FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET 

BY: Bruce Berlet

The New York Rangers will continue a new tradition when many of their top young players participate in a prospects tournament beginning Saturday in Traverse City, Mich.

All but five of 24 players have their NHL rights owned by the Rangers, and 10 were selected in the past two drafts. With the Rangers’ recent commitment to – and success with – homegrown talent, the faithful in the Madison Square Garden blue seats eagerly await seeing what many believe to be the Rangers’ strongest team in their five years in the tournament.

And the Blueshirts faithful will be able to watch them for the first time without having to travel to Michigan as MSG Network will telecast the Rangers’ four games. John Giannone and Joe Micheletti will call the action, and fans will have an opportunity to comment during the telecasts via Twitter.

The Rangers hierarchy is also looking forward to the tournament.

“The priority is not to necessarily go out there and win (the tournament), but the big idea is to find out what your future looks like,” Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark told Jim Cerny of BlueshirtsUnited.com. “It just gives you another snapshot of where these kids are in their development.”

In 2007, former Hartford Wolf Pack players Brandon Dubinsky, Marc Staal, Michael Sauer and Artem Anisimov were members of the tournament’s winning team that went 4-0. Twenty-two Rangers prospects have played in the NHL, and seven were full-time on Broadway last season. Others to play at Traverse City were former Wolf Packers Ryan Callahan (2006) and Ryan McDonagh (2010), along with Derek Stepan (2010), who joined the Rangers right after the tournament. Dubinsky is the Rangers’ all-time leading scorer with 12 points in eight games, and the team is 12-8-0, the most wins in the last five years.

Connecticut Whale coach Ken Gernander and assistants J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller will handle a Rangers team that includes several players with some AHL experience: wings Carl Hagelin, Tommy Grant and Andrew Yogan, center Kale Kerbashian and defensemen Blake Parlett, Jyri Niemi, Lee Baldwin and Dylan McIlrath, the Rangers’ first-round pick (10^th overall) in 2010. They also will have youngsters such as wings Ryan Bourque, son of Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, Christian Thomas, son of former NHL wing Steve Thomas, and J.T. Miller, the Rangers’ first-round pick (15^th overall) in June, along with defenseman Tim Erixon, the son of former Rangers wing Jan Erixon and the Calgary Flames’ first-round pick in 2009 who was acquired for two second-rounders and forward Roman Horak on June 1.

“I’m not going to forecast where anyone is going to end up after no one expected Derek Stepan making the big club last year, and he did,” Gernander said. “It’s hard to make predictions on exactly who (the Whale) is going to have. I just think the organization is pretty strong and pretty deep this time of year, but I’m sure everyone in the NHL is feeling pretty good about their situation right now when they’ve had the whole offseason to improve upon things. I guess the proof will be in the pudding once the season starts.”

Many of the Rangers prospects are the result of several trades from March 1, 2004 to the start of the 2005 NHL draft that enabled the organization to stockpile picks and/or move up in the draft. The flurry of deals led to 22 picks in the two drafts, and by 2006, the influx of prospects, combined with several players already in the system, gave the Rangers a deep enough talent pool to enter one of the NHL’s several preseason prospect events. It was their first tournament appearance in five years as the Traverse City event increased its field from six to eight teams.

In three of the last four years, at least one member of the Traverse City team has gone from the tournament to the Rangers out of training camp a few weeks later: Dubinsky and Staal in 2007, Michael Del Zotto in 2009 and Stepan in 2010. Erixon and Hagelin, who played five playoff games with the Whale in April after co-captaining the University of Michigan to the NCAA title game, are the most likely to make the Rangers this year because of their experience at elite levels. But there also could be players such as defenseman Dan Girardi and forward Kelsey Tessier who went to prospects tournament as an invitee and ended up getting a contract.

“You want the kids to be able to showcase themselves and put their best foot forward,” Gernander said. “Some kids will be trying to earn a spot with the Whale, and some kids will be trying to earn an invite to the Rangers training camp, so there are a lot of things involved. Most importantly, we want to see how the kids can play within a team scheme in a tournament setting and show themselves best so they can put their name out there to hopefully earn a spot in the preseason. Girardi and Tessier are some of the scenarios that crop up in the course of the tournament.”

