by Jamy Baron

As summer comes to an end, so too does the long wait for Rangers hockey to start up again. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting since the day the Rangers lost to Washington, very impatiently to say the least.

After an exciting off-season that included signings such as Brad Richards and Mike Rupp, hockey is finally back. The future of the Rangers take the ice tomorrow at Traverse City in what will be a very exciting tournament, as we will get to watch young stars like Christian Thomas and Tim Erixon do what they do best, play hockey.

The Rangers prospects face-off at 7PM tomorrow against the prospects of the St. Louis Blues. It will be intense and fun to watch. Most of us have never seen Thomas or Erixon play, let alone other Rangers prospects. The Rangers are doing all the fans a huge favor and are going all in with the media. We will get to see the prospects during intermission in the locker room and on the bench as well.

With all that said, training camp begins a week from today. The first Rangers pre-season game is against the New Jersey Devils on September 21st, a date that is only 12 days away and much anticipated. After a tragic summer of countless deaths of hockey players, we finally have something to look forward to and something to be happy about.

RIP Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, Wade Belak, and Lokomotiv. Let the 2011-2012 Hockey season, begin!