New York Rangers: Avery to be Waived, Weise Claimed by Vancouver

Well, we knew it was going to come down to Sean Avery and Erik Christensen. Just who would land the spot as the 13th forward for the New York Rangers? This morning, it was announced that the Rangers plan to place Avery on waivers, thus ending his second stint on Broadway, one not nearly as glamorous as his first. In a way, this is a bit of an end of an era. Avery came here in 2007 in a trade with Los Angeles, and immediately made an impact when he barreled into Martin Brodeur in a game shortly after. From that moment on, he was a fan favorite, and shown undying affection no matter what the situation was, for better or for worse. But in recent seasons, ever since he returned from Dallas, his play began to slip and he started to lose his aggressive and agitating touch. The NHL’s Bad Boy was becoming just another bottom-six checking forward, but with a pretty hefty price tag. There is no doubt that was the main reason in the end, why it was him over Christensen to be waived; the additional $1 million the Rangers pick up could very well go to bringing in a veteran defenseman to replace the injured Staal.

Though I was never really a fan of Avery’s, I would much rather see him on the team than Christensen, who, when he does not score, is completely useless. Avery, on the other hand, can check and fight, and when he is on his game, can reclaim the past glory he had as one of the most annoying players in the league. I do not expect Christensen to be here much longer either, but only time will tell if this really was the right move. Avery’s NHL career might be done with now, because I do not see many teams who would risk bringing his personality into a locker room, especially when he carries a $4 million price tag for the rest of this season. He will probably have to explore other options in Europe if he wants to play hockey, but my guess is that he will retire, and keep himself busy with politics and possibly even the fashion industry. That is not a knock on him, because that is where his mind seems to have truly been. Perhaps if he was focused more on hockey, he would still be playing.

As for Dale Weise being claimed by the Vancouver Canucks, I am very sad to see him go. I interviewed him before last season, and we have remained in contact ever since. He is a really nice guy, but clearly, there was just no room for him here. Hopefully he will see plenty of NHL action north of the border, and I wish him the best of luck!

New York Ranger Rookies: Baptism by Fire

I just had to take a picture when this came on the screen during last night's game.

Just one look at the screen shot above, taken during last night’s game between the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers, and you can tell it just has not been an easy season for the Broadway Blueshirts. Decimated by injuries ever since it was reported in September that Vinny Prospal, coming off knee surgery, would be out indefinitely, the wound has kept on getting wider. Chris Drury also injured himself during training camp, missed several weeks, came back for one game, and got injured again. Marian Gaborik has missed 14 games so far due to two separate injuries, and leading scorer Brandon Dubinsky has missed the last five with a stress fracture; the list goes on and on.

Through all of this, though, has bit a been of a blessing, because like it or not, the Rangers are rebuilding without having to actually rebuild. What is the definition of a rebuild? To get rid of all the veterans and those not hacking it in favor of giving the promising youth in the system an extended look, so that in the next season, management will know who should remain in the NHL, who will be sent to the AHL, and who will be cut all together. If you notice the eight currently injured Rangers, you will see that all of them are veterans, and all have been replaced by rookies or those not far from being rookies. Essentially, the Rangers are rebuilding because they are getting a look at all of their top youth, the only difference is, the veterans will be returning this season, oh, and they are actually playing competitively.

To think, that a team that has had six players make their NHL debut, another four join with under fifty games of NHL experience, and the “old man” on defense be 27-year-old Steve Eminger, sit in 6th place in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Break, is not only mind-boggling, but tremendously encouraging. The rookies the Rangers are sporting are not being carefully inserted into the lineup for a glimpse, but thrust into games with a regular role because this team cannot afford to waste time analyzing.

 

Mats Zuccarello has impressed in shootouts this season.

