Hospodar ahead of Messier!!!)?

The point is this: You are drafting 18-year-olds. Some of them turn out to be Pavel Brendl or Hugh Jessiman. Some of them turn out to be Brian Leetch. You don’t know now. You know later. Especially with defensemen.

Which brings us to this draft. The Rangers trade of former first-rounder Bobby Sanguinetti for a second-rounder and a sixth-rounder pretty much tells us why they felt it was OK to pass on Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley. Maybe they saw Sanguinetti in those two. Highly-ranked, but cookie-cutter, dime-a-dozen  types. Who knows?

Maybe they felt that Dylan McIlrath was more likely to be an NHL player, if not a star then a steady, first-pair defenseman who might one day be a shut-down guy with a Chris Pronger mean streak. We know he’s got the streak, and the size. Plus, maybe we (those watching from a distance) should have taken into account what Gordie Clark and Jeff Gorton said before the draft: That after No. 1 and No. 2, the rest was pretty wide open. That the 19th-ranked player could go third, and vice versa.

Plus, it’s not like McIlrath was ranked 140th. He was the 17th-best North American skater on NHL Central Scouting’s list, and the sixth defenseman. So he went 10th, and as the second defenseman taken.

A surprise? Yes, a surprise. We, who only (and barely) know the names of the prospects coming into a draft, expect the players to be picked in order. Well, that’s why every team has its own scouts. They make their own rankings list. Obviously, Clark—who has had a pretty decent run as a talent evaluator—had McIlrath rated higher than the other available defensemen.

I’m going to go right ahead and admit that he knows better than I. About a zillion times better.

Plus, the Rangers have a boatload of defensemen who can move the puck and skate and pass already in their system. They don’t have a cruncher or a shut-down guy anywhere, in the bigs or in the minors.

Will McIlrath be Pronger? That’s a bit wildly optimistic. Will he be Jeff Beukeboom? Well, he has the size and meanness, and he has more skill than Beukeboom had, and what’s wrong with a first-pair defenseman who plays 10-12 years? Will he be Sanguinetti, and traded at the 2014 draft for a second-round pick? Or will he be Hospodar or Dale Purinton? Very doubtful.

But we won’t know for two, three, four years. He’ll spend next year in juniors, at least.

Maybe by then, one of the other Rangers’ 2010 picks will be playing in the NHL. Who knows?
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But chime in anyway in the poll on the right.
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Here is the Rangers’ release on the draft:

RANGERS MAKE SIX SELECTIONS IN 2010 NHL DRAFT
Blueshirts select  5  forwards and 1 defenseman

New York, June 26, 2010 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather, along with Director of Player Personnel, Gordie Clark, oversaw the club’s activity in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft on Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.  The club, which held six picks in the draft, selected five forwards and one defenseman.

The Rangers began the draft Friday by selecting defenseman Dylan McIlrath with the 10th overall pick.  The 6-4, 212-pounder skated in 65 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season, registering seven goals and 17 assists for 24 points, along with 169 penalty minutes.  He received Moose Jaw’s Most Improved Player Award for the second consecutive season, establishing career-highs in games played, goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, plus/minus rating (plus-20) and game-winning goals (two).  McIlrath was selected to participate in the 2010 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Top Prospects Game on January 20 as a member of Team Orr, and he finished second in the Hardest Shot event at the Skills Competition with a 91.8 mph shot.  The Winnipeg, Manitoba native entered the 2010 NHL Entry Draft as the sixth-highest ranked defenseman and 17th overall among North American skaters in the final Central Scouting Rankings.  The selection marked the fourth time in the last six years the Rangers have chosen a defenseman in the first round.

The second day of the draft saw New York choose five forwards, beginning with the selection of Oshawa (OHL) right winger Christian Thomas, son of former NHL player Steve Thomas, in the second round with the 40th overall selection.  Thomas led Oshawa with career-highs in goals (41), points (66), power play goals (16) and shorthanded goals (four), and ranked fifth on the team with a career-high 25 assists.  He ranked among the league leaders in several goal-scoring categories, ranking seventh in the OHL in goals, and tying for second in the league in shorthanded goals and sixth in power play goals.  His 41 goals were also the third-most among all players drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, behind seventh overall pick Jeff Skinner and second overall pick Tyler Seguin.  Thomas began his 2009-10 season registering four consecutive multi-point performances, tallying nine points (three goals and six assists) from September 18 at Sarnia to September 27 vs. Sudbury.  He recorded a career-high, 17 multi-point efforts on the season, including his first career hat trick on February 5 at Kitchener.  Thomas finished the season riding a six-game point streak from March 5 at Kingston to March 13 at Peterborough (six goals and three assists), which included a career-high, five-game goal streak that ended with a two-goal performance on March 12 at Ottawa.