Invitees this year are right wing Tayler Jordan, center Jordan Hickmott and defenseman Collin Bowman, a former teammate of McIlrath and Shane McColgan, the Rangers’ fifth-round pick in June. Bowman has also been invited to the Rangers camp as a non-roster invitee after getting 11 goals and 37 assists in 72 games last season with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League.

“These kids aren’t necessarily drafted or signed by the Rangers but are invited,” Gernander said. “But they’re not there just to fill out the bottom end of a roster. They’re players who potentially could make any number of teams within our organization, so they’re going to be vying for an opportunity to earn a contract come preseason. A guy like Marc Staal had a terrific prospects tournament and set himself up for strong consideration (in New York). The Rangers realized they had to give him a good, long look in training camp. If he had gone in there, floundered around and really struggled, the Rangers might have given him a (preseason) game or two to make sure to give him some experience but he’s not quite ready yet.

“So there’s an opportunity for guys to set themselves up for the possibility of earning a job in the preseason or after the season starts. It all has to be played out. We can’t forego the process.”

Cerny broke down the Rangers’ roster into four groups that are of most import:

Knocking on the Door: Hagelin and Erixon are playing in Traverse City for the first time, but both will be expected to use his experience to set himself apart from the other prospects. Erixon, 20, has been playing in the Swedish Elite League “with and against men (so) it clearly puts him at another level,” according to Clark. Hagelin, 23, has four years of major college experience at Michigan and was especially strong as a senior before joining the Whale.

“I see where you are going with this,” Clark said of Cerny’s take on Erixon and Hagelin. “Because of their experience, yes, they should be closest to being NHL ready. But I have seen it go both ways over the years: you have high expectations and then a player is just not quite ready for that next big jump yet or someone you don’t expect to be ready – like Stepan last year – totally shocks you.”

It is pretty safe to say, though, that to begin a run at a Rangers’ roster spot, Erixon and/or Hagelin will first need a strong tournament in Traverse City.

Third Time is the Charm: Bourque and goalie Scott Stajcer will be appearing in their third straight Traverse City event, giving them a different level of experience from other prospects.

Bourque, 20, turns pro this season and has high expectations for himself at this tournament and in the ensuing training camp.

“You saw how Stepan used this tournament as a springboard to making the team last year, that’s the same approach I have,” Bourque said. “I can’t wait to get to Traverse City and get started and take it from there.”

Stajcer, who like Bourque was drafted in 2009, will be using this tournament to determine how healthy he is following hip surgery in November. Meanwhile, Rangers will begin the decision-making process to determine if he will turn pro this year or head back to juniors with Owen Sound in the Ontario Hockey League as an overage player.

“Scott may be a little bit behind because of his hip,” Clark said. “So this is a different kind of tournament for him, it’s more about seeing how he feels physically.”

Clark said Stajcer will split the four games in goal equally with Jason Missiaen, who signed an entry-level contract in March and then practiced with the Whale for six weeks after signing an amateur tryout contract.

Two From ’10: McIlrath and Thomas, the Rangers’ top two picks in 2010, will be watched closely by the Rangers’ brass to see how far they’ve come since their first appearances at Traverse City a year ago. And expectations, based on their play in juniors and at the Rangers’ prospects camp in June, will be pretty high.

“McIlrath had a beautiful prospects camp,” said Clark, who singled out the 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman’s improved skating as a huge plus. “He has started to own the front of the net, and he is starting to feel more comfortable. Now it’s time for him to pass the next test.”

Thomas is coming off a 54-goal season with Oshawa of the OHL, and it’s simple what the Rangers expect at Traverse City.

“We don’t need him to lead the tournament in scoring, but he is a goal scorer so we want to see that from him,” Clark said.

New Kids on the Block: This will be the first tournament for the 2011 draft picks, so that in and of itself makes that group intriguing to watch. Who is the furthest along? Who is the biggest surprise? Are expectations being met? It’s only four games, but as Clark said, this will provide an important “snapshot” for the Rangers to consider.

Watch talented/physically small forwards McColgan and Michael St. Croix. Both of them had strong showings at prospects camp, as did Miller. Being the top pick, Miller will draw a lot of attention, for sure.

