Rangers Sign Ryan Bourque (Update: And Dylan McIlrath)

As per CapGeek, the Rangers have come to terms with 2009 third round draft pick Ryan Bourque. Bourque has had two excellent seasons with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, averaging a point per game in his two seasons. This past season, Bourque put together a line of 26-31-57 in 47 games. Many of us had the opportunity to watch Bourque play as a member of Team USA at the World Junior Championships for the past two years, where Bourque had strong showings. Bourque is currently the #11 prospect in the Rangers system, and projects out to be anywhere from a top-six forward to a fourth line player. Similar to Hagelin, Bourque’s speed is his greatest asset, but his size may get in his way.

Bourque signed a three year entry-level deal, which would result in a $656,667 cap hit should he play for the Rangers for the duration of this deal. The deal, like all entry-level deals, is a two-way contract.

Update 4:45pm: The Rangers have also signed 2010 first round draft pick Dylan McIlrath to an entry level contract. Terms of the deal are still unknown, but since it’s entry level, it will be a three year deal.

Both of these signings surprise me a little bit, as both are still too young to play in the NHL. Also, both of these deals give the Rangers the maximum allowable contracts of 50 signed players. That means any deal with Carl Hagelin will have to wait until the Rangers clear a contract.

These signings count towards next year’s 50 contracts, not this year. It still leaves the Rangers with seven open contract spots.

USA, Sweden Fall; Will Play For Bronze

Last night, Team USA saw their hopes of winning two straight gold medals at the World Junior Championships crushed at the hands of an incredibly stacked Team Canada. The USA, featuring Rangers prospects Chris Kreider and Ryan Bourque, played a very lackluster game, and lost 4-1 to the Canadians. The only bright spot for Team USA was goalie Jack Campbell, who stood on his head and was the only reason why this game wasn’t 10-1 at the end. Both Bourque and Kreider played strong games, but the overall play of Team USA left something to be desired.

As for Team Sweden, with Rangers prospect Jesper Fasth, they fell in a shootout to Russia 4-3, and will face USA for the bronze medal. Fasth made the Rangers proud, playing a solid game and netting an assist while playing top line minutes. The bronze medal game will begin at 3:30pm on Wednesday.

All four Ranger prospects, including Roman Horak of the Czech Republic, have played solidly in this tournament. Kreider, Bourque, and Horak are three names you generally hear when talking about Ranger prospects, but Fasth really landed on the map after this tournament. Fasth still has two years left on his contract with the Swedish Elite League, but Kreider, Bourque, and Horak will likely turn pro after their seasons end in the NCAA, QMJHL, and WHL respectively.

WJC: Team USA, Sweden Win; Czech Republic Loses

Team USA continued their winning ways last night, crushing Slovakia 6-1 to increase their record to 2-0 in the tournament. Rangers prospects Chris Kreider (first round, 2009) and Ryan Bourque (third round, 2009). Both players earned assists in the contest, giving Kreider two for the tournament, and Bourque one. Although neither player has scored a goal, both look very strong and have been playing very well, including getting considerable time on the powerplay. Bourque was also used on the penalty kill. Kreider also finished with a +1 rating, while Bourque was even for the game. Team USA’s next game is tomorrow against Germany at 7pm.

Jesper Fasth (sixth round, 2010), playing for Sweden, scored a goal and finished with a +1 rating in Sweden’s 2-0 win over Russia. Sweden, like the USA, is 2-0 so far in tournament play.

Roman Horak (fifth round, 2009), playing for the Czech Republic, was held off the score sheet as the Czechs were dominated by the Canadians. Sweden (with Fasth) will face the Czech Republic (with Horak) tomorrow at 7pm.

USA, Sweden Win Openers in World Junior Championship

The Rangers have four prospects playing in this year’s World Junior Championship, and three of them played last night in Buffalo. Team USA, who won gold last year, has Chris Kreider (1st round, 2009) and Ryan Bourque (3rd round, 2009) returning for this year’s tournament. Team USA started off strong, beating Team Finland 3-2 in overtime last night. Kreider assisted on USA’s first goal, playing on the first line. Bourque was held off the score sheet while playing on the third line. Both finished with an even rating.

Jesper Fasth (6th round, 2010) was also in action for Team Sweden yesterday. Fasth had an assist in Sweden’s 7-1 rout of Norway while skating on the top line. Fasth also finish with a +1 rating. This is his first World Junior Championship.

The fourth Rangers prospect participating in this year’s tournament is Roman Horak (5th round, 2009), playing for the Czech Republic. Horak, like Kreider and Bourque, is playing in his second straight tournament. He will suit up today as the Czechs take on Norway.

Bourque/Kreider Make Team USA

In relatively expected news, Rangers prospects Ryan Bourque (3rd round, 2009) and Chris Kreider (1st round, 2009) were selected to Team USA for the upcoming World Junior Championships, to be held in Buffalo, NY. This is the second year in a row that both Kreider and Bourque will be on Team USA, who won gold during last year’s tournament. Kreider led the team and tournament in goals last year. Absent from the roster this year is Derek Stepan, who was the captain and leading scorer. Stepan isn’t on the roster because he is currently with the Rangers.