In the fourth round at the 100th position, the Rangers tabbed Florida native Andrew Yogan from the OHL’s Erie Otters.  Yogan, who became the first player born and raised in Florida to be drafted by an NHL team, established career-highs in games played (63), goals (25), assists (30), points (55) and penalty minutes (97) this season.  The Blueshirts then selected forward Jason Wilson of Owen Sound (OHL) with the 130th overall pick in the fifth round.  Wilson registered a career-high 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points in 46 games this season.  He ranked second on Owen Sound with six power play goals and 101 penalty minutes.

With the sixth round pick acquired from Carolina earlier in the day, the Rangers selected forward Jesper Fasth of HV 71 Jr. in the Swedish Jr. league with the 157th overall pick.  Fasth tied for first on the team in goals (23), second in points (49) and third in assists (26).  He also made two appearances for HV 71 of the Swedish Elite League.  The trade, which sent defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to the Hurricanes, also includes Washington’s second round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.  New York closed out their 2010 NHL Entry Draft by selecting forward Randy McNaught from Saskatoon of the WHL with the 190th overall pick in the seventh round.  McNaught registered 12 points (six goals and six assists) and 163 penalty minutes for Chilliwack and Saskatoon (WHL) this season.

Overall, the Rangers selected five forwards and one defenseman, five from Canadian junior hockey leagues and one from European hockey leagues, and four Canadians, one American and one European.  The average weight of the Rangers draft picks was 195 pounds, while the average height of the 2010 New York draft class was 6’2”.

Here’s his bio from NHL.com.

We’ll have more in a bit.

I am not going to be able to be around the computer for every pick today, but we will do our best here to wrap things up and catch up.

Boy, they’re moving pretty fast here. Gotta like that.
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The Rangers’ web site has some video interviews with Sather, Clark and McIlrath.
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The Rangers have only three picks remaining: No. 100, No. 130 and No. 190.
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For round-by-round, pick-by-pick draft lists, click here.
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Here’s the announcement of the Sanguinetti trade, from the Rangers:

BOBBY SANGUINETTI TRADED TO CAROLINA
New York acquires a 2nd round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and a 6th round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
New York, June 26, 2010 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has traded defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to the Carolina Hurricanes for Washington’s second round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and a 6th round pick, 157th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Sanguinetti, 22, appeared in 61 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, registering nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points, along with 22 penalty minutes.  He led all Hartford defensemen with a career-high nine goals, and tied for first among Wolf Pack blueliners in points and ranked second in assists.   Sanguinetti skated in five games with the Rangers, making his NHL debut on November 27 at Tampa Bay.
The 6-3, 190-pounder has appeared in 150 career AHL games over four seasons with Hartford, recording 15 goals and 69 assists for 84 points, along with 68 penalty minutes.

From the NHL:

ORDER OF SELECTION FOR THE 2010 NHL ENTRY DRAFT

LOS ANGELES (June 26, 2010)—Following is the current order of selection for rounds 2-7 of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, to be held today at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles (1 p.m., ET / 10 a.m. PT, NHL Network, RIS, NHL.com):

Round 2

31. Edmonton
32. Boston (from TOR)
33. Florida
34. Columbus
35. Chicago (from NYI)
36. Florida (from TB-BOS)
37. Carolina
38. New Jersey (from ATL)
39. Minnesota
40. NY Rangers
41. Dallas
42. Anaheim
43. Chicago (from CGY, optional)
44. St. Louis
45. Boston
46. Carolina (from OTT)
47. Colorado
48. Edmonton (from NSH)
49. Los Angeles
50. Florida (from PIT)
51. Detroit
52. Phoenix
53. Carolina (from BUF-SJ)
54. Chicago (from NJ-ATL)
55. Columbus (from VAN-BUF)
56. Minnesota (from WSH)
57. Phoenix (from MTL)
58. Chicago (from SJ-OTT-NYI)
59. Florida (from PHI-LA)
60. Chicago

Round 3

61. Edmonton
62. Toronto
63. Tampa Bay (from FLA-LA)
64. Calgary (from CBJ)
65. NY Islanders
66. Tampa Bay
67. Carolina
68. Buffalo (from ATL)
69. Minnesota
70. Los Angeles (from NYR)
71. Dallas
72. Tampa Bay (from ANA)
73. Calgary (optional to EDM)
74. St. Louis
75. Buffalo (from BOS)
76. Ottawa
77. Colorado
78. Nashville
79. Los Angeles
80. Pittsburgh
81. Detroit
82. NY Islanders (from PHX)
83. Buffalo
84. New Jersey
85. Carolina (from VAN)
86. Washington
87. Atlanta (from MTL)
88. San Jose
89. Philadelphia
90. Chicago