“Miller is just a tenacious player,” Clark said. “Every shift is the same with him. We want to see him continue that at Traverse City.”

Others on the Rangers team are forwards Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Randy McNaught and Jason Wilson and defenseman Peter Ceresnak.

Youngsters who won’t be in Traverse City are wing Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ first-round pick (19^th overall) in 2009 and considered their top prospect by many people who returned to Boston College for his junior year; wing Jesper Fasth, who stayed with HV71 in the Swedish Elite League; and center Oscar Lindberg, acquired for Ethan Werek on May 8, who remained with Skelleftea AIK in Sweden.

But Kreider was among 20 players who worked out at the Rangers training facility last week before returning to BC, and the group included star goalie Henrik Lundqvist, offseason acquisitions Brad Richards and Mike Rupp and regulars Callahan, Girardi, Stepan, McDonagh, Anisimov and Brian Boyle, along with young defensemen Erixon and Michael Del Zotto, who are expected to battle for roster spots.

Kreider went to New York to show his future teammates that he is fully committed to the organization.

“I needed to get my skates in, and getting to know some of the guys better is definitely a plus,” Kreider told Cerny after one workout. “I hope I get to the NHL and play with these guys sooner rather than later. I’d really like to be at this level. It’s something you dream about as a kid. But right now I want them to know my commitment is there.”

Kreider is also committed to academics, which is why he accelerated the process towards earning his degree by taking four courses at BC this summer. And it is one of the reasons he is returning to college with a full course load this fall as opposed to turning pro.

“You want to focus on professional hockey when that time comes,” said Kreider, who had 11 goals and 13 assists as a sophomore but played in only 32 games because of a broken jaw. “I know my decision (to stay in school) was heavily scrutinized from the outside, but it’s been hammered into me how important my education is and now is the time to take care of that. I don’t want (finishing school) hanging over my head once I turn pro. I just want to focus on hockey at that point.”

Though he fit in well with his teammates, Kreider believes he will benefit greatly from another year at Boston College.

“If anything, I will be more ready to go next year,” Kreider said. “I really haven’t played a lot of games in college – 40 my first year, just 32 last year due to the injury – so the more games I get in the better before I come here. I have had the experience of playing in the World Juniors and the World Championships, but this year I will have a different role on the ice and can be more of a leader. It will be good for me.”

This year’s players report Thursday to the Rangers training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., and Cerny is scheduled to have a chat with Gernander starting at 1 p.m. The players then will have physicals and a brief skate Friday before flying to Traverse City.

The Rangers play Saturday against the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m., Sunday against the Dallas Stars at 6 p.m., practice on Monday and play the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Placement in the round robin will determine whom each team faces in the championship round Sept. 14 at a time to be determined. The Rangers’ traveling party returns to New York that night, then most of the players will report to Rangers training camp Sept. 15 before workouts begin the next day.

Some TV guests will appear between periods in the prospects tournament, while others will join Giannone and Micheletti in the broadcast booth or sit down with MSG analyst Dave Maloney in the stands during a game. Viewers also can expect to hear from former Rangers goalie and broadcaster John Davidson, now president of the Blues. Hockey Hall of Famers Joe Nieuwendyk, GM of the Stars, and Al MacInnis, Blues vice president of hockey operations, will also be at the event and among the many prominent NHL executives available for interviews.

“J.D. told me his going to be there,” Micheletti said of Davidson, who spent 20 years in the Rangers broadcast booth. “He’s been a friend for 25 years or so, and even though we talk on the phone fairly often, it will be great to catch up with him in person. We’re going to try to get him on the air with us in the broadcast booth because I think this type of environment bodes well for something like that. … It will be fun with the way we’re going to televise this because we’re going to get a lot of these people on the air with us.”

So hopefully you get the MSG Network and can enjoy an early start to the hockey season, which can’t come too soon.

RUBENSTEIN’S TOP PROSPECTS

Jess Rubenstein, who has been assessing Rangers prospects for eight year at The Prospect Park, has come out with this year’s edition of those he likes watching.

