Prospect Info: Hartford Wolf Pack/Bloomington Bison Thread: Part XV

[Ranger Ric]

Tomorrow is the last game of the season.

Tomorrow also is Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday. And it's a big birthday.

For reasons I don't understand Mrs. Ranger Ric does not want to spend her birthday watching a minor league hockey game, even if it is the Hartford Wolfpack.

So I am a healthy scratch for personal reasons for tomorrow's game.

Will get back after Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday with some thoughts on the season.

 

[cwede]

and in other news ...

Date Player Team Transaction
2021-05-04 Zach BerzollaZach Berzolla (D) Hartford DEL Released from PTO

 

[cwede]

Tomorrow is the last game of the season.
Tomorrow also is Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday. And it's a big birthday.
For reasons I don't understand Mrs. Ranger Ric does not want to spend her birthday watching a minor league hockey game, even if it is the Hartford Wolfpack.
So I am a healthy scratch for personal reasons for tomorrow's game.
Will get back after Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday with some thoughts on the season.

Happy 29th Mrs.RR

 

[cwede]

Pack compete for division title in 2 hours
apparently with only these 12 guys as the available forwards:
(assumes Fontaine still hurt, Elmer in ECHL exile, McBride in limbo)

NYR Prospects: Ronning, Khodorenko, Cuylle, Rueschoff
NYR signed: Newell, Geertsen, Greco

AHL signed: Thompson, Dmowski
AHL rookies: Whelan, OLeary, Sanchez

similarly, no extras on D:
NYR signed: Raddysh
AHL signed NYR prospect: Skinner
AHL vets: Loverde, Sieloff, Taylor
AHL rookie: Giutarri

 

[Overcast]

Tomorrow is the last game of the season.

Tomorrow also is Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday. And it's a big birthday.

For reasons I don't understand Mrs. Ranger Ric does not want to spend her birthday watching a minor league hockey game, even if it is the Hartford Wolfpack.

So I am a healthy scratch for personal reasons for tomorrow's game.

Will get back after Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday with some thoughts on the season.

Kinda selfish of her tbh. Have fun!

 

[cwede]

Prov fight sback, overturns pack's 2-0 lead to now Prov ahead 3-2
both Giuttari and Sanchez -2,
playing undrafted AHL rookies comes with risk ...

Gamesheet: Hartford at Providence - May 6, 2021

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Tomorrow is the last game of the season.

Tomorrow also is Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday. And it's a big birthday.

For reasons I don't understand Mrs. Ranger Ric does not want to spend her birthday watching a minor league hockey game, even if it is the Hartford Wolfpack.

So I am a healthy scratch for personal reasons for tomorrow's game.

Will get back after Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday with some thoughts on the season.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Ranger Ric! Wishing you a wonderful day.

 

[nyr2k2]

Providence just went up 5-2. It's over for Hartford. They made a good run. Losing Barron, Reunanen, Richards, Brodzinski, etc., was just too much for them to overcome.

 

[NYR Viper]

Providence just went up 5-2. It's over for Hartford. They made a good run. Losing Barron, Reunanen, Richards, Brodzinski, etc., was just too much for them to overcome.

It must be demorializing to the team as well to get this close and push for so long only to see your 5 best players picked off your roster for the last game of the season

 

[Osminator]

Let's put it mildly.. Huska didn't come out screaming "I'll be back for 2021-22".
A very underwhelming season for Wall and a just underwhelming one from Huska. If/when the NYR load up with depth goalies and things are back to somewhat normal (2 goalies at NHL, AHL, ECHL level)... it will be a dogfight for Wall and Huska

 

[nyr2k2]

Let's put it mildly.. Huska didn't come out screaming "I'll be back for 2021-22".
A very underwhelming season for Wall and a just underwhelming one from Huska. If/when the NYR load up with depth goalies and things are back to somewhat normal (2 goalies at NHL, AHL, ECHL level)... it will be a dogfight for Wall and Huska

Yup, I think he played better than his numbers suggest, but overall, I think his good games were "fine" and not "great." He would go out there and make the routine saves and a few good ones, but he wasn't robbing guys regularly or stealing points for the team. I think he's probably a career AHL guy at this point. Or he goes home.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

thank you to all who reported on Hartford this season....

and a reminder.