The Rangers needed the help desperately, and they have gotten key contributions from Mats Zuccarello, who, since his call-up, has three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 17 games, including going four-for -four in shoot-out attempts. Derek Stepan, who has been with the team since the beginning of the season, has 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points, and has become the team’s most reliable center, next to Brian Boyle who could vie for Comeback Player of the year. Boyle is looked at as a veteran, and may be on this crop, but before this season he had only 107 NHL games experience spread out over three seasons, with only 12 goals and four assists. This season, he has come up clutch time and time again, with a team-leading 18 goals, more than both teammate Marian Gaborik, and Washington Capital star Alex Ovechkin.

Dale Weise has also been a pleasant surprise because of his willingness to fight, and newcomers Kris Newbury and Chad Kolarik, who have spent a lot of time in different systems in the minors, have fit in well, but will most likely not stay once the injured players make their return.

And how about toughness? This team has never been more eager to drop the gloves and stick up for teammates until after Derek Boogaard was injured. At any given time, the Rangers can throw someone out there who will fight, even if none are “enforcer”-type material. Brandon Prust continues to have an amazing season doing a little bit of everything, while Sean Avery, Newbury, and Weise also hold their own rather well.

Last night’s loss to the Panthers was disappointing, but it was part of the learning curve for this Rangers team that just will not die. They lead the league in games on back-to-back nights, yet always prove to be a tough foe when they play. They have been excellent in third periods when trailing, which they showed last night in rallying to tie the game at three after trailing 3-1 heading into the final frame, despite losing 4-3. Resilient would be the perfect word, because as soon as someone gets injured, the call-up comes right in and plays well.

These rookies have made it difficult for the coaching staff to decide who stays and who goes. When Dan Girardi returns after the break, will it be Ryan McDonaugh or Michael Del Zotto that gets sent back to Connecticut? Ryan Callahan is also close to returning, who goes when he gets back? I think it is safe to say that Zuccarello has won his spot on the team this season because of his outstanding play and speedy footwork, so I guess the first candidates to go back down will be DuPont and Weise, with Newbury and Kolarik remaining until Fedotenko and Dubinsky return.

The Rangers finally have a young, homegrown team that we have all been clamoring for years to get. Would it be a success? That is the question we have been wondering about for all this time. I think with this recent stretch of play, the Rangers will have a bright future ahead of them. The old saying holds true, the best discoveries are made, sometimes, entirely by accident.

Gretzky Would Play for Rangers in Legends Game; Why Not Right Now?

Just finished reading a great piece by Larry Brooks in the New York Post, where he asks Wayne Gretzky, who turns 50 on Wednesday, how his life is going and should the Winter Classic be in New York next season, would he play for them in the legends game. The Great One responded with an emphatic yes and an, “I’d be there in a minute if the Rangers had one.” If this doesn’t help sell the NHL that the Rangers should be hosting the WC next season, I don’t know what will. As someone alluded to on Yahoo, wouldn’t it be sweet to see a Rangers-Kings classic, where Gretzky suits up for Los Angeles for the first half of the game, then finishes in Ranger blue? But that does not appear to be the likely scenario, because it seems the Rangers and Flyers are the leading contenders for 2012.

This all begs me to ask the question, if Wayne is so eager to play for them in the legends game, would he play for the Rangers right now? With injuries to Dubinsky, Callahan, Christensen, Fedotenko, Boogaard, Frolov, Prospal, and now Girardi and Prust, Gretzky would be a top-flight player on this team who is featuring half of the Connecticut Whale on their roster. If you would have told me that by January, the Rangers would have peeks at Zuccarello, Weise, Dupont, Kolarik, Newbury, McDonaugh, and Williams, I would have thought you were crazy, but the Rangers have caught the injury bug this season, and no one has escaped it, including Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury who are healthy now but missed an extended period of time earlier in the season.

