Ways to Wait-out the NHL Lockout
By now most of you have heard the NHL lockout is unavoidable and by 11:59 tonight the players will be locked out and the league will be shut down. For the hockey fanatics, there are a number of ways to get your hockey fix over the NHL-less months to come, starting with the KHL, ECHL, CHL, or maybe even college and high school hockey.
While these are all good NHL replacements, wouldn’t you rather watch some players you have seen in New York wearing the blue sweaters and some of the Rangers’ top prospects? Then, why not take a drive northeast of the Big Apple to Hartford, Connecticut to watch the CT Whale play?
Whale forward Mats Zuccarello celebrates a goal at the XL Center in front of some excited fans
If you do decide to make the trip up for a game you’ll be able to watch some good American Hockey League hockey, which may I remind you is only one step below the NHL. Skating for the Whale during the lockout will be many players who have already skated at MSG such as Kris Newbury, Wade Redden, Cam Talbot, and Chad Kolarik as well as many Ranger prospects such as Christian Thomas, Dylan McIlrath, Ryan Bourque, and Marek Hrivik. Also in Hartford during the lockout you will see Ranger 2012 playoff hero Chris Kreider!
Many current Rangers including Ryan Callahan, Ryan McDonagh, Carl Hagelin, Dan Giradi, and Marc Staal started their careers in Hartford. So why not come see the future of the Rangers organization this season in Hartford?
Whale/Wolfpack alum now with the Rangers
For more info on the Whale checkout ctwhale.com.
Rangers Assign Eight to Connecticut
The Rangers, along with many other NHL teams, assigned their AHL level one-way contract players to their AHL affiliates yesterday. This would allow these players to play during the NHL lockout. The Rangers assigned eight players to the Whale Wednesday, those eight were:
Kris Newbury
Rangers’ assistant coach/assistant GM/Whale GM Jim Schoenfeld has confirmed that 2012 Rangers’ playoff star left winger, Chris Kreider will play with the Whale during the NHL lockout, which is set to begin tonight at 11:59.
For the latest updates on the Connecticut Whale, please follow me on Twitter!
Rangers Goalies History: Profile Two – Davie Kerr
On March 14, 1938, long before Hank’s hair, another Rangers’ goalie was a Time Magazine cover model, Davie Kerr. David Alexander Kerr was born on January 11, 1910 Toronto, Ontario. Playing mostly amateur hockey for teams like the Toronto Canoe Club and Abitibi Paper Company in Iroquois Falls, he eventually earned a roster spot netminding for the senior men’s team with the Montreal Maroons AAA team. In 1930, the Montreal Hockey Club won the Allan Cup, but Davie never found a home with the Montreal Maroons bouncing back and forth between the NHL and the farm team. That is, until 1934 when he was sold to the Americans to replace Andy Aitkenhead and finally make his mark on Blueshirts’ history, including a Stanley Cup and Vezina.
On December 14, 1934, Kerr was acquired by the Rangers. He played six seasons between the pipes, becoming the Rangers FIRST regular goalie. His agility and butterfly style, half a century before it would become fashionable, made Davie a fan favorite. During practice, Kerr would lay his stick across the goal mouth, full split with only hands free, challenging teammates to get practice shots into the twine. His rapport with teammates extended to game time. Davie was a vocal goaltender who would direct the D from his crease.
“Kerr was gifted with an excellent right hand that picked off shots like Bill Terry playing first for the (Baseball’s NY) Giants. He was deliberate and methodical in everything he did. Davey retired long before his time, when he was at his peak and only 30 years old,” said teammate and later Rangers coach, Frank Boucher.
Rangers Career Highlights
1934 – 1935: First game as a Ranger December 16, 1934 vs Boston
1936 – 1937: Led the NHL in games played (48), playoffs games played (9), playoffs wins (6), playoffs minutes played (553), playoffs shutouts (4) and playoffs GAA (1.08).
1937 – 1938: Second All-Star team … Led the NHL in games played (48) and shutouts (8).
1938 – 1939: Led the NHL in games played (48).
1939 – 1940: Vezina Memorial Trophy … First All-Star team … Stanley Cup champion … Led the NHL in games played (48), shutouts (8), GAA (1,54), playoffs games played (12), playoffs wins (8), playoffs minutes played (770), playoffs shutouts,1939-40 (3) and playoffs GAA (1,56).
2009: Ranked 19th on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the publication, “100 Ranger Greats.”
*Statistics courtesy of http://www.goaliesarchive.com
Including the playoffs, Davie played a total of 356 games and averaged a GAA of 1.82 with 47 shutouts while a New York Ranger.
NEXT: Chuck Rayner
Rangers Goalies History: Profile One – John Ross “Little Napoleon” Roach
While we wait for the owners and league to get their collective “stuff” together for the inevitable start of the 2012 season, I am chomping at the bit to begin writing. So, I figured I’d get to it and start with a historical series on the Blueshirt’s goalies.
Of course there were some memorable names to pass through MSG briefly like “Apple Cheeks” Lumley, Hal Winkler who recorded the FIRST Ranger’s victory and shutout and even the great “Ukey” Sawchuk in 1969. The goalies I will be covering however have played at least four seasons between the pipes and are cemented in Rangers lore from the original six, up to King Henrik.
If there is any one in particular that I have forgotten and/or am missing, please feel free to slew foot me, drop a line or Twitter me and I’ll get that player profiled. For this week, let’s start with John Ross Roach.
John Ross “Little Napoleon” Roach
John Ross Roach was born in Port Perry, Ontario on June 23, 1900. He stood 5’ 5” and weighed a paltry 130 pounds soaking wet – thus the nickname. He was a flurry of motion in front of the net; some even termed his style as “nervous” due to the fact that he never stood still. Little Napoleon was also an iron man as he lead the NHL with games played for 4 straight season from 1928 – 1932.
Roach spent seven years with the Torono St. Pats/Maple Leafs in the NHL and was acquired by Tex’s Rangers on October 18, 1928 with Butch Keeling from Toronto for Goalie Lorne Chabot, Alex Gray and $10,000. In October of 1932 he was traded to the Red Wings for $11,000.
Rangers Career Highlights
In the 1928 season, John recorded 13 shutouts, second only to George Hainsworth’s record of 22 AND has only been surpassed five times in the ENTIRE history of the NHL to date. In Game One of the 1930 Stanley Cup Semifinals between the Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens, Roach was finally beaten by Gus Rivers near the end of the fourth overtime, ending one of the longest games in Stanley Cup history.
1928-1929: First game as a Ranger November 15, 1928 at Detroit . Led the NHL in games played (44), playoffs games played (6), playoffs minutes played (392) and playoffs shutouts (3)
1929-1930: Led the NHL in games played (44)
1930-1931: Led the NHL in games played (44), minutes played (2,760) and playoffs GAA (1.00)
1931-1932: Led the NHL in games played (48), shutouts (9), playoffs games played (7), playoffs minutes played (480) and playoffs shutouts (1)
*Statistics courtesy of http://www.goaliesarchive.com
Little Napoleon played a total of 180 games and averaged a GAA of 2.16 with 30 shutouts while a New York Ranger.
NEXT: Davie Kerr
True Blue I Am a Ranger 