by Pete Robinson

Once again, Nigel Dawes proves himself on the ice. Within the last 4 games, Dawes has scored 3 goals, which made him the goal leader until Jaromir Jagr‘s goal late in the game against Tampa. Dawes once again proves that the youth movement is going to play a pivotal role in the future of this team.

Since the Rangers began this season, the team looks a lot younger than it once was. The addition of Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan has made the team a lot quicker than in years prior. When Nigel Dawes was brought in last season to play of the 4th line, he looked immensely out of place playing alongside Ryan Hollweg and Blair Betts. So far this year, Dawes has shown that he truly belongs on this team. He’s skated hard, shot the puck, and has shown great vision on the ice, but the question is; who goes when Avery, Callahan and Straka come back?

This is a question that is plaguing the fans and front office. Do you send Dawes back down to Hartford even though he’s put the puck on net? Who else can we send down? Well a likely candidate could be Ryan Hollweg. After coming off a 3 point season last year, Hollweg had managed to make the roster. I figured as much that with the addition of Avery, Ryan Hollweg‘s time on the team would be up, but the strictly defensive forward made the team for the 3rd year. Jason Strudwick will return to his job as a backup defenseman. Leaving one more spot. Could this mean that Hossa will sit?

There is no doubt Marcel Hossa had a spark under him when playing with Michael Nylander and Jaromir Jagr, but this year Hossa seems to be playing very lazy. He hasn’t been skating hard, digging in the corners or shooting the puck on net as well as he did last year. This could be attributed to the addition of Scotty Gomez, but there is still no excuse on why he hasn’t been playing his hardest. Dawes, on the other hand, is playing so well that it’s almost impossible to send him to Hartford. In the end, that is what this team needs: Players who want to play here.

Yet, we can speculate as much as we want, but as of now the Rangers are playing average hockey. Hank has been spectacular as usual and Marc Staal is starting to learn the ropes of the NHL. Though as far as I’m concerned, the biggest star on this team, at this point, is Nigel Dawes.