As time passes, and we avidly follow our favorite sports teams, a multitude of players come and go. While we may recall them during their time with the team, some slip through the crevices of our memory, only to resurface through a nostalgic memory or an old piece of media, causing us to reconnect their faces and names with the iconic Rangers uniform.
Among the hallowed names like Messier, Leetch, Giacomin, Lundqvist, and others, there are those more unknown Rangers, such as Andrew Yogan, Chris Holt, Al Montoya, and others who may have faded from our recollection. As we traverse the regular season, we’ll delve into a few of these “Forgotten Rangers” In this edition, we feature one guy who became a star by accident and another who was just a guy.
John Scott, Left Wing
Time with Rangers: 6 games in 2011-12
Before his standout All-Star season and the subsequent fanfare, John Scott was your typical old-school fourth-line enforcer. At the time of the Rangers’ trade for him, the rationale behind the move wasn’t entirely clear. While recognizing the need for size and grit on the team, it seemed Scott didn’t see enough ice time to fulfill that role for the Rangers.
Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in the second season of his contract, Scott joined the Rangers in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Although I appreciated Scott’s imposing size, the role of the enforcer was diminishing, and we witnessed a decline in such players over the following years.
After leaving the Rangers, Scott signed with Buffalo, setting the stage for the unexpected turn of events that transformed him into the NHL’s headline story. Despite starting as a “troll” movement and facing attempts by the NHL to remove him, the saga of voting for John Scott to the NHL All-Star Game took on a life of its own. Even after being traded and demoted, with rumors suggesting the NHL’s attempts to push him out, Scott persevered and was selected for the contest.
As we all know, his story took a remarkable turn—he played in the game, scored goals, and became the All-Star MVP. A regular hockey player and a great guy, Scott seized the opportunity to shine for a game. Despite his brief stint with the Rangers, lasting only five games, it became a noteworthy part of his journey, adding a touch of sentimentalism to his narrative.
Corey Potter, Defenseman
Time with Rangers: 8 games from 2008 to 2010
I used to (and still do) spend a lot of time playing EA SPORTS NHL, and back in the day, Corey Potter was consistently my preferred defenseman whenever someone from my NHL team was injured. This is my recollection of him.
Despite playing eight games over more than two years, and being an avid sports watcher, I didn’t even realize Corey Potter was in the NHL until his second call-up as an injury replacement. Even then, I mistakenly thought it was his first stint with the Rangers. My memory is usually reliable, but for some reason, this detail escapes me. I’m puzzled—please help!
For the majority of his time in the Rangers organization, Potter played for the Hartford Wolf Pack. He made his NHL debut for the Rangers on December 7th, 2008, facing the Flames. Notably, he earned his first NHL point, an assist on a Dmitri Kalinin goal, on December 27th, 2008, against the Devils. His inaugural NHL goal came on April 2nd, 2009, against the Hurricanes.
That marked the conclusion of his time in New York. Following that season, Potter signed with Pittsburgh, then subsequently with Edmonton the following season. He later had stints with various NHL teams, including Boston, Nashville, Arizona, and Calgary, before returning to Europe.
The concluding chapter of his career unfolded in Germany, playing in the DEL for Kolner Haie, and he retired at the end of the 2018-19 season.
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