*Ahem*

"What I have to do today is a painful thing. Even as I am reminded of what you have done for this team as I look around the room, I am here to give the information you have been waiting for: the list of who will be invited back for next season. In years past, simply being a member of the team the previous year was enough to guarantee a contract if you wished it, but that is not the way the Rangers want to do business any more. The organization is returning to the roots of the meaning of "farm team" – a place where younger players are grown so that they can be successfully transplanted to Broadway when needed. In that light, I am faced with the difficult task of letting most of you go. And without any further ago, the list."

Come on, admit it – this is the best part! This is where I get to play GM, and kick out all the players who have driven me insane over the past two years. And I can do it with complete confidence that if I get a little TOO excited and dump too many guys, New York will just toss a few more of those new prospects my way. As long as they follow through on their stated plan to shuck off a bunch of the old guys, there will be practically an endless supply of kids ready to go to Hartford, dragging their sticks and gear bags behind them. So, with that in mind, I will begin my gleeful plundering of the Wolf*Pack roster. Let’s start with the forwards, since I never liked them much anyway –they are always so damn confident on and off the ice. It’s irritating, you know?

Under contract for next year are the following:

Kenny Gernander (RW, 32, 5-10, 180) has one year left on his contract, and has been the captain of the Wolf*Pack since their Binghamton days. Although I strongly believe Kenny is faltering and would like to see him make the transition to behind the bench sooner rather than later, he will stay on for his last year and he will be captain. Although I don’t think he contributes a whole lot as a player at this point, I can live with him occupying a roster spot for his guiding influence on the kids. Thumbs up.

Todd Hall (LW, 28, 6-1, 205) will continue to be a member of the Hartford Wolf*Pack, and this one I am not happy with. Todd is a local boy, hometown hero, married his high school sweetheart and wants to be a high school teacher when he retires. A great person, right? But a useless hockey player. Buy him out of his contract of unknown length, he is wasting roster space that we can’t afford. Thumbs down.

I think Brandon Dietrich (F, 23, 6-1, 190) has a lot of possibility, in a Jeff Ulmer sort of way. He has a lot of enthusiasm, and I don’t recall seeing anything in his play that wouldn’t improve with time with the big boys in the AHL. I say recall him from Charlotte and add him to the roster. This is the kind of kid we should be giving a chance if we are going to be a real farm system. Thumbs up.

Jeff Ulmer (RW, 24, 5-11, 180) seems to be getting jerked around by Rangers management, and no one knows why. This kid was called up to New York to watch the end of the season there, but wasn’t placed on our clear day roster and so couldn’t play with us in the postseason after the Rangers were done! I would love to see him make the Rangers out of camp, but more likely he will start the season in Hartford. Which is fine with me, although for his sake I hope he either gets called up or gets traded. He deserves a shot somewhere. Thumbs up.

Looking now at the unrestricted free agents, we have:

Tony Tuzzolino (LW, 26, 6-2, 208) pretty much mirrored his previous year, in which he arrived midseason, made a big splash with a multiple goals, then got injured. He looks tough, but because of constant injuries, doesn’t play much. Also whined to anyone who would listen about his best friend JF Labbe being traded away. Thumbs down.

Chris Kenady (RW, 28, 6-2, 195) began the season elsewhere, and then was brought back. Another player who looks tough, but doesn’t play that way. His conditioning appears questionable to me, and he isn’t really contributing to the team – and, as another vet, is weighing down the roster. Thumbs down.

Brad Mehalko (RW, 24, 6-1, 190), as I have said before, is a PJ Stock in the making – and every team needs a sparkplug, and if you have one that appeals to the female half of the population, you are going to pull in that many more ticketholders. He plays with a ton of heart and a chippy edge that always seems to land him in the middle of the fracas. The fact that he’s got speed and the ability to throw a few on net helps too. Looking forward to seeing him come into his own this year on a checking line. Thumbs up.

Well, if there is ever an argument for having set plays, Boyd Kane (LW, 23, 6-2, 218) is one to make them. He’s not creative around the net, but will bulldoze his way through and follow instructions. Another kid who found his scoring touch after being sent down to Charlotte, Boyd will be fun to watch if he settles in on the Pack’s top line, where he finished out last year. Thumbs up.

