Rangers Recall Stu Bickel

With the injuries mounting, the Rangers had to recall a defenseman just to have enough bodies on the blue line. That defenseman is Stu Bickel, who has been recalled by the Rangers. In 27 games with the CT Whale, Bickel has a goal, three assists, and 80 PIMs. He has been one of the more steady defensemen on the Whale’s blue line.

The decision to call up Bickel as opposed to Tim Erixon or Brendan Bell was made for two reasons. First, the Rangers have minimal cap space available, as Mike Rupp is no longer on LTIR. That essentially eliminated Erixon and his $1.75 million cap hit. Second, the Rangers need someone who is not subject to re-entry waivers, as the holiday roster freeze is tomorrow. That eliminated Bell, who needs re-entry waivers to be recalled.

Bickel was the last defenseman cut in camp, and has put together a solid season thus far for the Whale. He has certainly earned his shot, and as long as he plays well, will be with the team for the foreseeable future.

The press release is after the jump.

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Erixon Returned To Connecticut; Rangers Making The Right Decision

Tim Erixon’s second call up was short lived, as the Rangers returned the rookie defenseman to the CT Whale of the AHL last night. Erixon was called up as a precaution for the Rangers road trip to St. Louis and Phoenix. Although many –including us– assumed he would be playing during this call up, John Tortorella specifically stated that Erixon was an emergency call up, and would be returned as soon as the road trip was over.

Much to his word, Erixon did not play and was returned even before the road trip ended. Erixon had recently returned from injury before his call up, and it is assumed the organization does not want to rush him.

It is curious that the Rangers didn’t intend to play him. If they needed an emergency guy, they have Brendan Bell in the AHL as well. But I guess the Rangers needed to be sure they would have the body in St. Louis (Bell needs waivers), and maybe Erixon needed another day or two before getting back on the ice. Regardless, still a curious decision to call him up.

What isn’t a curious decision is the decision not to force Erixon into the lineup. It’s easy to see why the organization might be tempted to do so: Marc Staal and Mike Sauer are out indefinitely with concussions, forcing them to play the Steve Eminger/Jeff Woywitka/Anton Stralman trio for extended minutes. While they have been up to the task initially, it’s assumed they won’t be able to keep this up. Combine that with Dan Girardi playing 75 minutes a game, and the Rangers blue line is in dire straits.

Erixon has a bright future, and it will be with this organization. There’s no need to stunt his growth by playing him before he’s ready. That is the right call, and it’s a call the Rangers have been making with almost all of their prospects in recent years.

Tim Erixon Recalled

The Rangers have announced that they have recalled defenseman Tim Erixon from the CT Whale of the AHL. Erixon has split time with the Rangers and the Whale, starting the season with the big club until being sent down for development purposes after nine games. In those nine games with the Rangers, Erixon did not register a point and finished with a -2 rating. In 13 games with the Whale in the AHL, Erixon has a goal and 11 assists (12 points) and 10 PIMs. He has an even rating.

This recall is likely due to the fact that Mike Sauer will not be back for the west coast swing, and the Rangers never travel west without a spare body. My assumption is that he will dress for both games, and that Jeff Woywitka is likely to be the odd man out. Woywitka was pretty solid last night, but it’s a matter of him being out played by both Steve Eminger and Anton Stralman.

Last season, injuries forced the Rangers to call up Ryan McDonagh, and he stuck with the team. This year, the Rangers already have Carl Hagelin up –who appears to be around for the long haul– and now it’s Erixon’s turn. A solid two game performance can really ease the Rangers troubles on their thin blue line.

The press release is after the jump.

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Andre Deveaux On Waivers

In a relatively unsurprising news, Andrew Gross notes that the Rangers have placed Andre Deveaux on waivers. This move could be predicted a week ago, following Deveaux’s suspension and the call ups of Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell. Both have played extremely well, and the need for Deveaux was no longer there.

In nine games with the Rangers, Deveaux registered an assist, 29 PIMs, and finished with a +3 rating. He also earned himself a three game suspension for an elbow to the head of Florida Panthers winger Tomas Fleischmann.