Prospect Watch

Plenty more prospect news to report from the past week but first of all a reminder that three Rangers prospects face Russia in the Subway Super-series on Thursday representing the OHL. Ethan Werek, Christian Thomas and goalie Scott Stajcer are all slated to play for the OHL side, it will be interesting to see how they fare.

Back to prospect performances and the hottest current prospect is probably Ryan Bourque of the Quebec Remparts. After their incredible start the Remparts are 0-2-1 in their last three but Bourque has continued to produce. On Saturday Bourque netted his 9^th assist but his side dropped the decision, 3-2 to Montreal. The diminutive Bourque has now tallied 7+9 in just 12 games on the season.

A player who has got better as his season has worn on is Carl Hagelin. After a modest, penalty minute filled start the Swedish prospect has now got 3+7 in 10 games  as he grabbed 2 assists as his Wolverines won 5-2 in Alaska. Hagelin continues to look like a strong prospect and hopefully can help the beleaguered Hartford offense next year as he grows into an NHL player.

Another player that is becoming as reliable as a Swiss watch is Ethan Werek. As his OHL Kingston side has climbed into the division lead Werek has continued to rack up points. On Saturday Werek grabbed an assist and a shootout goal as his side won 3-2 against Bellville in the SO and he’s  now got 21 points for the year. If the talented center can do something about the slightly ugly +/- rating he’ll have himself a very fine season to take in to his pro career.

Over the Atlantic and Jesper Fasth is trying to stick with the men’s club of HV71.  After playing strongly back in junior, Fasth now has 1+1 and a +2 rating in 14 games for the big club. Fasth won’t be seen for a while in America as he’s a project and will be given a chance to fully develop in Sweden unless he has a real spike in his development.

The best news of recent prospect play is the constant improvement of Dylan Mcilrath. The 2010 1^st round pick has played strong hockey both ends for a few weeks now and in 18 games this season is now 2+5 and has an even rating. More than the stats though are his team’s performances. After a very slow start to their year the Moose Jaw Warriors are on a 6-0-0 streak and have an overall record of 10-8-0-1 to surge into 2^nd place in their WHL division. It will be fun watching Mcilrath continue to try and lead his club throughout the year. The Rangers could use his physicality sooner rather than later.

Key Prospect Stats:

Ryan Bourque 12 GP 7G 9A 16pts +5 5PIMS

Roman Horak 15 GP 10G 13A 23pts +2 16PIMS

Dylan Mcilrath 18GP 2G 5A 7pts E+/- 37PIMS

Christian Thomas 15GP 11G 10A 21pts+8 9PIMS

Ethan Werek 16GP 11G 10A 21pts -4 22PIMS

Carl Hagelin 10GP 3G 7A 10pts +6 21PIMS

Chris Kreider 8GP 2G 1A 3pts -4 6PIMS

Jesper Fasth 14GP 1G 1A 2pts +2 2PIMS

Scott Stajcer  12GP 9wins 2L 2.65GAA .911SV%

Prospect Watch

It has been a busy (and mainly) productive week for many Rangers prospects. Since we last wrote about the future Blueshirts one player in particular has gotten ‘back on track’. We said all along that what Ryan Bourque needed to do was stay healthy and then, he could be productive. Well it seems that’s what the undersized forward has done. In the last 3 games since returning from an injury Bourque has caught fire offensively scoring 7 points in the 3 games, going 2+5. Last Sunday in particular was a highlight game for Bourque as he paced his Quebec side with 1+2 and a +1 rating. It will be interesting to see if Bourque can keep up the pace when the Remparts play 2 games this weekend.

Another player (still) on fire is Czech center Roman Horak. 5^th rounder Horak had a 3 assist night as he was named first star of the game as his Chilliwack Bruins beat the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL, 6-3. Horak now has a great stat line of 6+10 in just 9 games. Elsewhere, he might not have scored a goal (shock horror) for two games but another player keeping his offensive game going is winger Christian Thomas of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. Thomas recently had a 2 assist game as his side managed to grab a losers point in the shootout against Ottawa 67’s. Oshawa were 3-0 down before losing 4-3 in the SO. Thomas now has a nice line of 10+7 in 10 games.

Perhaps the most important Ranger prospect to his current team is Ethan Werek. The 2^nd round pick is front and center of the Kingston offense and is co-leader in points with Nathan Moon despite playing 2 games less. Both players have 15 points (both with 8+7). Werek was particularly clutch this past weekend as he led his side to a come-from-behind win scoring the game tying and game winning goals, to lead the Frontenacs to a 3-2 win over Sault Marie. Werek, like Horak and Thomas, has produced all season long and the Rangers thanks to these 3 players in particular look well set in terms of offensive prospects coming out of junior. All 3 players are also looking like great draft steals with none of them being drafted higher than the 2^nd round.