The Rangers four current centers are Brian Boyle, Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov, and Chris Drury…HELP! Where would Gretzky fit into all of this, even at fifty years old? I’d say pretty damn well if you ask me. The Rangers are one of the worst teams in the league on faceoffs…do you think Wayne has slipped up in that department. And how about for goals, a category the Rangers are strapped for considering half their team is watching in the press box? I think he still has a few biscuits left in his arsenal.

So Wayne, if you are reading this and still feel ties to New York, please come and help us out! If I see Captain Clutch miss one more open net or flub one more slap shot, or lose a faceoff, because apparently, that’s the only thing his $7 million salary is paying him to do, I’ll scream. You will always be welcome here Wayne, so how about a comeback attempt?

Will Alex Frolov Please Stand Up?

The "Where's Waldo" Alex Frolov Edition.

If Alex Frolov was fifteen years younger, perhaps an Amber Alert would have been sent out. Teams of policemen would have been assembled to talk to the family about where young Alex may have ventured off to by himself, or worst case scenario, may have even been kidnapped. But this case is a little bit different—Alex Frolov is alive and well, and is making pretty good money to play a sport that he loves. My only question is, where did he go?

After strongly opposing his signing during the summer, the preseason gave me something to smile about as Frolov showed great chemistry with Marian Gaborik. But even when he was playing without him he still looked good. With Gaborik going down to injury, I did not bat an eye because I figured he would still be able to maintain his play. Maintain what, exactly? I do not know, because in the two games he played with Gaborik he did not look so hot.

The fact is, Frolov has been a missing-persons case since opening night. He started the season registering an assist in each of the first two games then went silent on the score sheet for two when he scored his first goal of the season, which was on a lucky bounce in itself. Frolov came down on a two-on-one in a game against Colorado and by the time he was near the crease he attempted to pass the puck and it hit off the defenseman’s skate and went into the net past Craig Anderson. Fluke goal #1.

His next goal came two night later in a game against Boston. With the puck bouncing all over the place, Frolov would get lucky. A shot was stopped by the Bruins goaltender and bounced up in the air, and with a lucky swing, Frolov batted the puck out of mid-air and into the net. Fluke goal #2.

Those are the only two times this season that Frolov has found his way onto the goals section of the stat sheet. He has not once shown anything at all that would make me think he is worth being on this team. I am not going to complain about his $3 million salary, because what he got was fair at the time—fair if he scores 25 goals this season, something the Rangers need him to do. But there is not one thing he has done this season that could not have been matched by a cheaper, younger forward from Hartford, such as Dale Weise had he not broken his hand.

Frolov is currently on pace for around 15 goals and 40 points. The Rangers can only live with those 40 points if 30 of them are goals (not likely), and if 15 goals is all he nets this season, then the Rangers are going to finish right where they did last season, out of the playoff picture. Comparisons have been drawn between him and Chris Higgins. These can be looked at partially, because both struggled to score. But at least Higgins had decent speed, a good work ethic, and was great on the penalty kill. Frolov’s skating ability has not caught my attention, his worth ethic is (obviously) questionable, and he does not kill penalties.

I think better comparisons can be drawn to Nikolai Zherdev, as in he is a player who has a tremendous amount of talent but only uses it from time to time. But so far this season, aside from two lucky goals, what has Frolov really shown us? Has he even created scoring chances? What we have here may be another case of a reclamation project gone wrong. The 30-goal scorer who the Rangers thought they were acquiring only put up 19 last year, yet we automatically expect him to correct it. Maybe it’s our fault. Nevertheless, I am not expecting 30 goals from him and never did. But 25 is not too much to ask, and if we don’t ask it, then we might as well not even bother watching this season.

New York Rangers Send Down McDonagh and Valentenko

Source: AP Photo

In a very surprising move this afternoon, the New York Rangers have announced that both Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko, two of the team’s promising young defensive prospects, have been assigned to Hartford (per SNY). Both defensemen showed a lot of promise during the preseason and this will cause the angst of many fans looking forward to watching them this season.

