The New York Rangers official website is reporting that D Bobby Sanguinetti has been assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate in Hartford. That leaves 7 defensemen on the roster and pretty much concludes the competition for the last roster spots. Those left on the roster and whom have presumably made the final team are; Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, rookies Matt Gilroy and Michael Del Zotto along with veteran Alexei Semenov who is likely to fill the role of 7th defensemen.
The biggest surprise was Del Zotto making the team as a 19 year-old. Coming into training camp it was expected that the 6th spot would go to either Ikka Heikinen or Sanguinetti but Del Zotto impressed Torts with his confidence and aggressiveness in the offensive zone. It’s best that Sanguinetti was sent down instead of being kept as a 7th defenseman since he will get a lot more ice time in Hartford than the 7th defenseman will in New York. Additionally, Torts would not have been comfortable with 3 rookie defensemen on the roster.
Semenov was a pleasant surprise, making the squad after being invited to camp on a tryout. He has been around the NHL for a few seasons with the Sharks, Panthers and Oilers prior to his stop here in Manhattan. Torts told Newsday, “He’s a better passer than I thought and he’s added some jam back there.” Semenov brings some size to the Rangers blueline that they sorely lacked.
With the defense and goaltending roster spots locked up that leaves only a spot or two in the forward ranks up for grabs. Currently the Rangers still have 14 forwards in camp by my count (Enver Lisin, Chris Drury, Christopher Higgins, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prrospal, Ales Kotalik, Marian Gaborik, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Aaron Voros, Donald Brashear, Artem Anisimov, and Evgeny Grachev). Assuming the Rangers only keep 13 forwards then it looks like Evgeny Grachev would be the most likely to be sent to Hartford.
Grachev has had a great camp to date but Torts seems set on converting the big Russian to Wing from Center. Tort’s was quoted by Newsday saying, “He is not a center, he's a wing. He has just got that prototypical winger body -- all legs, and he’s strong.” I’m sure that we’ll see Grachev up here if an injury hits one of the top 6 forwards.
If Grachev doesn’t make the team then that means that Aaron Voros will. After getting off to a hot start last season playing on a line with Nik Zherdev and Brandon Dubinsky, Voros cooled off considerably and was a frequent healthy scratch after Torts took over. He’s come to camp in great shape and has worked hard to win a spot, even if it is just a 4th line spot.
For better or worse, it looks like the 2009 – 2010 New York Rangers roster is set. This group represents a large departure from last year’s team with likely 12 players suiting up that weren’t in New York to open last season. For that reason alone, this should prove to be an interesting season for the Blue Shirts and their fans.
The biggest surprise was Del Zotto making the team as a 19 year-old. Coming into training camp it was expected that the 6th spot would go to either Ikka Heikinen or Sanguinetti but Del Zotto impressed Torts with his confidence and aggressiveness in the offensive zone. It’s best that Sanguinetti was sent down instead of being kept as a 7th defenseman since he will get a lot more ice time in Hartford than the 7th defenseman will in New York. Additionally, Torts would not have been comfortable with 3 rookie defensemen on the roster.
Semenov was a pleasant surprise, making the squad after being invited to camp on a tryout. He has been around the NHL for a few seasons with the Sharks, Panthers and Oilers prior to his stop here in Manhattan. Torts told Newsday, “He’s a better passer than I thought and he’s added some jam back there.” Semenov brings some size to the Rangers blueline that they sorely lacked.
With the defense and goaltending roster spots locked up that leaves only a spot or two in the forward ranks up for grabs. Currently the Rangers still have 14 forwards in camp by my count (Enver Lisin, Chris Drury, Christopher Higgins, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prrospal, Ales Kotalik, Marian Gaborik, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Aaron Voros, Donald Brashear, Artem Anisimov, and Evgeny Grachev). Assuming the Rangers only keep 13 forwards then it looks like Evgeny Grachev would be the most likely to be sent to Hartford.
Grachev has had a great camp to date but Torts seems set on converting the big Russian to Wing from Center. Tort’s was quoted by Newsday saying, “He is not a center, he's a wing. He has just got that prototypical winger body -- all legs, and he’s strong.” I’m sure that we’ll see Grachev up here if an injury hits one of the top 6 forwards.
If Grachev doesn’t make the team then that means that Aaron Voros will. After getting off to a hot start last season playing on a line with Nik Zherdev and Brandon Dubinsky, Voros cooled off considerably and was a frequent healthy scratch after Torts took over. He’s come to camp in great shape and has worked hard to win a spot, even if it is just a 4th line spot.
For better or worse, it looks like the 2009 – 2010 New York Rangers roster is set. This group represents a large departure from last year’s team with likely 12 players suiting up that weren’t in New York to open last season. For that reason alone, this should prove to be an interesting season for the Blue Shirts and their fans.
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