Hartford’s training camp opened on Saturday to begin preparation for the Wolf Pack’s 23rd season in the American Hockey League. The new staff that was hired in the off-season by the Rangers will coach the hopefuls, a mix of prospects and veterans. This is Kris Knoblauch’s first year in the AHL, after coming over from Philadelphia (NHL) while Gord Murphy, and David Cunniff join the organization with a wealth of experience in the Minor Pro ranks.

The three new coaches will get a crack at breaking Hartford’s playoff drought, as the team has not had playoff action since the 2014-15 season, when they lost in 4 games in the Eastern Conference Finals to Manchester. Since then, Hartford have found themselves in the bottom portion of the standings annually.

Despite gloomy performances in six of the last seven seasons, the organization is looking ahead by completely revamping things for Hartford. There are returning prospects, who now have a year or two of experience at the pro level, in addition to new veterans with strong resumes at the AHL and NHL levels. The organization has also received new prospects coming from overseas, which adds more competition in both New York and Hartford.

The high level of potential talent in the organization benefits the organization as a whole, obviously. Depending how training camp shakes out for both New York and Hartford, we should see a highly competitive season and a change in performance for the better.

Rangers First Round Cuts

Announced on Monday, New York has trimmed their training camp roster by seven. The following players will join Hartford:

Forwards: Ryan Gropp, Ville Meskanen, Ty Ronning

Goaltenders: Tom McCollum, Francois Brassard

Announced on Friday, New York has trimmed their roster by four more.

Forward: Jake Elmer

Defensemen: Brandon Crawley, Vincent LoVerde, Darren Raddysh.

Matt Beleskey is expected to join Hartford’s training camp, if he is not claimed through waivers.

Additional moves will follow as preseason continues for New York. Preseason action for the Wolf Pack will begin next Wednesday against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Stay tuned for further updates.

Wolf Pack Training Camp Schedule

Announced by Chis Drury, the Wolf Pack training camp schedule was revealed. You can follow the schedule here.

Here are the latest rumblings around Rangerstown.

Girardi Retires

Dan Girardi, who was a mainstay on the Rangers blueline for parts of 11 seasons has announced his retirement from the NHL.

Girardi was known as a player always willing to give up his body and be physical on the puck. The Welland, Ontario native ranks first all-time in hits and blocked shots. In addition, Girardi was a large part of the Rangers success at the beginning of the decade and has played the most playoff games of any skater in team history.

Dan Girardi went undrafted and was signed by the Rangers as a free agent. Girardi gave everything he had whenever he stepped on the ice and embodied what it meant to be a Ranger. Best of luck, G!

Tony D Signs Contract

The Rangers announced that defenseman Tony DeAngelo has signed his contract.

DeAngelo’s contract carries the same AAV as Brendan Lemieux, as the Rangers have now signed all of their RFAs.

Rangers Trim Training Camp Roster

The Rangers have made the next round of cuts as four players have been sent to Hartford. Defensemen Brandon Crawley, Vincent LoVerde, and Darren Raddysh, as well as forward Jake Elmer, will all join the Wolf Pack when Hartford starts their camp next week.

Alas, we are approaching the New York Ranger’s 13th consecutive appearance in the Traverse City Tournament. This year’s tournament has a buzz around the organization and fan base as we get to see Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Adam Fox, and other high end prospects for the first time in Ranger uniforms.

Looking at it through Hartford’s perspective, we will see coaching action from Kris Knoblauch, Gord Murphy, and David Cunniff. The trio will get their first looks at the Rangers of tomorrow and a few players for the Wolf Pack today.

There are a few players on AHL deals in the tournament

Those players are Ryan Dmowski, Jake Elmer, Nick Jones, Shawn McBride, and Lewis Zerter-Gossage. These prospects have played in a few games for Hartford at the tail end of last season. If they impress the coaching staff in the tournament, that will give them an edge once Hartford’s training camp opens in mid September.

In a interesting chart from Gerry Cantlon from Howlings, the Rangers have benefited well from the tournament in previous years.

“In every year since the team began participating in the Traverse City Tournament in 2006, at least one Rangers prospect who played went on to join the parent club during the same NHL season. Five players who represented the Rangers in the 2018 Traverse City Tournament also played in a Rangers game during the 2018-19 season.”

Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

Tournament Schedule

The action begins Friday and concludes Tuesday.

• Friday, September 6th vs Columbus at 3:30pm
• Saturday, September 7th vs Dallas at 7pm
• Monday, September 9th vs Minnesota at 2:30pm.
• Tuesday, September 10th is TBD.

Where will the Rangers end up? How will everyone perform? We will have those questions answered by next week! How are we feeling about this folks? Sound off in the comments about the upcoming tournament.

The Rangers announced their roster for the upcoming Traverse City prospects tournament, which begins on Friday, September 6th.

While Kravtsov and Kakko are the headliners for the Blueshirts, I’m really looking forward to seeing what Tarmo Reunanen can do. We’ve seen what he can do overseas, against Liiga competition, so it will be interesting to see how the offensive defenseman’s game translates to the smaller ice.

In addition, I want to see what Adam Huska looks like between the pipes. Huska spent the last two years at UConn before turning pro at the end of the AHL season, where he played in nine games for the Wolf Pack.

Two players that can surprise some people at the annual tournament are Jake Elmer and Patrick Newell. Newell was a Hobey Baker Trophy finalist last season after posting 47 points (21G, 26A) in 39 games for St. Cloud State University. Elmer, who was with Lethbridge of the WHL for the last two seasons, played alongside 2019 first-round pick Dylan Cozens. Now it’s time for Elmer to show what he can on the right-wing without the talented Cozens.

Earlier today, the Rangers announced that they have signed free agent forward Jake Elmer to an entry-level contract.

Elmer, who plays for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, has put up personal best numbers this season, recording 78 points (38G, 40A) in 66 games. Elmer has played the majority of this season alongside 2019 draft target Dylan Cozens, so it’ll be interesting to see if this move is indicative of some of the organization’s future plans.