Not every prospect has enjoyed a great start to their seasons however. A source of frustration is the continuing funk Chris Kreider finds himself in. 4 games into his season the Boston College winger still finds himself pointless. Given his rapid rise and almost dream season last year it’s surely only a minor blip for Kreider however it will be interesting to see how he rebounds from what is likely his first taste of adversity.

Another player who has had a little less success this week is goalie Scott Stajcer. The young goalie finally experienced his first loss but still boasts a record of 8 wins in 9 games, a .921 save percentage and a more than reasonable 2.52GAA. Stajcer was never going to go through the entire year undefeated so his first defeat is no great cause for concern.

Key prospect stats (correct at 5pm eastern Tuesday):

Chris Kreider 4GP 0G 0A -1 4PIMS

Carl Hagelin 6GP 2G 4A +3 19PIMS

Dylan Mcilrath 12GP 1G 2A -8 27PIMS

Roman Horak 9GP 6G 10A E+/- 8PIMS

Ryan Bourque 7GP 4G 7A +4 5PIMS

Ethan Werek 9GP 8G 7A +2 15PIMS

Jesper Fasth (stats from Swedish Junior) 6GP 3G 7A +8 4PIMS

Mikhail Pashnin 11GP 0G 0A -5 6PIMS

Max Campbell 6GP 3G 3A -2 0PIMS

Bourque, Kreider, Werek Invited to Juniors Camp

Rangers prospects Ryan Bourque (USA), Chris Kreider (USA), and Ethan Werek (CAN) were invited to their respective World Junior Championships camps for 2011. Bourque and Kreider both played on Team USA, which won Gold, in 2010. Kreider, the Rangers first round pick in 2009, finished with the tournament lead in goals, putting up a line of 6-1-7 in seven games. Bourque, the Rangers third round pick in 2009, provided solid third line minutes while netting three assists in the seven games. Werek, the Rangers 2009 second rounder, did not play for Team Canada last season, and this would be his first World Junior Championships.

The fact that the Rangers have their top three picks from the 2009 draft invited to their respective World Juniors camps highlights the strength of the Rangers drafting in 2009. Drafting has become a strength that we as Rangers fans are not accustomed to, and it is starting to give us hope that this team is on the right path.

Bourque Injured, Out Indefinitely

The Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL suffered a big loss to their team when forward Ryan Bourque (3rd round, 2009) suffered his second concussion of the season. Bourque was averaging just under a point per game in the QMJHL, and will be out indefinitely. Concussions are a tricky thing, and you have to be cautious when dealing with them. The fact that this is his second concussion is a little troubling. Let’s hope he gets better soon.

Canadian Juniors:

• Ethan Werek; Kingston Frontenacs, OHL: 47 GP, 24G, 28A, 52 PIM, +11
• Chris Doyle; PEI Rocket/Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL: 48 GP, 18G, 27A, 45 PIM, -5
• Ryan Bourque (Injured); Quebec Remparts, QMJHL: 37GP, 13G, 22A, 16 PIM, +3
• Roman Horak; Chilliwack Bruins, WHL: 48 GP, 15G, 20A, 18 PIM, +12
• Sam Klassen; Saskatoon Blades, WHL: 48 GP, 3G, 24A, 69 PIM, +31
• Tomas Kundratek; Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL: 49 GP, 2G, 26A, 52 PIM, +11

NCAA:

• Ryan McDonagh; Wisconsin: 26 GP, 3G, 9A, 47 PIM, +8
• Derek Stepan; Wisconsin: 24 GP, 6G, 23A, 6 PIM, +3
• Chris Kreider; Boston College: 19 GP, 4G, 3A, 10 PIM, +7
• Carl Hagelin; Michigan: 28 GP, 13G, 17A, 22 PIM, +10

International:

• Roman Psurny; HC Slovan Ustecti Lvi, CZ 1.Liga: 35 GP, 16G, 20A, 26 PIM, +23

AHL:

• Bobby Sanguinetti: 40 GP, 6G, 21A, 20 PIM, -7
• Evgeny Grachev: 50 GP, 11G, 12A, 14 PIM, -5
• Ilkka Heikkenin: 42 GP, 7G, 19A, 8 PIM, +4
• Chad Johnson: 14-8-2, 2.03 GAA, .930 SV%, 3 SO

Stepan Leads USA to Gold

Team USA ended Team Canada’s five-year championship run at the World Junior Championships last night, beating les Canadians 6-5 in an overtime thriller. Captain, and Rangers second-round pick in 2008, Derek Stepan contributed a goal and an assist in the third period, and was a part of the three-on-one rush that generated the OT winner. Stepan also led the tournament in scoring, putting up a line of 4-10-14 in just 7 GP. Chris Kreider, the Rangers first-round pick in 2009, scored the first goal of the game for Team USA in the first, and had a team lead . Ryan Bourque (3rd, 2009) contributed an assist in the first period while playing a sound defensive game.

It was the first time a Rangers prospect led the tournament in scoring since Doug Weight in 1991. The future looks bright for the Rangers, Stepan and Kreider look like the real deal.