lias andersson

It’s September. We are less than one month away from the NHL season getting underway. But there will still be Rangers hockey this week. The kids playing in the Traverse City Tournament kick things off on Friday, with games all weekend and into early next week.

The roster has been released, with just one free agent invitee (Brodeur’s kid). I gave some initial thoughts on the roster as well. The Rangers will have games on Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday:

  • Friday Sept. 7 – Dallas, 7:00pm
  • Saturday Sept. 8 – Minnesota, 6:30pm
  • Monday Sept. 10 – Detroit, 4:00pm
  • Tuesday Sept. 11 – Placement Game, Time TBD

I expect the Rangers to be pretty competitive this year, unlike in years past. The roster is very skilled and pretty deep. They are missing some of their top-end talent (the 2018 first rounders), but the blue line has filled out with the deadline acquisitions. The forward group is still pretty strong.

I also think that if the Rangers have a poor showing, at least in the W-L column, it will be goaltending based. Chris Nell and Jeremy Brodeur aren’t really prospects, however goalies do develop late. An unanticipated story line that may occur: Brodeur’s kid steals the show and the tournament, forcing the Rangers to sign him to an AHL deal. That would be funny.

This is going to be the first step in camp for three major names: Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, and Brett Howden. At least two of them are expected to make the roster, with Andersson and Chytil being the names everyone gravitates to. However I’ve slept on Howden too long, and while he’s not in the Andersson/Chytil spectrum, he’s still a solid player.

Ty Ronning is my dark horse to make the roster at some point this season, but he will need a strong showing at Traverse City. But after him, I think the rest of the roster will use this as a stepping stone in their development before aiming to crack the roster next year. That is especially true of the defense prospects.

All games will be streamed on the FOX Sports Go app.

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