Round 4

91. Edmonton
92. Florida (from TOR)
93. Florida
94. Columbus
95. NY Islanders
96. Tampa Bay
97. Boston (from CAR)
98. Buffalo (from ATL)
99. Minnesota
100. NY Rangers
101. Atlanta (from DAL)
102. Columbus (from ANA)
103. Calgary
104. St. Louis
105. Carolina (from BOS-ANA)
106. Ottawa
107. Colorado
108. Calgary (from NSH)
109. Los Angeles
110. Pittsburgh
111. Detroit
112. Toronto (from PHX)
113. Montreal (from BUF-PHX)
114. New Jersey
115. Vancouver
116. Washington
117. Montreal
118. Tampa Bay (from SJ)
119. Philadelphia
120. Chicago

Round 5

121. Edmonton
122. Toronto
123. Florida
124. Columbus
125. NY Islanders
126. Nashville (from TB)
127. San Jose (from CAR)
128. Atlanta
129. San Jose (from MIN)
130. NY Rangers
131. Dallas
132. Anaheim
133. Calgary
134. St. Louis
135. Boston
136. San Jose (from OTT)
137. Colorado
138. Phoenix (from NSH-CAR)
139. Colorado (from LA)
140. Pittsburgh
141. Detroit
142. Washington (from PHX)
143. Buffalo
144. Toronto (from NJ)
145. Vancouver
146. Washington
147. Montreal
148. Los Angeles (from SJ)
149. Philadelphia
150. Atlanta (from CHI)

Round 6

151. Chicago (from EDM)
152. Pittsburgh (from TOR)
153. Florida
154. Columbus
155. NY Islanders
156. Tampa Bay
157. Carolina
158. Atlanta
159. Minnesota
160. NY Islanders (from NYR)
161. Anaheim (from DAL)
162. Edmonton (from ANA)
163. Calgary
164. St. Louis
165. Boston
166. Edmonton (from OTT)
167. Carolina (from COL)
168. Nashville
169. Los Angeles
170. Pittsburgh
171. Detroit
172. Vancouver (from PHX)
173. Buffalo
174. New Jersey
175. Vancouver
176. Washington
177. Anaheim (from MTL-PIT)
178. Ottawa (from SJ-DAL)
179. Philadelphia
180. Chicago

Round 7

181. Edmonton
182. Toronto
183. Florida
184. Columbus
185. NY Islanders
186. Tampa Bay
187. Carolina
188. San Jose (from ATL)
189. Minnesota
190. NY Rangers
191. Chicago (from DAL)
192. Anaheim
193. Calgary
194. Nashville (from STL)
195. Boston
196. Ottawa
197. Colorado
198. Nashville
199. Los Angeles
200. Pittsburgh
201. Detroit
202. Toronto (from PHX)
203. Buffalo
204. New Jersey
205. Vancouver
206. Carolina (from WSH)
207. Montreal
208. Buffalo (from SJ)
209. Philadelphia
210. Chicago

From the NHL:

NOTES FROM THE 2010 NHL ENTRY DRAFT

LOS ANGELES (June 25, 2010)— Following are notes from the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, held today at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles:

BENNETT BECOMES TOP CALIFORNIA PICK IN ENTRY DRAFT HISTORY;
TWO CALIFORNIANS SELECTED, MOST EVER IN FIRST ROUND

RW Beau Bennett (Gardena, Calif.) of the BCHL Penticton Vees was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins 20th overall, becoming the highest drafted California-born and -trained player in Entry Draft history. Long Beach native D Jonathon Blum was selected by the Nashville Predators 23rd overall in 2007. When the Anaheim Ducks selected RW Emerson Etem (Long Beach, Calif.) with the 29th overall pick it marked the first time that two Californians had been selected in the first round.

RECORD-TYING 10 U.S.-BORN PLAYERS SELECTED IN FIRST ROUND

There were a record-tying 10 U.S.-born players selected in the first round, matching the total of the 2006 and 2007 drafts.

2006: Erik Johnson (St. Louis/1st), Phil Kessel (Boston/5th), Kyle Okposo (NY Islanders/7th), Peter Mueller (Phoenix/8th), Trevor Lewis (Los Angeles/17th), Mark Mitera (Anaheim/19th), David Fischer (Montreal/20th), Bobby Sanguinetti (NY Rangers/21st), Nick Foligno (Ottawa/28th), Chris Summers (Phoenix/29th).