Carl Hagelin And John Mitchell Recalled

During yesterday’s Thanksgiving festivities, the Rangers made a pair of call ups that got the Twitter-verse and blog-o-sphere talking. Much hyped prospect Carl Hagelin, who has been tearing up the AHL, and John Mitchell were both recalled. In 17 games with the Whale, Hagelin has a line of 7-6-13 and a whopping +12 rating, while Mitchell has posted a line of 7-7-14 with a +1 rating.

Hagelin is one of the Rangers higher rated prospects, but fans have gravitated towards him because of his speed. Hagelin can seriously fly, but missed the cut out of camp because he needed to control his speed and use it at the right times. He struggled in his first few games with the Connecticut Whale, but really turned it on in the past few games, and has been the Whale’s best player thus far.

Both players being called up means the Rangers are looking to shake things up a bit. Likely out of the lineup is Andre Deveaux, who only played three minutes against the first half of the game –he was given a match penalty for an elbow to Tomas Fleishmann’s head. The hearing on that will be this morning.

The Rangers would only call up Hagelin to play on one of the top three lines. The current top three LWs are Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, and Ruslan Fedotenko. I’m no coach, but considering Fedotenko’s offensive struggles, inserting Hagelin on the third line could be done to help provide a boost to that line.

Running through the numbers, unless Mitchell is scratched the Rangers will need to scratch another forward from the lineup. The obvious candidates here are Erik Christensen and Sean Avery. Avery had less ice time against Florida, but had four more shifts than Christensen. It’s really a toss up to see who sits. My money would be on Avery, because Christensen does have some offensive talent that could potentially mix with Mitchell (who has put up decent numbers in the NHL before) or Hagelin/Fedotenko.

Just a note about why Hagelin was called up in lieu of Mats Zuccarello: there are salary cap issues with calling up Zuccarello. These could be solved with a few moves (placing Mike Rupp on LTIR), but it seems the Rangers want to get a good look at Hagelin at the NHL level. This is around the time last year when Ryan McDonagh forced his way on to the roster. So there may be something to this.

Niemi Assigned To ECHL Greenville Road Warriors

JYRI NIEMI REASSIGNED TO GREENVILLE

Defenseman has one assist in Eight Games for Whale this Season

HARTFORD, November 9, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned defenseman Jyri Niemi from the Whale to its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Niemi, a Finnish-born second-year pro, has skated in eight games for the Whale this season, registering one assist, four penalty minutes and a +1 rating.  Last season with the Whale, Niemi chalked up three goals and six assists for nine points, along with 22 PIM, in 46 games.  A third-round draft pick (72nd overall) by the New York Islanders in 2008 out of the Western Hockey League, Niemi was acquired by the Rangers from the Islanders May 25, 2010, in exchange for a sixth-round 2010 draft pick.

The Whale return to action this Saturday, November 12, in the first of back-to-back games in St. John’s, Newfoundland against the St. John’s IceCaps.  Faceoff is 6:00 PM, and all the CT Whale Rockin’ Hockey action can be heard live on “The Rock”, 106.9 FM, WCCC, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  The Whale’s next home game is coming up Friday, November 18, a GEICO Connecticut Cup battle with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the XL Center at 7:00

Rangers Acquire Bouchard From Caps For Kundratek

After a relatively quiet day in Rangerland, Glen Sather made a splash, sending defense prospect Tomas Kundratek to the Washington Capitals in exchange for RW Francois Bouchard. Kundratek, the Rangers third round pick in the 2008 draft, has two assists in seven games this year, with two PIMs and a -1 rating. In 79 career games with the CT Whale/Hartford Wolfpack, Kundratek had a line of 2-12-14, with 44 PIMs and a -1 rating.

Bouchard was a second round pick by the Caps in 2006, selected 19 spots ahead of Artem Anisimov. Bouchard, like Kundratek, has never made it to the NHL thus far in his short professional career. In nine games with the Hershey Bears, Bouchard has no points, eight PIMs and a -4 rating.

