Ben from Berlin, CT asks, “What’s the status of Dale Purinton? I hope he returns in a Wolf Pack uni. It would be great, with the three “bash brothers” of Purinton, Lessard and Fritz.”
Ben, that would be pretty cool for those who really like rough and tumble hockey. I hate to burst your bubble, but Dale has signed a contract with the Colorado Avalanche and will most likely be playing for the new AHL franchise in Cleveland. That will mark the first time in his pro career, aside from 25 ECHL games during the lockout year of 2004-05, that Dale has played outside the Ranger organization.
So you’ll have to settle for two out of three.
Rich from Croton, NY sends along, “Just a quick note. I read in the New York newspapers that Alexei Cherepanov has only one year on his contract and has agreed to leave the Russian League after that year to come over to play in North America. Do you see Artem Anisimov being a big contributor for the Wolf Pack, providing he makes the team?"
I saw that same article, Rich, and it does certainly look as if the Rangers and Cherepanov’s agent feel it’s a sure bet that he’ll be coming over within a year. If that works out, it should be great for the organization.
As far as Anisimov goes, I quite honestly was not hearing a lot of buzz about him, before he was mentioned in a New York Post article as a guy who might make an impact in training camp. He’s awfully young, having just turned 19 in May, and he’s only played one full year in the Russian Super League, but if they are seriously thinking about bringing him over here at that age, his performance at the World Juniors must have really turned some heads and his development must really be on the fast track.
Mike Gager from Ken Gernander’s hometown of Coleraine, MN has this to say, “Bob, just a comment about Kenny G. He has earned this, nobody has worked harder in their hockey career than Kenny, from squirts till today. He does things the right way and is very loyal and works hard. Hartford and the Rangers are very lucky to have Kenny and Kerby and family.”
Well said, Mike, I couldn’t agree more. A great credit to the Iron Range, which has produced so many terrific hockey people.
Jeff of Torrington, CT asks, “Besides Valiquette, do you think the Rangers will pick up another reliable goaltender to back up Lundqvist, someone with a little more NHL experience?”
Jeff, it wouldn’t surprise me, but for Steve’s sake I hope not. I get the impression that his personality and selfless dedication of all his energies to the backup role were big boosts to the Rangers’ late-season surge last year. To my way of thinking, Lundqvist is going to be the vast majority of the games anyway, so why spend extra money on a more expensive guy when you’ve got a good soldier right on hand who relishes the opportunity and helps keep the locker room upbeat?
Elliott Cohen of Bristol, CT writes, “I have two questions. First off, the other day I was surfing the net and ended up looking at an article from the ECHL news. It says that on July 20 of this year that the Colorado Avalanche signed long-time Pack defensemen Dale Purinton. Is this article true or not? Also, will the Pack be playing any of the new expansion teams such as the Lake Erie Monsters or the Rockford Ice Hogs?”
As you read earlier in my response to Ben from Berlin, Elliott, the article you read is true. After 10 years in the Ranger organization, Dale has signed with Colorado.
And no, the Wolf Pack will not be in regular-season action this year against any of the AHL’s three new franchises, the Monsters, the IceHogs or the Quad City Flames, this upcoming season. The Pack will meet the Toronto Marlies for the first time, however, and will renew acquaintances with Hamilton and Syracuse.
Mark B from Denver, CO says, “Bob, I don't know what I would do without your regular updates at hartfordwolfpack.com. I'm a lifelong Ranger fan, supplanted here in the Rocky Mountains (think I'll see Purinton this year?). My question is this: is there any published list of whom the Rangers have under contract at the AHL level? The NYR website is great for prospects, and some of the other sites mention NHL contracts, but I'd love to get an idea of how many Pack players are set to be in Hartford. I know that Jake Taylor, Frank Lessard, Mika Wiikman and Jordan Owens are signed as AHL players. Who else is under contract? How does that work? Are they still owned by the Rangers? What if someone like Wiikman was needed to play for the Rangers (injury), would he have to sign a new contract?”
Mark, I’m glad you enjoy the updates. We’ll do our best to keep you informed.
You never know, you might see ol’ Dale out there in beautiful Denver. I think at age 30, he was probably signed with Cleveland in mind, but the Avs’ website only lists six other defensemen on the roster as of August 8th, so there might be a spot or two open.
As far as the AHL-contracted guys, you named a fairly exhaustive list of who is signed. In addition to those four, Taylor, Lessard, Wiikman and Owens, my understanding is that the organization has picked up the AHL options on Mark Lee and Ryan Constant, as well as Mike Ouellette, who played all of last season in Charlotte.
