Day: June 26, 2004

After a first day that met with mixed reviews from the fans and perhaps an overly optimistic spin from the mainstream media, the Rangers went back to the table Sunday morning to exercise their final five selections in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.  Having taken seven forwards and a goaltender in the first day, some observers could be forgiven for thinking that Sather had finished with adding forwards to the line-up.

Using the 127th pick, obtained from San Jose in the June 30th, 2003 trade of Mark Messier to the Sharks, the Rangers selected another smallish forward with offensive upside.  Ryan Callahan put up 36 goals and 68 points in 68 games for Guelph of the OHL in 2003-04, but at 5’10” and 175lbs, it’s easy to see why he slipped down the draft ranks.  Once again the Rangers looked to bolster their forward corps with their 135th pick, taking Czech winger Roman Psurny.  Psurny, who has a twin brother that also plays, looks to be a useful selection with reasonable size and some offensive talent.

Day one of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft didn’t go the way that most fans expected, but the end result was what appears to be a future franchise goaltender and a mixed bag of seven left handed forwards that very much define the term “prospect”.  Despite plenty of speculation, the first three picks in the draft went as expected, the Blue Jackets did trade the fourth pick to Carolina, but the home team Hurricanes didn’t surprise many with their selection of Andrew Ladd.

The same could not be said for the Coyotes who tried to eke out another draft pick from the Rangers before settling for Minnesota High Schooler, Blake Wheeler, a pick that caught most people by surprise.  The selection brought the Rangers up to the podium for their first pick of the draft, which they quickly used to select Michigan and US Junior champion goalie, Al Montoya.  While General Manager Glen Sather appeared more than satisfied with the selection, the same could not be said for the many Blueshirt faithful who angrily reacted to the use of a second top 10 pick on a goaltender under Sather’s management.