2007: Patrick Kane (Chicago/1st), James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia/2nd), Ryan McDonagh (Montreal/12th), Kevin Shattenkirk (Colorado/14th), Ian Cole (St. Louis/18th), Max Pacioretty (Montreal/22nd), Jonathon Blum (Nashville/23rd), Patrick White (Vancouver/25th), Nick Petrecki (San Jose/28th), James O’Brien (Ottawa/29th)

2010: Jack Campbell (Dallas/11th), Derek Forbert (Los Angeles/15th), Austin Watson (Nashville/18th), Nick Bjugstad (Florida/19th), Beau Bennett (Pittsburgh/20th), Jarred Tinordi (Montreal/22nd), Kevin Hayes (Chicago/24th), Charlie Coyle (San Jose/28th), Emerson Etem (Anaheim/29th), Brock Nelson (NY Islanders/30th).

(note: 2010 total does not include Cam Fowler (b. Windsor, Ont.), a dual citizen who represents the United States in international play. Fowler was selected by Anaheim 12th overall.

MOVING UP: FIRST-ROUND PICKS SELECTED AHEAD OF DRAFT RANKINGS

The first round of the 2010 Entry Draft provided fans and prospective players with a few surprises as players made a jump from their Central Scouting ranking to their position on the actual draft board: Joey Hishon (Stratford, Ontario) No. 55 ranked was selected 17th overall by Colorado; Jeff Skinner (Markham, Ontario) No. 34 ranked was selected 7th overall by Carolina; and Jaden Schwartz (Melfort, Saskatchewan) No. 28 ranked was selected 14th overall by St. Louis.

CHL SWEEPS TOP EIGHT SELECTIONS

The top eight picks of the NHL Entry Draft all played for Canadian Hockey League teams in 2009-10. That’s the most to start a draft since 1987, when the first 18 picks were from the CHL.

FIRST-ROUND PICKS WITH NHL TIES

Nick Bjugstad (selected 19th overall by Florida) is the nephew of Scott Bjugstad who played nine NHL seasons spanning 317 games between 1983-84 and 1991-92 with the Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings.

Jarred Tinordi (selected 22nd overall by Montreal) is the son of Mark, who totaled 1,514 penalty minutes in 12 NHL seasons as a defenseman with the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals from 1987-99—Jarred wears 24, the same number as his father.

Kevin Hayes (selected 24th overall by Chicago) older brother, Jimmy, was selected 60th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008. He is also the second cousin of former NHLers Tom Fitzgerald and Keith Tkachuk.

Charlie Coyle (selected 28th overall by San Jose) is the cousin of former NHL players Tony Amonte and also related to Bobby Sheehan. Amonte was drafted 68th overall in 1988 by the New York Rangers and had 900 points in the NHL playing for New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Calgary (1991-2007). Sheehan was selected by the Montreal Canadiens 32nd overall in the 1969 amateur draft playing 310 NHL games (1969-70 to 1981-82).

Brock Nelson (selected 30th overall by New York Islanders) is the nephew of Dave Christian who was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning team and enjoyed an NHL career that spanned over 1000 games and totaled 773 points. His grandfather, Billy Christian, and great uncle, Roger Christian, played on Team USA’s 1960 gold-medal winning men’s hockey team. Gordon Christian, also his great uncle, played hockey for the University of North Dakota (1947-1950) and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won silver in 1956.

TRADES COMPLETED

Florida traded Boston’s 1st-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (previously acquired, 15th overall) to Los Angeles for Los Angeles’ 1st-round pick in 2010 (19th overall) and Philadelphia’s 2nd-round pick in 2010 (previously acquired, 59th overall).

Ottawa traded its 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (16th overall) to St. Louis for D David Rundblad.

Phoenix traded its 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (22nd overall) and Buffalo’s 4th-round pick in 2010 (previously acquired, 113th overall) to Montreal for Montreal’s 1st- and 2nd-round picks in 2010 (27th and 57th overall).

Florida traded D Keith Ballard and RW Victor Oreskovich to Vancouver for RW Michael Grabner, RW Steve Bernier and Vancouver’s 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (25th overall).

Chicago traded its 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (30th overall) to NY Islanders for the Islanders’ 2nd-round pick in 2010 (35th overall) and San Jose’s 2nd-round pick in 2010 (previously acquired, 58th overall).