Both Joe and I agreed that at least one of them would make it, with him leaning towards McDonagh and me taking Valentenko toward the end of camp. Because of this move, Michael Sauer and Steve Eminger will make the team. Sauer has played very well himself, and Eminger will be the team’s seventh defenseman.

Though I am disappointed, this is the right move from the Rangers standpoint. This was the first professional camp for both McDonagh and Valentenko, and though they both showed promise, there is no harm in them getting more seasoning down in Hartford. If there is an injury, one of them could then be called up. Neither could be used as a seventh defenseman because it is not smart to have a rookie sitting for long stretches of time. The veteran Eminger, should he last the entire season, will probable play around 30 games, so I would much rather have the rookies get 82 games in the minors than only a small amount in New York.

I do have my doubts about Eminger’s abilities, though. There is a reason why the 2002 first round pick has been on five teams in seven seasons prior to this one. He has also never played a full season and his +/- rating has never been anything to write home about. But even if he falters as the team’s seventh, a rookie still would not get called up in his place.

With rumors around involving the Rangers, I really do not know how to read them. Michael Sauer was involved (with Phoenix, supposedly), but he has made the team because he played well. I would imagine that they would have dealt him already if he was going to be moved at all. My guess is that the Rangers will bring in a cheap, veteran defenseman to be in that seventh role because I do not think the team feels confident with having Eminger.

It is great that the Rangers are fielding a very young, and almost entirely homegrown defensive corps, but they may be too young and need some more stability on the back-end. The season begins six days from now and I would not be surprised if we saw a transaction or two between then and now.

Michael Sauer is 23 years old and has three games of NHL experience with the Rangers during the 2008/09 season. He was also drafted by the team in the second round of the 2005 draft.

In other news, the Rangers also sent Mats Zuccarello and Dale Weise back down to Hartford as was expected after last night’s game.

New York Rangers Cut Eleven From Training Camp

This morning the New York Rangers have announced that they have slimmed down their training camp roster by 11 players. Some of them came as a surprise, while others were more expected. The Rangers assigned Chad Johnson, Dale Weise, Evgeny Grachev, Mats Zuccarello, and Wade Redden to Hartford, released Brandon Manning, Alexei Semenov, and Garnet Exelby from tryouts, and will assign Dane Byers, Kris Newbury, and Jeremy Williams to continue training camp with Hartford.

To begin with, I was really surprised that they cut Mats Zuccarello so quickly. He was brought here with the initial thought of being able to produce offensively in a top-six role. There were a lot of high hopes for him, both from fans and management, and he just did not seem to find any groove this training camp. He was pretty much invisible in the three games he played.

Meanwhile, Evgeny Grachev is another player who has gone invisible, two training camps in a row. Last season, there could have been the excuse that he was getting used to hockey in North America, but after a season in Hartford, and a lackluster one at that, he should have been ready this time around. I have the feeling that this Russian forward will go the way of Bobby Sanguinetti and amount to nothing, because let’s face it, he was a third round pick who never got any attention until the unfortunate passing of Alexei Cherepanov.

For Dale Weise, I thought he played well and if the Rangers did not have such a log-jam at forward, he would have made the team. He showed good physical ability and even chipped in an assist in the first game of the preseason.

The Rangers also released Alexei Semenov from his tryout with the Rangers. I was actually very surprised at this because I thought he played well, and his size and strength would have been a welcome sight on the blue-line. However, I believe his cutting means that Pavel Valentenko will make the team, as he has been very physical and even has a good shot to boot. He will battle it out with Ryan McDonagh, but I think he holds the edge. Steve Eminger, meanwhile, will most likely get the job as the team’s seventh defenseman even though I was not impressed with what I saw from him.

Garnet Exelby too was cut, which was expected after the awful game he had against the Devils on Saturday night. The cuts to Newbury, Williams and Byers were also expected, and each one of them has to clear waivers before being assigned to Hartford.