Portland returns in October

 

[MrAlmost]

They made a great push. Much better than I thought from the start of the season. Too bad about the depleted roster for this game. They put up a good fight. Thanks to the guys that watch every game and give the good analysis. Hopefully next season will provide a deeper team..

and better cameras!

 

[Number 9]

Geersten can skate well enough and play on the penalty kill, he's not as bad as some say on this board. He's not just a goon.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Tomorrow is the last game of the season.

Tomorrow also is Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday. And it's a big birthday.

For reasons I don't understand Mrs. Ranger Ric does not want to spend her birthday watching a minor league hockey game, even if it is the Hartford Wolfpack.

So I am a healthy scratch for personal reasons for tomorrow's game.

Will get back after Mrs. Ranger Ric's birthday with some thoughts on the season.

May I suggest a spanking/Tom Wilson role play?

 

[nyr2k2]

Geersten can skate well enough and play on the penalty kill, he's not as bad as some say on this board. He's not just a goon.

His skating is mediocre at best in the AHL. In the NHL, he'd be one of the worst skaters in the league by a large margin. I really like the guy, but if he's dressing in an NHL game it's to fight. Nothing else.

 

[cwede]

Interesting sidelight to FO shakeup, was realizing, Briere is top guy w Maine, NYR ECHL affiliate

 

[Number 9]

His skating is mediocre at best in the AHL. In the NHL, he'd be one of the worst skaters in the league by a large margin. I really like the guy, but if he's dressing in an NHL game it's to fight. Nothing else.

I dont agree with you by a large margin about his skating. He isnt a full time nhl player, I agree with that.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Interesting sidelight to FO shakeup, was realizing, Briere is top guy w Maine, NYR ECHL affiliate

so is a name you probably haven't heard of yet.... Riley Armstrong, who holds the dual role of Coach/AGM, all Briere is the the liason between Spectra and the Rangers, since it's Spectra who owns the ECHL franchise...

 

[Ranger Ric]

I agree with both of you. The team was much better when Huska took over the net because he wasn't letting in the soft goals like Wall, not because he was playing lights out.

But the Rangers have 5 goalies signed to NHL contracts -- Shestorkin and Giorgiev in NY, Kinkaid, who is not likely to be picked up by Seattle and Huska and Wall. They could sign a sixth goalie but I think over the past few years they have had five. And what young NA goalie is available now other than Strauss-Mann from Michigan? Another Georgiev tight from overseas? Kinkaid will be in Hartford as the 3rd goalie and Huska and Wall will fight for backup and Maine. I posted earlier in the season that I wasn't sure if the next backup goalie the Rangers develop is in their system. Lindablod, Garand, Olas?

Yup, I think he played better than his numbers suggest, but overall, I think his good games were "fine" and not "great." He would go out there and make the routine saves and a few good ones, but he wasn't robbing guys regularly or stealing points for the team. I think he's probably a career AHL guy at this point. Or he goes home.

 

[Ranger Ric]

OOH, Mrs. Ranger Ric's face lit up when I read her your post.

May I suggest a spanking/Tom Wilson role play?

 

[nyr2k2]

It would be a bit of a surprise, but not totally shocking if the Rangers didn't qualify Huska. I think it will depend on what the coaches and Allaire say about him. If they don't think there's much upside there, at 24, they may let him walk and try to replace him with a minor league veteran and/or an international free agent. I was a big cheerleader of his all throughout college, but he has never really shown much more than a few brief flashes of being anything resembling an NHL-quality goalie.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Thanks for all of the kind comments about my wife's birthday. She had a great day so I survive for another year.