FIRST ROUND BREAKDOWN BY BIRTHPLACE

Canada 15, USA 10, Russia 3, Finland 1, Switzerland 1

From the NHL:

An interview with:

DYLAN McILRATH
NY RANGERS, 10th Pick

Q.  Dylan, what is your first thought?
DYLAN McILRATH:  Excitement.  I’m just thrilled to be picked Top 10 to a great organization like the Rangers.  It’s a thrill right now, and I’m just lost in emotions, I guess.

Q.  Tell us about what you do for Moose Jaw?
DYLAN McILRATH:  My whole on the team, I’m a big, physical “D” man.  Try to be hard to play against, and strike fear in the opposition.  Also my game is improving.  I think I can be a two-way guy, or develop into a two-way guy in the near future.

Q.  Did the Rangers talk to you in the combine, or talk about your relationship so far with the Rangers?
DYLAN McILRATH:  I had a great meeting with them in the combine, so it was in my head that they were interested.  But right before I went to test, one of the guys took me aside and really thought that I was a great player, and I was a great fit for them.  It was kind of a nice gesture for him to do that, went out of his way to do that; and it turns out that I go to the Rangers, and I couldn’t be happier.

Q.  You had three meetings yesterday.  The Rangers weren’t one of those teams.  You thought maybe you were going to go to one of those clubs.  Were you a bit surprised that it was 10th, and it was New York?
DYLAN McILRATH:  Yeah, to be honest, a little surprised.  But in the back of my mind, I knew they were a team that was interested.  But, other with the other four teams I was thinking it was one of them.
But you can never read too far into things like that.  Teams have different ways of doing things.  So, yeah, I guess so.

Q.  Have you had to be invited to Canada’s World Juniors Camp, now you’re going number 10 overall.  Is there a message in there at all?
DYLAN McILRATH:  I don’t know.  My goal is to make the team, and I hope to get a tryout in the winter and get a great start to next season and hope to prove them wrong.

Q.  Have you been to New York before?
DYLAN McILRATH:  I have not been to New York, so it will be exciting.

Q.  Who were the other teams?
DYLAN McILRATH:  Dallas, Anaheim, Vancouver, and Florida.  So all of those teams.

Q.  As a player, who do you pattern yourself after?
DYLAN McILRATH:  I try to mold my game around Shea Weber type.  I know in junior he was more my style of play.  We had similar points and similar stats.  So he was more of a shut down guy and then he developed offensively later.  That’s what I’m trying to do here.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

From the Rangers:

RANGERS SELECT DYLAN MCILRATH IN 2010 NHL DRAFT
Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman chosen 10th overall

New York, June 25, 2010 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has selected defenseman Dylan McIlrath with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

“We feel very fortunate to be able to select Dylan and add a player of his caliber to our strong core of prospects,” stated Sather.  “He brings size and a physical presence along with good mobility and outstanding character.  We’ve watched him improve throughout the year and are looking forward to his continued development.”

McIlrath, 18, skated in 65 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season, registering seven goals and 17 assists for 24 points, along with 169 penalty minutes.  He received Moose Jaw’s Most Improved Player Award for the second consecutive season, establishing career-highs in games played, goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, plus/minus rating (plus-20) and game-winning goals (two).  McIlrath ranked second on Moose Jaw with a plus-20 rating, and tied for third among team defensemen in goals, assists and points.  He also led the Warriors and ranked seventh in the league in penalty minutes.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba native was selected to participate in the 2010 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Top Prospects Game on January 20 as a member of Team Orr, and he finished second in the Hardest Shot event at the Skills Competition with a 91.8 mph shot.  The second-year defenseman made a plus-42 improvement in plus/minus rating over the previous season.  McIlrath finished the season strong, tallying 16 points (five goals and 11 assists) in 29 games after the New Year.  He registered four multi-point performances during the season, including a career-high, three-point effort on February 15 at Portland (one goal and two assists).  In addition, McIlrath registered one assist and 21 penalty minutes in seven playoff contests, making his WHL playoff debut on March 18 at Calgary and tallying his first career playoff point with an assist on March 23 vs. Calgary.

The 6-4, 212-pounder has appeared in 118 career WHL games over two seasons with Moose Jaw, registering eight goals and 20 assists for 28 points, along with 271 penalty minutes.  McIlrath entered the 2010 NHL Entry Draft as the sixth-highest ranked defenseman and 17th overall among North American skaters in the final Central Scouting Rankings.

The selection marked the fourth time in the last six years the Rangers have chosen a defenseman in the first round.  Two years ago, New York used their first selection (20th overall) to tab defenseman Michael Del Zotto, after selecting defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti with the 21st overall pick in 2006 and defenseman Marc Staal with the 12th overall selection in 2005.