The Rangers are now down to their two goaltenders, but are carrying nine defenseman and 16 forwards. I expected the Rangers to cut two more defenseman and two more forwards in the days to come.

Look for a post later this afternoon by Joe Aiello as he gives us what he expects to be our lineup for the season.

Preseason Hockey: Rangers Defeat Devils in Overtime

Derek Stepan impressed the Rangers in his professional debut.

Tonight’s preseason matchup between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils had the look and feel of a regular season game. There was an intensity and a nasty edge throughout, and the scattered amount of fans who made their way to Madison Square Garden got their money’s worth.

There was a nice mix of veterans and kids in what was the Rangers preseason opener. This was the Devils second game, after losing in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. The Devils seemed to be the more rusty team early on, as they made several defensive mistakes that the Rangers capitalized on for goals.

The Rangers would strike first in a game that had goals, hits, fights, and some nice saves by the starting goaltenders Martin Biron and Martin Brodeur. Marian Gaborik would tip in an Alex Frolov pass behind Brodeur to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Derek Stepan would also get an assist, as he cut to the middle before handing it off to Frolov.

The Devils would strike later in the period, where Travis Zajac would tie it off assists from Kovalchuk and Parise. Both team’s top lines saw all players record points in the first period. The Rangers were getting a look at one of their top prospects, Stepan, while the Devils were seeing if a power line of that caliber would work in a real game. Neither coach could be disappointed through the first twenty minutes.

Five minutes into the second, the Rangers would regain the lead when Frolov scored after stealing the puck and cashing in on a mini breakaway. But the Devils would tie it yet again, when Ilya Kovalchuk scored on a breakaway of his own, after a great long-ice pass from Parise as Dan Girardi just stood by and watched.

Two minutes later, Brian Boyle would use his size and strength to power to the net and slide the puck through Brodeur’s legs and give the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Dale Weise would get an assist on the play.

The third period would begin with a change of goaltenders, as Chad Johnson replaced Biron and Jeff Frazee came in for Brodeur. Neither goalie would face much work, until the Devils would rally to tie for the third time, on a goal by Parise, one that Johnson would have wanted to have back.

The game would then head to overtime tied at three. The Rangers would get a powerplay after Rod Pelley checked Michael Sauer into the boards from behind. Marian Gaborik would then win it for the Blueshirts with a powerplay goal, his second of the game. The Rangers would finish 2-7 on the powerplay.

Both teams stars were the ones who cashed in tonight, and it was good to see Gaborik flying early on. The Devils top line of Kovalchuk-Zajac-Parise was very scary, and should they play like this during the season, the Devils will prove to be a formidable opponent.

Tonight also saw two fights, the first between Adam Mair and Brian Boyle, which was more of a hugging match than an actual bout, but the second, between Prust and Brad Mills was very entertaining. Derek Boogaard was also penalized with a ten-minute misconduct for doing absolutely nothing, at least nothing we could see on camera, after standing next to Pierre Leblond before a faceoff.

The Rangers started the preseason on the right foot, with an intense victory over the New Jersey Devils. These two teams will meet again on Saturday night, at the Prudential Center in Newark.

New York Rangers Updated 2010/11 Profile Pictures

These are just a few of the newly updated profile pictures of the 2010/11 New York Rangers, both players as well as prospects in the system.

#36– Mats Zuccarello

“What do you mean ‘that wasn’t chicken’?”

#94– Derek Boogaard

“Don’t worry, I’m here to see my parole officer.”

#48– Pavel Valentenko

“I’m not an unknown. You’ve seen me on To Catch a Predator.”

#5– Dan Girardi

“That’s right, you got me for four more f***in’ years!”

#46– Nigel Williams

“Me Nigel!”

#16– Sean Avery

“I can’t see you. I have zero Stanley Cup rings in front of my eyes.”

#13– Tim Kennedy

“I’m not gonna be here in October.”

