When the Rangers sent Roman Horak and two second round picks to Calgary for Tim Erixon, the fifth round pick that came back with Erixon was a mere after thought for most. After all, the Rangers had just traded a bottom-six prospect and two second rounders for someone who would have gone in the top ten in the 2011 draft. The fifth round pick doesn’t matter much when acquiring a player of that potential.

But, the Rangers used that pick on Shane McColgan of the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL. McColgan may have gone in the fifth round, but he slid very far in the draft. He was initially touted as a second round pick, but questions about his size and work ethic made him slip to the fifth round, where the Rangers were more than happy to gobble him up.

Two years ago, as a 17 year old, McColgan was already lighting up the WHL as a point per game player. Now at 19 years old, McColgan is still that point per game player, but is making strides in his game and is becoming a leader for the Rockets.

McColgan’s size may always be a question, but for all intents and purposes, he has been an after thought in this deal because he has been overshadowed by Erixon. Perhaps all this works in his favor. He doesn’t have the pressure of being a high draft pick, so he can just relax and play his game.

It’s interesting to note that when the Rangers drafted Bobby Sanguinetti in the first round in 2006, he would turn into so many promising players for the Rangers:

  • Rangers draft Bobby Sanguinetti in the first round in 2006.
  • Rangers trade Bobby Sanguinetti to the Hurricanes for a sixth round pick in 2010 (Jesper Fasth) and a second round pick in 2011.
  • Rangers trade Roman Horak, their second round pick, and Carolina’s second round pick (originally WSH) to Calgary for Tim Erixon and a fifth round pick in 2011 (Shane McColgan).

Essentially, the Rangers first round pick in 2006 amounted to Tim Erixon, Jesper Fasth, and Shane McColgan. Not bad at all.

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