Hartford Wolf Pack sign Rangers 2022 draft pick Zakary Karpa to AHL contract
Zakary Karpa didn’t receive an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers, but he will play in the organization next season.
Karpa signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers’ affiliate in the American Hockey League, on Thursday.
The 23-year-old center was selected by the Rangers in the sixth round (No. 191 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He just completed his senior season at Harvard, where he finished with seven points (one goal, six assists) and won 52.4 percent of his face-offs in 31 games.
Karpa was Harvard’s captain the past two seasons and finished his NCAA career with 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) in 117 games. His best offensive season was as a freshman in 2021-22, when Karpa had six goals, six assists and 12 points in 33 games, helping Harvard win the ECAC championship.
He didn’t score his only goal this past season until the next-to-last game against Clarkson.
Zakary Karpa joins Rangers center prospects already playing with Hartford
Karpa has good size (6-foot-2, 195 pounds), leadership skills and defensive acumen. He also has NHL bloodlines. His father, Dave Karpa, was a defenseman with four teams over 12 seasons, including a pair with the Rangers from 2001-03.
The Rangers opted not to sign Karpa to an entry-level contract but will monitor his progress as a rookie pro next season at Hartford. He will compete with Rangers prospects Dylan Roobroeck and Noah Laba for playing time at center. Roobroeck scored 20 goals as a rookie pro this season; Laba had five points (three goals, two assists) in 11 games with Hartford after finishing his collegiate career at Colorado College.
It’s been a goal for the Rangers to build their organizational depth at center. They have six (seven if you count Matt Rempe) players on the NHL roster that can play center: J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad, Sam Carrick, Jonny Brodzinski and Juuso Parssinen. And now the Rangers continue to build their depth in the AHL.
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