#26– Erik Christensen

“Wanted: Missing bicycle. Last seen: Basement of the Alamo.”

#32– Dale Weise

“Damn you, Ruslan!”

#29– Chad Johnson

“Greg, do I know you?”

#73– Dylan McIlrath

“Remember when I said I’d kill you last? I lied.”

#20– Vaclav Prospal

“We may suck this year, but I’m not gonna remember a damn thing!”

#00– Rangers PR Dude

“Cease and desist.”

New York Rangers: Where Are All the Openings?

It seems that since before I was even born, the New York Rangers front office has been promising the same thing every summer, and that the “kids” would get a chance to play and make the team. Every summer we are told that an infusion of youth is coming, and instead of acquiring outside mercenaries, the homegrown talent will have a chance to showcase itself. Yet every summer, this does not happen; free agents are signed and the available spots that would have gone to youth shrink little by little.

This summer was no different. We heard it at the beginning from Glen Sather and even as the weeks pass by from others, that no one’s job is safe that the young players will have a chance to make the team. But where are the available spots they speak of?

The Rangers defense has room for an addition or two, especially when it is starting to look more and more bleak for Wade Redden, but on forward, there is absolutely nothing.

Rangers fans have been waiting two seasons to see their top offensive prospect, Evgeny Grachev, have a chance to play for the NHL club. Last year he was given a shot in training camp before being assigned to Hartford, where he never got another chance. He was going to have a spot in the top-six this season, until that is, Alex Frolov was signed. Mats Zucarello-Aasen was also brought in from Sweden, further diminishing an already small availability.

Dale Weise, another prospect, was called up towards the end of last season but was not dressed for action. He was going to have a spot on the fourth line this season, but then the Rangers re-signed Brandon Prust and gave what has the potential to be the worst contract of this year, to Derek Boogaard.

What does Prust bring that Weise does not? Weise would have not only been a cheaper option, still on an entry-level contract, but would have been another homegrown player with some spark and scoring ability, as he scored 28 goals for Hartford last season while racking up 114 penalty minutes. The most Prust has ever scored at any level was 19, in 2004 for the London Knights of the OHL.

Then there are other Rangers prospects Derek Stepan and Ethan Werek, among others, who also have a chance to make the team; a chance that may be smaller than winning the lottery and being struck by lightning on the same day.

Where are all these openings, I ask?

Who will be waived to make the room?

And when have the Rangers ever waived a veteran in favor of an unproven rookie?

The Rangers continuously promise this but fall short. The only players that the Rangers would move would be Brian Boyle and Sean Avery, but getting rid of Boyle does not free up a spot, and no team in their right mind would want Sean Avery, a player who now has no role on the team.

Just take off the blinders and realize he is a cancer who can exist nowhere else but New York City. I don’t know how it isn’t more obvious to fans that he is not liked, but I guess it’s all worth it for that five games of spark out of 82 that he brings every season.

The Hockey News released their standings picks today, and have the Rangers finishing in 13th in the Eastern Conference. I’ve been saying for the last few months that this team is a bottom-five finish, so for the first time in my life I agree with THN.

I want to see the Rangers succeed like everyone else, but with the pattern they have been in recently, I think we will have to keep on waiting.

Interview with New York Rangers Hopeful Dale Weise

Towards the end of last season, the New York Rangers called up one of their prospects, and most Ranger fans were anxious to see him being given a shot. Unfortunately, Dale Weise did not get a chance to see live action, but he did get the idea of what being a Ranger is all about.

Dale is currently a member of the Hartford Wolfpack, but is a hopeful to make the Rangers roster out of training camp next season. He saw time on Broadway during pre-season hockey last year and impressed fans with his ability to play physical and show a nose for the net.

In two seasons with Hartford, the twenty-one year old right-winger has notched 39 goals and 34 assists for 73 points and has amassed 178 penalty minutes.

