5 Rangers who surprisingly made opening-night roster, including Henrik Lundqvist
There’s always intrigue heading into New York Rangers training camp each season. Whether it’s a first look at a free agent that signed in the offseason, a new coach bringing fresh ideas or a player looking to take the next step in his career. Optimism is at its highest when the Rangers reconvene after a long summer off.
Arguably, most exciting is anticipating which rookie will play so well in camp and preseason that he makes it difficult or impossible to demote him.
Most eyeballs are on the top prospects during training camp. For example, that’d be 2021 first-round pick Brennan Othmann at Rangers camp this September. Yet, there’s always those who fly under the radar and seemingly come out of nowhere to not only make the opening-night roster, but play a larger than expected role throughout the season.
Related: 10 most memorable enforcers in Rangers history
5 Rangers who shockingly made opening-night roster
Let’s take a look at five Rangers who made the most of their training camp opportunity to surprisingly solidify a spot and make an impact in New York.
Mike Allison (1980)
Mike Allison was a second round pick (No. 35 overall) by the Rangers in the 1980 NHL Draft. Though a key prospect, the forward showed up for camp a few months later with little expectation that he’d make the team at 19 years old.
He joined a Rangers squad that reached the Stanley Cup Final just two years before and featured a star-studded roster that included Phil Esposito, Barry Beck, Anders Hedberg, Ron Greschner, Ron Duguay and the Maloney brother — Dave and Don.
Allison scored on his first shot in the League and and became the youngest player in Rangers history to score in his NHL debut, a mark that stood until forward Lias Andersson broke it in 2018.
He wasn’t a one-game wonder either, Allison followed up his stirring debut with a hat trick, and finished the season with 26 goals and established Rangers rookie records with 38 assists for 75 points. He was fourth on the Rangers in scoring and fifth in goals that rookie season.
Allison played six seasons with the Rangers but never topped his first one. Over the next five seasons, injuries limited to no more than 48 games a season. He moved on to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings and finished with 499 games played in the NHL.
Mike York (1999)
There’s an extra something when a late-round pick not only makes it to the NHL, but establishes himself immediately.
Mike York, a sixth-round pick in 1997, arrived in New York for the 1999-2000 season and made the club as a 22-year-old after a cameo in Hartford of the American Hockey League the year prior.
The forward went on to score a team-leading 26 goals and was named to the NHL All-Rookie team. His 50 points trailed only Petr Nedved (68) and Theo Fleury (64) on the Rangers that season.
York, a lone bright spot during some very lean years in New York, was a member of the FLY line with Fleury and Eric Lindros, and represented the United States at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics before he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2002. He finished his Rangers career with 58 goals and 138 points in 230 games; and played 579 NHL games with the Rangers, Oilers, Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Petr Prucha (2005)
There’s an argument to be made that the 2005-06 Rangers are the most beloved team in franchise history to never even get close to winning a Stanley Cup.
Petr Prucha was a big reason why.
An eighth-round draft pick in 2002, Prucha broke camp with the Rangers and made his debut in the third game of the season (Henrik Lundqvist’s NHL debut, but more on that in a minute). Prucha scored twice in his first five games, but really came alive in December, when he scored nine goals in six games at the start of the month.
The Czech-born forward finished his rookie season with 30 goals, including 16 on the power play, to establish a new franchise-record for rookies. He followed that up with a 22-goal sophomore campaign, but he never reached those heights again and he was out of the League by age 28.
Henrik Lundqvist (2005)
Another reason why that Rangers team was so special was the new kid in net.
It’s hard to remember, but Lundqvist at one time was not the face of the franchise or arguably the greatest player in Rangers history. He was a semi-unknown prospect from Sweden, a seventh-round pick in the 2000 draft, who was expected to back up veteran Kevin Weekes on a team many envisioned would finish at the bottom of the NHL standings.
But Lundqvist had other ideas. After an overtime loss in his NHL debut, Lundqvist fired off eight wins in his next 10 games, and 13 of his next 17. He finished his rookie season 30-12-9 with a .922 save percentage, 2.24 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts. He finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting, third for the Vezina Trophy and ninth in Hart Trophy voting to go along with a first-team All-Rookie nod.
Unlike the others on this list, Lundqvist was anything but a flash in the pan. He’d spend his entire 15-year NHL career with the Rangers and retired the winningest goalie in franchise history. His 459 wins are sixth most all-time in the NHL. Lundqvist was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023 and his No. 30 was retired by the Rangers after his playing days ended.
Oscar Lindberg (2015)
While he did play one game the season prior, Oscar Lindberg entered his second camp with the Rangers in 2015 trying to find a spot in the lineup, though not a slam dunk to do so. After a strong preseason, he was in the opening-night lineup and made the most of it.
Lindberg scored in his first game of the season, and the two after, giving him four goals in three games. The hot streak continued through the first month of the season, and Lindberg found himself with seven goals by the first week of November.
Things cooled a bit for the forward from Sweden, but he did finish his rookie year with 13 goals and 28 points in 68 games, a respectable total for a bottom-six center. They were the best numbers he’d put up in the NHL.
Lindberg spent one more year with the Rangers and finished with just eight goals. He was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft the following summer. He left the NHL at 27 years old.
Which Rangers could surprise in 2024 training camp?
Brett Berard — Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
With two weeks until the start of Rangers training camp, it’s clear that there aren’t many available spots in the lineup for the big club. Othmann will get a look in the top-nine forward group. BUt who might be a surprise addition to the Rangers roster?
Brett Berard
The 2020 fifth-round pick had a great rookie year in the AHL, scoring 25 goals in 71 games for the Wolf Pack. He could push for a spot on the team’s fourth-line with a strong preseason.
Adam Sykora
Sykora’s numbers don’t jump off the page like Berard’s, but he’s also two years younger (20) and was adjusting to North America as a rookie pro in Hartford last season. He’s a sandpaper forward with some offensive upside who could compete for a bottom-six spot.
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