As time passes, and we avidly follow our favorite sports teams, many 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 Eric Reitz, Matt Gilroy, Ales Kotalik, Chris Higgins, 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 look at another defenseman who was supposed to be good and the son of a Hockey Hall of Famer.
Tomas Kundratek, Defenseman
Time with Rangers: 70 games for HFD/CT
Selected 90th overall by the Rangers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Kundratek had aspirations of becoming a valuable depth player for the team. As a rookie, he showcased his skills in 70 games for the newly rebranded Connecticut Whale during the 2010–11 season, contributing two goals, ten assists, and accumulating 12 points, along with 42 penalty minutes. His postseason performance in all six of the Whale’s playoff games against the Portland Pirates in the Calder Cup playoffs included two assists and two penalty minutes.
However, after a brief stint of seven games with the Whale the following season, Kundratek’s trajectory took a turn when he was traded to the Washington Capitals on November 8, 2011, in exchange for Francois Bouchard, marking the end of his Rangers career.
In the 2011–12 season, Kundratek received a call-up from the AHL affiliate Hershey Bears to the Washington Capitals on January 10, 2012. Making his NHL debut the following night in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, he played five games before returning to Hershey on January 20, 2012. Although he didn’t register any points during his time with the Capitals, he contributed with two shots on goal, three hits, four blocked shots, and 2 penalty minutes.
The lockout-shortened 2012–13 season saw Kundratek securing a spot on the opening night roster with the Capitals. He marked this stint with his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins on March 5, 2013. Eventually, on June 19, 2015, Kundratek departed from the Capitals organization and signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga, a Latvian Kontinental Hockey League club.
As of now, Kundratek is actively playing in the Czech Extraliga with HC Oceláři Třinec.
Chris Bourque, Forward, Team USA
Time with Rangers: 73 games for HFD in 2014-15 along with a few preseason games.
Chris Bourque, son of Ray and older brother of former Wolf Pack captain Ryan, held the role of alternate captain and AHL All-Star Forward for the Hershey Bears. Predominantly a career AHL player, Bourque had brief stints with NHL teams including New York (preseason), Pittsburgh, and Washington.
In an attempt to secure a spot on the Rangers roster in 2014, Bourque signed a one-year, two-way contract. Despite some preseason appearances, he was assigned to Hartford where he emerged as the team’s leading scorer with an impressive 66 points in 73 games, earning a spot on the AHL First All-Star team.
The subsequent season saw Bourque returning to Hershey, where he remained until 2018. Departing as a free agent and holding the title of the AHL’s active career leading scorer, Bourque reunited with his brother Ryan by signing a one-year deal with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the affiliate of the New York Islanders, on July 9, 2018.
After completing one season with the Sound Tigers in 2018–19, Bourque, as a free agent, chose to venture abroad for the first time in five years. He inked a one-year contract with the German club EHC München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) on May 27, 2019. Enjoying a three-year stint in the DEL, he concluded his time in Germany with ERC Ingolstadt in the 2021–22 season.
On April 30, 2022, Bourque officially announced his retirement from professional hockey after a 17-season career. Subsequently, the Hershey Bears revealed that his #17 jersey, symbolic of his nine seasons with the club, would be retired on January 14, 2023.
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