Last year, Kundratek was one of the more highly regarded Rangers prospects, and was even a dark horse to make this year’s club. However, after a lackluster camp, Kundratek’s struggles continued with the CT Whale. In some Twitter exchanges with Mitch Beck, it appears that Kundratek had fallen within the depth chart, and found himself as a healthy scratch in more than a few games with the Whale. Players like Stu Bickel, Tim Erixon, and Jyri Niemi appeared to have passed him on the depth chart.

As for Bouchard, from what is available on the internet, it does not appear that he is an NHL talent. He was Washington’s #17 ranked prospect, and has a good offensive skill set. His biggest flaws seem to be skating quickness, work ethic (although this seems to have resolved itself) and strength. At 6’1/195 lbs, Bouchard isn’t exactly weak, but it appears he is knocked off the puck too often.

This move was likely made to address the unbalanced nature of the Whale roster. Prior to this trade, the Whale had 12 forwards and 9 defensemen. Now, they will have 13 forwards and 8 defenseman.

Whale Sign Jordan Owens

WHALE SIGN JORDAN OWENS TO AHL CONTRACT

Fifth-year Pro has Two Goals in Twelve Games

HARTFORD, November 7, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has signed forward Jordan Owens to an American Hockey League contract.

Owens, a fifth-year pro who is in his second tour of duty with the Whale franchise, had been playing this season on a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement with the Whale.  The 6-0, 193-pound Toronto native has scored two goals and has 11 penalty minutes in 12 games on the year.

Owens, 25, played 160 games in a Hartford Wolf Pack uniform starting in the 2006-07 season, registering 25 goals and 45 assists for 70 points, plus 163 PIM, before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings for current Whale teammate Kris Newbury March 3, 2010.  After the trade, Owens skated with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, to which he contributed six goals and 14 assists for 20 points, while serving 101 minutes in penalties, in 60 games last season.

In 249 career AHL games with the Whale/Wolf Pack and Griffins, Owens has totaled 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points, along with 297 PIM.  Prior to turning pro with the Wolf Pack late in the 2006-07 campaign, he spent three seasons in the OHL with the Mississauga IceDogs.

Report: Rangers sign Anton Stralman

Via Bob McKenzie, the Rangers have signed right-handed defenseman Anton Stralman to a one-year contract worth $900,000. The team has not yet confirmed the signing according to Steve Zipay. The Rangers’ interest in Stralman has been rumored for what feels like weeks now, and the move just adds some blue line depth given Marc Staal’s continued absence due to concussion-like symptoms.

Lee Baldwin Reassigned To Greenville

Here’s the press release:

LEE BALDWIN REASSIGNED TO GREENVILLE

Defenseman Dressed in Three Games for Whale this Season

HARTFORD, November 3, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned defenseman Lee Baldwin from the Whale to its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Baldwin, a second-year pro, was scoreless and +2, with six shots on goal, in three games this year with the Whale, after missing the first four games of the season due to injury.  He was signed as a free agent by the Rangers March 22, 2010, out of the University of Alaska-Anchorage.

The Whale return to action at the XL Center tomorrow night, Friday, November 4, hosting the new St. John’s IceCaps in a 7:00 game.  That will be a special “Power Ghouls” Night, complete with an on-ice costume parade and a special buy-one-get-one-free ticket with costume.

Friday night’s game will feature a Halloween costume parade on the ice during the first intermission, and prizes will be awarded for best kid’s costume and best adult’s costume.  Also, fans who come in costume can take advantage of a buy-one-get-one-free offer on Upper Level tickets for Friday’s game.  That discount is available for both kids’ and adults’ tickets, through the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center only.

CL&P employees who present their company ID at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center will also be extended the buy-one-get-one-free offer on Upper Level tickets for Friday night.

Tickets to Friday night’s game, and all 2011-12 Whale home games, are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Save on your tickets, and get the best seats, with a ticket plan for the Whale’s 2011-12 AHL campaign, which are on sale now. For information on season seats and mini plans, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 728-3366 to talk with an account executive today.

The AHL’s Connecticut Whale is operated by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, a Hartford-based sports marketing and event firm founded by Howard Baldwin and Howard Baldwin, Jr..  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

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