Forwards (Prospects Listed by Alphabetical Order)
Jake Elmer — Played ten games with the Pack. One assist. Had no impact. I heard a podcast in which he was interviewed and he seemed like a nice kid. Is RFA.Not going to be qualified.
Tim Gettinger — Others on this board have been higher on Gettinger than I am. He has improved. He is big and trying to be more physical. Has a decent shot. Has been a good penalty killer in part because of his size. This year he had 25 points in 45 games and most of those points were playing with Brodzinski and Greco. Largely ineffective after Brodzinski brought up to the Rangers. Gettinger played eight games with the Rangers with no points, and three shots. This is was his fourth year with Hartford and he’s never really excelled for any length of time. He’s not creative, not a good stickhandler, not that quick, and not nearly as effective physically as Dryden Hunt. He seems to be an adequate AHL player. He is an RFA and I think the Rangers qualify him to send him to Hartford.
Patrick Khodorenko — Khodorenko was the most heralded of the three NCAA free agent signings after the 2020 season. He played in 22 of the 24 games last year. He was pretty bad at the beginning of the season (no offense, lots of turnovers, missed defensive assignments) and eventually was benched for two games. He was better when he returned but only in the sense that he wasn’t as bad as he had been to start the season. He did not start this season very well but in the latter part of the season he started to play better. He wound up with 23 points in 67 games and I would guess most of those points were in the latter part of the season. He began to control the puck better and look for open ice rather than just getting rid of the puck. I wouldn’t even call him a good AHL player at this point but his improvement is encouraging. We’ll see if he can build on that for next year. I don’t see him as an NHL player. Perhaps he’ll prove me wrong. He is under contract for one more year.
Lauri Pajumiemi — I thought Pajuniemi had a good year for a first year player coming from overseas. The shot is everything you saw from the Finish League. But I saw several plays where he was effective in keeping control of the puck and at times he got pretty physical. He wound up with 26 points in 51 games split equally between points and assists. He was hurt missing several games but I also believe he was a healthy scratch for several games. And when he played he often was on the third line with less talented players. I don’t think the coaching staff used him appropriately. I hope the coaches give him an opportunity to play up in the lineup with more talented players with whom he can better use his skill. He might be a third line RW if his play develops.
Justin Richards — Richards is a hard working player. You would want your players to have his motor. But he gives you next to nothing on offense scoring only 14 points in 67 games with only 8 of those points being assists. I would like my centers to have more than eight assists in a year. And while he is supposed to be a defensive specialist, he wound up -28 for the year. The next worst was Anthony Bitetto at -11. Yes I know +/- has its shortcomings but -28? That tied for seventh worst in the entire AHL. Several other posters have noted that after watching a game you realize that you don’t notice him. I thought after last year maybe he could be a fourth line center in the NHL. But after this year I have my doubts. He’s is RFA and I expect the Rangers to qualify him.
Ty Ronning — I confess to having a man-crush on Ronning. I previously have related the story about meeting the Vancouver Giants bus driver in Jasper Canada on a family trip . The bus driver took a picture of me in my Rangers shirt and cap that he texted to Ty but he did not respond before we had to leave. The bus driver raved about what a great kid Ty is; team leader, everyone loved him, nicest kid in the world, let alone being an excellent player. You want to root for someone with that character. Last year he was scratched for five of the first seven games with the Pack going 2-5. I don’t know why he was scratched because he clearly was the best Pack player in one game and one of the best in the other game. When he finally got a chance he (and Adam Huska) turned the team around coming very close to winning the division. He scored 18 points in 19 games. I could make a good case that he was the team’s MVP. This year he didn’t keep up with that scoring pace but still had a good season scoring 39 points in 69 games. He probably is the most creative player on the team generating offense. He is a very good stickhandler and knows how to find open ice and open teammates. He has a high hockey IQ. But his skating speed is just average (wasn’t his father Cliff a speed burner) and he is small and despite trying is not going to win many boards battles. He is a good AHL player and might find a system where he could be a fourth line energy player in the NHL but I doubt it’s going to be with the Rangers. He is an RFA and I would qualify him because he makes his line mates better but might want out of the system.
Austin Reuschhoff — I wrote last year that I really liked Reuschhoff’s game. He is big but he has some skill. When he was signed the word was his skating was an issue. His skating is not great but I didn’t see it as a huge problem. With that long stride he can make up a lot of ground. He has a very good wrist shot — maybe second best on the team last year to Morgan Barron. I also saw him make several good passes to teammates. He was particularly effective on the second power play where he stood in front of the net. The 2nd PP outplayed the first PP because of the creativity of Ty Ronning and Reuschhoff’s effective screens. He is physical. And did I mention that he is big? This year he started the season slowly but then went on a rampage when Hartford players were moved up to the Rangers' taxi squad and he finally got a chance to play on a higher line. But then when the taxi squad ended and players returned he was moved back down and while playing with less effective players the points dried up. He finished with 24 points including 14 goals (fourth on the team) in 59 games. He is not going to dazzle you with his stick handling and he’s not going to win speed skating races but he has that good wrist shot, showed a pretty good hockey IQ, was a more effective passer that you might expect and was able to use his body effectively to control the puck down low. I think he might be a fourth line right wing in the NH with his size—did I mention he is really big?— and his skill. But like with Pajuniemi, I don’t think the coaching staff used him effectively. I would like to see him given a chance to work with more skilled players. He is RFA and I would expect the Rangers to qualify him.
Bobby Trivigno — Fortunately for the Rangers Bobby’s heart won over his head and he chose to play for the team he loved growing up rather than another team with a better path to the NHL. Chris Peters rated him as his second best NCAA free agent prospect and Corey Pronman rated him his fourth best free agent including overseas and Canadian junior players. Although small, he has a high motor and competes effectively for pucks, good skill, and very good hockey sense. He displayed those abilities in his short stint with the Wolfpack. He scored two assists in his first game and got his first professional goal in the last game. His Rangers contract starts next year. I think it’s most likely he starts the year with the Pack but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a Ranger jersey at some point next season.
The Rangers have a couple of interesting wing prospects but really are lacking in center prospects.