Although you’d never know it, Richard Scott (LW, 23, 6-2, 195) actually has okay hands. Too bad he has set up home in the penalty box, so you’ll never get to see them in action around the net, unless he is fighting a goalie again. Richard has gleefully accepted the role of team thug, posturing for his fans in the box and dragging opponents to center ice before fighting (so that we can all see clearly, you know?) and every team needs one of those. I just wish he would stay out of the box just a bit longer…once he’s in, the other team can go back to harassing our skill players again. Perhaps with time he will learn. Thumbs up.

Our restricted free agents among the forwards include:

Brad Smyth (RW, 28, 6-0, 200), Derek Armstrong (C, 28, 6-1, 193), and Jason Dawe (RW, 28, 5-10, 189) may as well all be treated as one – its really the same story with each of them. Each of these guys was instrumental in bring home the Calder cup in 2000, but its time for them to move on. It has been clearly established that they are never going to make the Rangers, so for their own sake they should be encouraged to pursue other options. Perhaps another team could use Army’s passing skills, or Shooter’s ability to score from impossible angles. Maybe someone can use Dawe to scope the stands during games. No matter what, though, its time for these three to be on their way. Army had planned to go to Europe last year, and Shooter has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with not being called up. Dawe was injured for all but four games last year. In all three cases, Hartford is clearly not the right place for them to be at this time. Thumbs down.

Jeff Toms (LW, 27, 6-5, 209) was picked up off of waivers, and disappointed New York. Unlike Michal Grosek, though, Toms didn’t use his time in Hartford as inspiration to bust his butt and get back to the big show. Toms slacked in Hartford last year, and I see no reason why he wouldn’t do it again. He does have a nose for the net, but again that isn’t what farm teams should be made of: hungry young kids. Thumbs down.

I really like Dave Deurden (LW, 24, 6-2, 200) as a player, but I am not sure I can justify it. He looks tentative out on the ice, much like Stef Cherneski did in the handful of games he played after his return – but Stef had a reason to be uneasy. Dave is a big guy, but he plays like he is afraid of everyone out there with him. I’m hesitant to give him the shove-off, because some part of my brain thinks he could become a useful member of the team. He can score goals, but would I say he has a chance of making the roster in NY in the future? Ehhhh…I’ll bit the bullet and give him the thumbs down. Forgive me, Dave, this is all about business.

Ryan Tobler (LW, 25, 6-3, 220) is a nice, nice kid, but a horrible hockey player. I don’t know why we picked him up. I mean, I remember that we traded JF Labbe for Bert Robertsson to relieve our goalie crunch, then sent Bert away and got Ryan in exchange to reduce the number of vets we were sitting each game. But as far as what Ryan can contribute… well, he likes to fight. But Richard is better at it (so is Brad, for that matter) and both of them are better at every other aspect of play than Ryan. Send him to New Haven. Thumbs down.

We saw Mathieu Benoit (RW, 22, 6-0, 200) play briefly in Hartford last year, and didn’t know why he didn’t stick. He was one of the last to be sent down to Charlotte according to my memory, and I hope be makes it back up to the AHL this year. I remember him as being quick on his skates with a good puck sense in all zones. We’ll see what a year in the ECHL did for him. Thumbs up.

Jason Doig (D, 24, 6-3, 216) is a defensemen, but at the very end of last year he played a few games at forward. If we need a power forward, I would rather convert him and bring up another blueliner, rather than to hold onto someone like Kenady. I’m not a Doig fan, but I will admit he is one of the nastiest guys I have ever seen on or off the ice. And he manages to do his intimidating without getting kicked out of the game, which is more than can be said for most of our enforcers. Thumbs up.

Whew! That’s long enough. According to my count, out of the 15 forwards we had on our roster, I kept 6 and added one from Charlotte and one from our blueline. A roster with 4 right wings, 2 left wings, and 2 unassigned (Dietrich and Doig), is no more unbalanced than last year’s, which featured 9 left wings and 2 centers. This should leave plenty of room for all the prospects I haven’t seen yet, as well as for kids from Charlotte to move up in camp.

I’ll save my plundering of the defense for another day.

- Heather

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