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.
The 169th pick was used to draft 6’3″, 195lb Jordan Foote out of the BCHL where he was reported to be a fast skating winger who plays with plenty of energy, yet has little offensive upside. Rounding out the day were defenseman Jonathan Paiement from the Lewiston Maineacs (QMJHL) and the slight Jakub Petruzalek, who played on the Czech World Junior team, but was largely ineffective due to his size.
All in all the Rangers look to have gone about addressing two needs within their system, improvement in team speed and skating and offensive potential at the forward position. Many of the players drafted will have to add some pounds and strength if they hope to make the NHL, and the Rangers scouting team may have overlooked better players, particularly on defense, as they elected to go with their focus on forwards.
It will likely be sometime before the Rangers and their fans will know exactly what they have from the 2004 draft. Montoya has two more years of NCAA eligibility remaining, while Olver (3), Ryan (4) and Foote (4) have additional years. Korpikoski will likely remain in Europe for next year at least, although there’s a chance he, Bahensky, Psurny and Petruzalek could make the move to the CHL this fall. The remaining selections have two years of junior eligibility remaining, with the exception of the defenseman Paiement who has one year remaining.
The selection of goaltender Al Montoya with the 6th overall pick, along with Darin Olver in the second round will continue to generate questions, even as the Rangers organization and media try to spin the selections with a positive slant. And while there are some reports that suggest Sather and his staff did a fair or even good job during the draft, the questions will continue to remain until the Rangers organization prove that they can select, develop and ultimately play young talented players.
New York Rangers Draft Day Trades
·Traded the 24th and 46th picks to Calgary for the 19th and 247th picks
·Traded the 37th pick to Florida for the 50th and 73rd picks
·Traded the 50th pick to Phoenix for the 60th and 80th picks