In the case of a franchise like the Wolf Pack that is owned by its NHL affiliate, all of the AHL contracts are controlled by the Rangers. If the Pack were an independently-owned team, then they could conceivably sign their own players to AHL deals, although you don’t see a ton of that these days. And yes, if a guy like Wiikman, who is on an AHL contract, were needed by the Rangers in an emergency situation, he would have to be signed to an NHL deal. We saw that happen back in 2003-04, when Phil Osaer was playing for the Wolf Pack on an AHL ticket and due to a rash of injuries was needed in New York.
Ed Rafter of Meriden, CT asks “What is your take on Chris Holt? Two years ago he was great in the playoffs for us but didn't get much of a chance last year. Is it lack of concentration for the long season or what? He seems to play big in big games. What do you think?”
I’ve said to a number of people that Chris reminds me somewhat of Jason LaBarbera early in his career, Ed. He’s a big, friendly kid with a lot of athletic ability, who hasn’t quite nailed down how to keep himself consistently in the physical shape that is necessary to achieve more success in the pros, or the focus to bring his best game to the table every outing.
Like you mentioned, Chris came up huge for the Wolf Pack in the ’06 playoffs, and looked every bit the top-drawer goaltending prospect, but hasn’t been able to sustain that level of play over a long period.
LaBarbera in his first couple of seasons would have some really strong games, and make some unbelievable, “circus”, reaction saves, but also had more than a few nights where he looked like a fish out of water out there. When he got the opportunity to grab the number-one role and play every night, though, he found that priceless groove of confidence and has never looked back. So I’d be interested to see how Chris would do if he really buckled down and made a year-long commitment to his conditioning, and got a chance to be the go-to guy for at least a half-season or so, where they say to him, “it’s your net, and if you have a bad night, you’re going right back in the next night”. That might be all he needs for his career really to take off.
Martin Boatwright from Cromwell, CT asks, “Will you be the voice of the Wolf Pack for the upcoming season? And who do you see emerging as the new and third Wolf Pack player to wear the C on his jersey? Keep up the great work.”
Thanks, Martin, I appreciate that. Unless something unforeseen happens, I fully expect to be back behind the Wolf Pack microphone when the puck drops to start the 2007-08 season…and am greatly looking forward to it!
To your question about the captaincy, there isn’t a plethora of experienced guys to choose from, as the array stands now. The coaches may start the season the same way they did in 2005-06, the first year Ken Gernander wasn’t playing, and rotate it around to several guys. If I had to pinpoint one guy right now to speculate on as the leading candidate, I’d have to say Dave Liffiton. He’ll be entering his third full year of AHL play, and is the kind of lead-by-example guy who leaves it all out there on the ice and really battles for his teammates.
Bill from Buchanan, NY writes, “I have two questions. With the Rangers carrying upwards of 8-9 defensemen, what are the chances of David Liffiton making the Rangers this year? Also, do you see Nigel Dawes making the parent club this year?”
Bill, if the situation on the Ranger defense stays the same as it is right now, then I would think Liffiton would have to have a truly outstanding camp to make the team. I count eight defensemen ostensibly ahead of him as of the beginning of August, and he’ll also have to battle the likes of Marc Staal for whatever spots do come open.
Having said that, however, I would never count a player like Liffiton out, simply because of his drive and competitive fire. Also, it doesn’t look to me as though there is a ton of “bang and crash” on the Ranger blueline, outside of Jason Strudwick, and that element of the game is Liffiton’s real forte. If he comes to camp in excellent shape, and convinces himself that he can challenge for a job, you never know.
Dawes, on the other hand, would seem to me to have a better-than-even-money chance to stick with the big club. It might be in the last forward spot on the roster, but I think he’s ready to make the jump. And with the success Ryan Callahan had after his callup last year, I’m sure the organization would love nothing better than to have another real young player step up and establish himself as one of the real building blocks for the future.
Khris from West Hartford, CT asks, “Will the Wolf Pack play an EDU-SKATE game this season? After looking on the schedule, there was no given date.”
Khris, the Edu-Skate game will not be continuing this year. Putting on a game such as that, with the morning start, presents many challenges to the team and staff, and those resources will be allocated elsewhere this season.
Have a great offseason, and I’ll continue to poke my pen into this space whenever I can cobble together enough material.
