Ranking New York Rangers call ups from the Wolf Pack
The New York Rangers don’t have enough cap space at this time for a call up of a player making the league minimum of $750,000 unless they’re placing someone on LTIR.
Since recalling Julien Gauthier, the team is running at the league maximum of 23 players on the roster.
Let’s be clear, the Rangers DO NOT have to place a player on waivers since they have 14 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies. From a roster perspective, they would be forced into a decision if they took two minor injuries on defense. So either a forward would have to drop back or they place someone on waivers in order for a call up.
The biggest reason why the Rangers may want to place someone on waivers is to free up cap space as it will impact them at the trade deadline. For every $1 million in cap space accrued, it’s equivalent to around $4.5 million in player salary they can take on.
Now that we have that understood, let’s look ahead and rank who the Rangers may call up depending on need by position.
New York Rangers Call Ups: Forwards
1. Jonny Brodzinski (Center/Winger): 14 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS, -3, 14 PIM
The 29 year-old forward is the captain of the Wolf Pack and a seasoned veteran with 84 games of NHL experience. Last season, he was called up for 22 games and registered one goal and one assist. Gerard Gallant likes the way the versatile forward plays and kills penalties.
2. Gustav Rydahl (Center/Winger): 12 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS, -1, 10 PIM [Waivers Exempt]
Rydahl, 28, signed a one-year contract over the summer as a free agent out of the SHL. In his four preseason contests, he registered an assist and picked up two shots. Last season for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League, he recorded 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points. He’s certainly someone to keep an eye on if an injury occurs at center.
“We liked everything he brought,” Gerard Gallant said via Vince Mercogliano. “For a guy we didn’t know at all, I was very impressed with him. He might be a guy that’s going to see some time up here.”
3. Will Cuylle (Winger): 14 GP, 3 G, 3 A, 6 PTS, -1, 17 PIM [Waivers Exempt]
The 20 year-old was among the late cuts in training camp and is adjusting nicely to the pro life in the AHL. He’s a power forward that uses his large size well. New York traded away Lias Andersson to the Los Angeles Kings in order to select the 6-3, 212 lbs forward in second round of the 2020 Draft. If he doesn’t get a shot this season, he definitely will in 2023-24.
4. Tim Gettinger (Winger): 14 GP, 5 G, 4 A, 9 PTS, -5, 9 PIM
The 24 year-old is an excellent forechecker and has enough NHL experience with 16 games for Gerard Gallant to have comfortability with. Last season, he played 8 games with the Rangers in a fourth line role.
5. Lauri Pajuniemi (Winger): 13 GP, 5 G, 1 A, 6 PTS, -2, 2 PIM [Waivers Exempt]
The 23 year-old was selected by the Rangers in the 5th round of the 2018 Draft for his goal scoring ability in Finland. It took him awhile to sign his ELC and make his way to North America where he’s slowly adjusting to the North American rinks and heavy style of play. He has yet to play an NHL game.
New York Rangers Call Ups: Defense
1. Ben Harpur (Left): 14 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 PTS, +2, 15 PIM
The 27 year-old was first signed to a Professional Tryout with the Hartford Wolf Pack on October 13 and then parlayed that into a one-year deal with the big club making him eligible for a call up. He’s a veteran of 156 NHL games.
2. Andy Welinski (Right): 13 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 PTS, -6, 6 PIM
The 29 year-old veteran defenseman has 46 NHL games under his belt and would be the likely call up in case of an injury to the right side. He signed a one-year deal over the summer and is currently the leading scorer for the Wolf Pack.
3. Matthew Robertson (Left): 11 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 PTS, -5, 6 PIM [Waivers Exempt]
The 21 year-old was selected by the Blueshirts in the second round of the 2019 Draft. At 6-4 and 201 pounds, he has the size to play in the NHL but failed to impress management this past training camp. In his one game of preseason action against Boston, Robertson played 18:37 and didn’t register a single hit or block. He still needs to improve at both ends of the ice.
New York Rangers Call Ups: Goalies
1. Louis Domingue: 4-2-3, 2.57 GAA, .908 SV%
The 30 year-old veteran backstop has a record of 59-60-10 in 142 career appearances. His GAA of 3.04 and SV% of .905 are also respectable for a backup. New York signed him after pushing them during their first round matchup in the playoffs. In six games against the Rangers in the 2022 playoffs, he posted a 3-3 record.
2. Dylan Garand: 1-3-1, 3.50 GAA, .889 SV% [Waivers Exempt]
The 20 year-old netminder had an amazing record of 34-9 and 4 shutouts for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers in 2021-22. His GAA of 2.16 and his .925 SV% were good for second in the WHL. The goaltender was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 Draft and has exceeded expectations since being taken. At the WJC, he was a perfect 6-0 to help Team Canada win gold. Garand played in one preseason game and stopped 9 of 10 shots in a win over the Islanders. He’s been the victim of some bad defense in the AHL but continues to develop.
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