Rangers Ink Swiss Forward Andreas Ambühl
Update 8:15pm: Further to the post below on steroids and the Washington Capitals, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has his reaction:
“The Washington Capitals have no knowledge of any aspect of this allegation,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “Capitals players were subjected to no-notice testing three times in each of the past two seasons pursuant to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and there was no indication of any improper conduct or wrongdoing. Even though there are no specifics provided in the story and we have no reason, at this point, to believe the allegations are true, the National Hockey League takes all matters of this nature very seriously and will conduct a prompt investigation.”
If there’s one thing the steroids in baseball dramedy (drama + comedy) told me, it’s that these accusers tend to be right. We shall see what becomes of this.
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The Rangers inked another Euro player, but this time it was a forward, Andreas Ambühl. At least this guy has some readily available stats, courtesy of hockeydb. In 2008-2009, he put up 17-24-41, and 98 PIMS in 50 games in the Swiss-A leagues. When the Rangers played, and destroyed, the Swiss team SC Bern, I recall a player being interviewed that he had never seen talent like he had seen on the Rangers (If someone can find that article for me, it would be appreciated).
What I’m getting at there is that the talent level in Switzerland isn’t really much to write home about There’s no way Ambühl makes the team next year, especially with the glut of 3rd liners currently on the roster. He will be heading for Hartford.
I think Sather misunderstood what Stas was saying though, we need more Swedes, not Swiss. Wrong country Slats, but kudos for trying.
By the way, Slats, shouldn’t you be at the draft combine?
I was about to post this, about 15 minutes ago, but I started thinking a bit. This signing may actually spell the end of the Fred Sjostrom era in New York. With Jordan Owens signing a professional contract, at, presumably, less than what a resigned Sjostrom would cost (minimum $920,000 cap hit, Owens has been compared to Sjo with more offensive upside), and this Ambühl signing (taking Owens place in Hartford), Sjostrom may find himself on a different team next year. Just speculation.