I had a bad feeling about yesterday's game when I saw before we left that the Rangers had called up 3 players. cwede laid it out clearly, not much left. And two of the five guys brought up didn't play for the Rangers against the Bruins.

Like everyone else in Rangers land I am trying to process what has happened since April 29 when the Rangers are playing meaningful games at the end of the season, the rebuild is moving ahead with plaudits coming from NHL experts about the rebuild, Hartford has a chance for the division championship and the kids in the WHL, college and overseas are having great years and within a week it all turned to sh*t. Et tu Glen Sather?

In the near future I'll provide some thoughts about what I saw this year with Hartford.

For now I'll just make two comments about Chris Drury.

1. In the write-ups about Chris Drury it references that he became the Hartford GM in May 2017. The team he took over was coached by Ken Gernander and was 24-47-6 finishing 7th and failing to make the playoffs. In his first year as GM the team improved to 34-33-9 finishing 6th and again failing to make the playoffs. Drury retains Gernander. The second year the team was 29-36-11 finishing ninth. It was after that season that Drury fired Gernander and brought in Knoblauch. In Knoblauch's first year the team was 31-20-11 in the covid shortened season. As I recall, however, the record is misleading because the team was at the top of the division until Shestorkin was called up to the Rangers and then the team sank and was in danger of missing the playoffs and we realized that Shestorkin was a world class goaltender who was carrying the team. I don't think anyone would call his Hartford tenure as outstanding.

2. There's this tidbit in Rick Carinello's report on yesterday's Rangers game. Drury drove to see the Wolfpack game before the Rangers game. So it was a short drive and not a big deal but who was Drury looking at with five of the top players up with the Rangers and Hartford playing mostly AHL players? Hartford had as little chance to win as the Rangers had against the Bruins.

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Thanks for all of the kind comments about my wife's birthday. She had a great day so I survive for another year.

I had a bad feeling about yesterday's game when I saw before we left that the Rangers had called up 3 players. cwede laid it out clearly, not much left. And two of the five guys brought up didn't play for the Rangers against the Bruins.

Like everyone else in Rangers land I am trying to process what has happened since April 29 when the Rangers are playing meaningful games at the end of the season, the rebuild is moving ahead with plaudits coming from NHL experts about the rebuild, Hartford has a chance for the division championship and the kids in the WHL, college and overseas are having great years and within a week it all turned to sh*t. Et tu Glen Sather?

In the near future I'll provide some thoughts about what I saw this year with Hartford.

For now I'll just make two comments about Chris Drury.

1. In the write-ups about Chris Drury it references that he became the Hartford GM in May 2017. The team he took over was coached by Ken Gernander and was 24-47-6 finishing 7th and failing to make the playoffs. In his first year as GM the team improved to 34-33-9 finishing 6th and again failing to make the playoffs. Drury retains Gernander. The second year the team was 29-36-11 finishing ninth. It was after that season that Drury fired Gernander and brought in Knoblauch. In Knoblauch's first year the team was 31-20-11 in the covid shortened season. As I recall, however, the record is misleading because the team was at the top of the division until Shestorkin was called up to the Rangers and then the team sank and was in danger of missing the playoffs and we realized that Shestorkin was a world class goaltender who was carrying the team. I don't think anyone would call his Hartford tenure as outstanding.

2. There's this tidbit in Rick Carinello's report on yesterday's Rangers game. Drury drove to see the Wolfpack game before the Rangers game. So it was a short drive and not a big deal but who was Drury looking at with five of the top players up with the Rangers and Hartford playing mostly AHL players? Hartford had as little chance to win as the Rangers had against the Bruins.

I take a guess on Question #2.
Answer: The Head Coach

or was that a rhetorical question?

 

[Ranger Ric]

Good question.

I take a guess on Question #2.
Answer: The Head Coach

or was that a rhetorical question?