RANGERS/WOLF PACK/WHALE ACQUIRE DEFENSEMAN STU BICKEL 

The Wolf Pack today eliminated one player that CLEARLY didn’t want to be there and was playing that way. The New York Rangers sent Nigel Williams to the Anaheim Ducks fir defenseman Stu Bickel.

What does this say about Williams, a former second round pick for a guy who has been up and down between the AHL and the ECHL who really hasn’t done much? I think it says that the team was looking for addition by subtraction and that’s exactly what they accomplished. Williams has been scratched the past several games even with the Pack running with seven defenseman. Bickel is likely to be given a good look, but will likely be a depth defenseman. Either he or Lee Baldwin will likely head out to Greenville to play with the Road Warriors.

Here’s the official release:

New York sends defenseman Nigel Williams to Anaheim

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Stu Bickel from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Nigel Williams.

Bickel, 24, has registered three assists and 14 penalty minutes in six games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season.  He currently ranks third among team defensemen in penalty minutes.  Bickel has recorded an assist in each of his last two games, on November 20 vs. Springfield and November 21 at Rochester.  Prior to joining the Crunch, Bickel skated in one ECHL game with the Elmira Jackals.

The 6-4, 218-pounder has skated in 63 career AHL contests with the Iowa Chops, San Antonio Rampage and Syracuse Crunch, registering two goals and six assists for eight points, along with 103 penalty minutes.  Bickel recorded two goals and four points last season with San Antonio, and tallied his first career AHL goal on January 23, 2010 vs. Milwaukee.  Bickel made his professional debut with Iowa on October 10, 2008, vs. Peoria, and registered his first career point with an assist on February 16, 2009, vs. Lake Erie.  Bickel has also skated in 25 career ECHL games with the Bakersfield Condors and Elmira Jackals, registering one goal and 12 assists for 13 points, along with 50 penalty minutes and a plus-14 rating.

Prior to turning professional, Bickel appeared in 45 career games in one season with the University of Minnesota Gophers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), registering one goal and six assists for seven points, along with a team-high, 92 penalty minutes.  Helped lead Minnesota to the NCAA Regionals, where they were eliminated by the eventual champions, Boston College.  Bickel also recorded an assist on the Gophers’ only goal in the WCHA Final Five title game, a 2-1 loss vs. Denver.

The Chanhassen, Minnesota native was originally signed by Anaheim as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2008.

Williams, 22, has registered one assist in 12 games with Hartford (AHL) this season.  The Aurora, Illinois native was originally Colorado’s second round choice, 51st overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.  He was acquired by the Rangers on July 16, 2009, from the Avalanche in exchange for Brian Fahey.