The New York Rangers announced their Traverse City rosters on Monday. There are a few players on the roster who hope to make a big splash.
The New York Rangers always bring hockey back a little early when they play in the Traverse City Tournament.
On Monday, August 29, the Blueshirts announced who they will be sending to Michigan for the Traverse City tournament on September 16.
Of the 25 who made the team, there are a few who stand out far above the rest.
Perhaps it is newcomer Jimmy Vesey who just signed with the Rangers not too long ago. Or maybe it is Pavel Buchnevich whose arrival in New York came as a sigh of relief for Blueshirt fans.
Here are the players to watch for the New York Rangers in the Traverse City Tournament.
*Note: Unless otherwise stated, the stats came from Elite Prospects.*
Tim Gettinger, Left Wing
The first three players to watch in this upcoming tournament all have something in common: all of them were drafted in the 2016 NHL draft.
Tim Gettinger is a 6’5″, 201 lb left winger who was selected by the Rangers 141st overall.
Last season with Sault Ste. Maire of the OHL, Gettinger had 17 goals and 22 assists (39 points) in 60 games. The year prior, dressing for six fewer games, he finished with 10 goals and 15 assists.
Starting in the 2011-12 season, Gettinger played for the Cleveland Barons Bantam Major, the Cleveland Barons U16 Team, and the US National U17 Team.
In only his second season with Cleveland, Gettinger finished the season (2012-13) with 44 points, 25 of which were goals.
On Cleveland’s U16 team, 24 goals and 8 assists finished him off with 32 points.
The 18-year-old will have a chance to show the Blueshirts what they drafted him for. Traverse City may be a good test to see how he reacts to other near NHL-ready players.
Sean Day, Defenseman
Sean Day was drafted in the third round by the Rangers and plays a position that faced a lot of criticism last season: defense.
This two-way defenseman will be entering his fourth season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Mississauga Steelheads.
In his first OHL season, 2013-14, Day skated in 60 games and scored only six goals and 10 assists.
The very next season provided a very big turn around for the 6’2″, 229 lb defender. He finished 2014-15 with 36 points, 26 of which came via the assist.
Last season, the point total went down to 22 for Day. However, he should have a good season this year with Mississauga.
The Blueshirts could use help on defense wherever they can get it, but don’t look to Day to bring the help already. He is still young and needs seasoning.
Being in the same boat with Gettinger, Day has something to prove over the course of the tournament. Additionally, he can show the Rangers why they made the smart move in drafting him.
Ty Ronning, Right Wing
Ronning ended up being the Blueshirts’ seventh-round pick in this year’s draft.
For starters, he is a small skater coming in at 5’9″. He also weighs only 165lbs, so he is not going to turn into a power forward.
What makes him special is his speed and skating ability.
Ronning currently has three seasons under his belt for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL), currently entering his fourth year.
He has 81 total points with Vancouver in the WHL over the course of three seasons.
The video (above) that the Vancouver Canucks put out about Ronning says it all, showing what he can do both with time and room, as well as in tight. It essentially shows that he is a special player, and is not afraid to get into the dirty areas.
That is something certainly in the Rangers’ playbook.
Brandon Halverson, Goaltender
Brandon Halverson is a name that not too many Rangers fans forget, and for good reason.
Halverson may be one of the few goalies that can potentially be the future of the club.
Halverson was selected by the Rangers in the second round of the 2014 NHL draft.
This season will be his first in New York as he will spend his time with the American Hockey League (AHL) in Hartford.
The Rangers and Blueshirt fans alike will be keeping very close tabs to this 6’4″ goaltender who happens to be from the same city where the tournament is being held — Traverse City.
His OHL team was Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL, and also shares some playing experience with teammate Tim Gettinger.
His Goals Against Average stat is a little high after last season, ending with a 3.00 GAA, increasing from a 2.96 and a 2.63 GAA from the two previous seasons — 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively.
Any little bit will help him. At this point, the Rangers need someone down in the minors that can replace Henrik Lundqvist.
It is definitely a long time away. However, these thoughts have to come up now to avoid another dark era.
Cristoval Nieves, Center
Cristoval Nieves is one level below the NHL. In the eight games he played in Hartford last season, he scored five points. Three were assists and two were goals.
The Rangers drafted him in the second round back in 2012 and gave him time to develop in college.
At the University of Michigan, Nieves had put decent numbers on the board up, always finishing with at least 20 points.
He finished his NCAA career with 109 points, consisting of 28 goals and 81 assists.
Blueshirt fans may want to keep an eye on this forward as well. Nieves is another who could potentially become a huge part of the franchise.
He simply needs some time to grow.
Robin Kovacs, Left Wing
Now, the final three.
Robin Kovacs has been on the Rangers’ watch for quite some time now and gave the organization the belief that he is ready to come over from Europe.
The 19-year-old winger, straight out of Stockholm, Sweden, is a speedy skater that has a chance to become a very good NHL’er, given the time.
The Blueshirts selected Kovacs in the third round of the 2015 NHL draft and were happy to see the numbers he put up in Europe. With Allsvenskan, he put up some impressive stats across his time with the J18, J20, and AIK teams.
For starters, in 2012-13, Kovacs had 14 goals and 16 assists in the J18 Allsvenskan league. The following season, in the same league, those numbers dropped.
However, in his second year with the AIK J20 team, he scored 15 goals and 13 assists in the Super Elite league.
2015-16 proved to be his best season yet, finishing with 34 points with AIK (21 goals and 13 assists), one assist with Rögle BK, and six points with the Sweden U20 team.
The Rangers are hoping for big things from Kovacs and want to see them soon. As mentioned before, he has been on the watch of the club for some time now. Now, it’s time for business.
Jimmy Vesey, Left Wing
Jimmy Vesey may be the most popular Ranger as of right now.
All of the heat surrounding who Vesey was going to sign with ended when he signed with the Blueshirts.
But now it is time to be serious.
Vesey is a Ranger and this is his first chance to make a huge splash at Traverse City.
The Harvard graduate had good years in the NCAA, playing in at least 27 games every season while putting up impressive point totals seasonally.
His freshman year at Harvard included 11 goals and seven assists. From there, it has been nothing but an easy uphill climb.
The 2014-15 season ended up being Vesey’s best collegiate season by far. He finished with 32 goals and 26 assists in only 37 games played.
Not to mention he is also the Hobey Baker Award winner, which is the award given to the best player in all of college hockey. The 66th overall pick in the 2012 draft belonged to Nashville, but now Vesey is in New York. Fans are very excited to see how he performs on Broadway.
Pavel Buchnevich, Center
Perhaps the second most anticipated player, behind Vesey, is one who has had the most question marks attached to him.
Pavel Buchnevich was almost a Ranger an entire season earlier than it occurred. For a few reasons, that never happened.
However, the time has come and “Buch” can show everyone what they have been waiting for in New York.
This Russian hockey player has a lot of attention surrounding him, but this has to be clear: Buchnevich is not a 50-plus point scorer in the NHL — at least not yet.
Not once in his KHL career has he scored more than 30 points, and fans need to realize this. Granted, he did not see the ice time he would have liked.
Ranger fans tend to desire results from a certain player even if their ice time is not high.
Will he be good on Broadway? Sure, and he will add a much-needed offensive punch. Any little bit helps.
But fans cannot be disappointed if he underperforms, especially in his rookie season.
Actually Buchnevich scored 37 points last year (in 58 games).