This afternoon, I had the chance to interview him by phone in a rather spur-of-the-moment occasion. Most times interviews take place after nearly a week of correspondence, but this was completed in just about an hour.

Dale was happy to answer all of my questions that included asking some quick hits about his favorites, as well as serious questions about his playing style and what he expects to accomplish. The conversation also ended with a topic that I never expected to see in a hockey interview. Below is our conversation:

Quick Hits

Favorite movie: Right now it would have to be the second Trailer Park Boys movie.

Favorite TV show: Family Guy.

Favorite actor/actress: That’s a tough one. Megan Fox.

Favorite food: Cereal.

Favorite hobby: Besides playing hockey, working on my tan.

Favorite hockey team growing up: Montreal Canadiens.

Favorite hockey player: Keith Tkachuk.

Weise battles with Pierre Leblond in a pre-season game.

Questions

GC: Describe to Rangers fans what your style of play is like, and what we can look forward to seeing.

DW: I’m a player that can do a little bit of everything. I can hit, fight, stand up for teammates, and I can score. I think I’m a guy that can play on the top line or on the fourth line. I just think I’m a guy that can fit in anywhere to make the team better.

GC: Even though you did not get a chance to play, what was your experience like in being called up last season?

DW: That was awesome. Even though I’m obviously disappointed that I didn’t get to play, it was great to be a part of it. The situation we were in where every game was important and our season was on the line was very cool to be a part of. Even in the pregame skates and on the bus rides you could see it was really serious. Being a part of it was just the best thing for me.

GC: And how intense was John Tortorella during all of this?

DW: He was pretty intense. (laughs). He’s probably the most intense coach I’ve ever seen.

GC: Can you tell us what your off-season plans are like in regards to getting in shape for another season of hockey?

DW: Probably pretty close to everyone else. I have a personal trainer I go to Monday through Friday, and usually we go an hour in the gym and work with weights and on the core and legs. The next hour we’ll be pushing sleds and we do a lot of running and lunges. Other than that for five days a week, that’s pretty much it for me. I also like to get in my backyard and shoot pucks when I get the opportunity and in a couple weeks I will start skating twice a week and that’s about it.

GC: What do you plan on accomplishing by the end of training camp?

DW: Hopefully I’ll have a roster spot locked down. I’m going there with the mindset that I’m there to play on the team. I don’t know what’s going to happen with free agency and who they’re bringing in, but I feel that I’ve put in my time in the American Hockey League and developed the way that they would be happy with and I think I’m going to come in and win a spot.

GC: This next question comes from my friend Mike, who is a Wolfpack season ticket holder. Of course we hope that you will be playing on the Rangers next season, but if you happen to be in Hartford, what do you think about the possibility of having an outdoor hockey game at Rentschler Field?

DW: I think that would be awesome. Honestly, I would be all for that. I don’t plan on being down there, but after the two years I’ve spent in Hartford, it’s been awesome and I have made some real good friends. The people who come to the games and all the fans we have are awesome. I would be all for it. I’d love to play in an outdoor game.

GC: Finally,  if you were not a hockey player, what job would you like to have, and why?

DW: I think if I was not a hockey player, I would be a farmer. I spend a lot of time on my girlfriend’s farm and I like the lifestyle. I’m more of a laid back, simple life kind of guy.

GC: Now that you’ve mentioned farming, I just have to ask, do you play Farmville on Facebook?

DW: No I do not. I don’t really get into the games. I just go on there to talk to people and that’s about it.

GC: Well good for you for not getting caught up in that insanity. I wish I never started my farm. It was fun but it’s a pain now.

DW: (laughs) I watched a South Park episode the other day and it was all about people being crazy on Farmville. I thought it was pretty funny.

GC: I want to thank you so much for the interview, and I really hope I will see you on the Rangers next season. I will buy your jersey and say I was the first Ranger fan to interview him before he made it big!

DW: (laughs) Thanks. No problem man.