“I do not rank the Rangers prospects since there is no real way to do it in a way that is fair and objective,” Rubenstein said in an e-mail in explaining why he didn’t include Erixon.

Rubenstein’s main criteria for his rankings are character, drive and talent.

“In character, you are looking for red flags like disciplinary issues, suspensions and what they do away from the ice,” Rubenstein wrote. “Drive is measured by the things a play does to improve himself before, during and after the season. Is the prospect working out, doing the things he needs to do to improve or is he out golfing or partying. Talent needs little explanation other than does the prospect show that his talent is improving. But once you get past those three things, then things get harder to judge as how can you measure someone who is playing high school hockey against a guy who has just graduated from college? The diversity of where prospects play whether it is in Europe, the USA or even the three leagues that make up the CHL has to be measured as well. A player who is going up against adults in Europe had better be ranked higher than a 17-year-old who missed part of the season with injury.”

Here’s Jess’s Top 10 for 2011:

10: Center Max Campbell was the “comeback” prospect of last season while leading Western Michigan to its first NCAA appearance since the 1990s thanks largely to some clutch goals among his 18 in 42 games. He is on an AHL contract, so his road to New York has a few roadblocks, but Campbell is a pure scorer once he sets himself in the crease is hard to move out.

9: Wilson has gone from an often-criticized, injury-prone power forward to the first-line left wing for the Niagara IceDogs of the OHL who some thought was brought in to be the bodyguard for Ryan Strome, the fifth pick in the draft by the New York Islanders. But in the playoffs, Wilson earned a contract with five goals and seven assists and is someone whom Rubenstein believes will push Dale Weise out of a job as he does the same things as Weise but is younger and plays better defense.

8: McColgan getting eight goals and 11 assists while scoring in all 10 playoff games last season has increased expectations on the right wing of Kelowna of the Western Hockey League. He was cut by Team USA this summer, but Rubenstein believes McColgan might force his way back on the team in December. His main job is becoming more consistent.

7: Stajcer got this spot because of the effort he put in to getting back to Owen Sound after hip surgery. Rubenstein discounts Stajcer’s poor showing in the Memorial Cup because he returned cold after a foot infection and backstopped a team outmanned and devastated by injury. If not for his injuries, Stajcer would be talked about by everyone who does prospect reports for the Rangers. He was one of the top goalies when he was hurt and one of best in the playoffs before hurt again.

6: Parlett has had some people going “Who?” but he is a second coming of Girardi as an undrafted free agent who earned a two-year contract from the Rangers by working his way to the AHL from the ECHL. And Parlett earns Rubenstein’s kudos because he has been given two opportunities and run with them, including with the Whale last season. Plus, he did “Rocky Balboa” offseason workouts, so appreciation for him should increase even more.

5: Rubenstein called Bourque the most unselfish prospect the Rangers have “without question.” Rubenstein said Bourque is too unselfish at times as it costs him with those who do not realize he gives up his own game to help his team win. Bourque can score, but his value as a defensive forechecker has led to him being used on the second or checking line rather being on a first line. Rubenstein can’t wait to see the standout with the Quebec Remparts of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teamed up on a penalty kill with Hagelin.

4: Kreider is another prospect who puts the team ahead of personal goals and agenda. Rubenstein had one criticism: SHOOT THE PUCK, CHRIS. When Kreider shoots at least four times a game, he will put up points. Rubenstein also loved how Kreider showed the courage of his convictions by turning down the Rangers to play his junior year at BC. Getting his education is important to Kreider, and he backed it up by saying no the Rangers and then taking the heavy credit local this summer. And returning three weeks early from a freakish broken jaw demonstrated the fire he has.

3: Thomas is only 5 feet 9, 165 pounds, but he can score from anywhere on the ice, as demonstrated by his 41 and 54 goals with Oshawa of the OHL the past two seasons. Clark said Thomas has an NHL shot, but he also does much of his scoring in crunch time. He needs to mature more physically before trying the NHL, which is why he’s almost certain to return for another year of juniors, especially since he’s only 19. Rubenstein believes Thomas will resemble Martin St. Louis, the smallish standout wing with the Tampa Bay Lightning who also has underrated passing skills. Rubenstein looks forward to Thomas playing with Stepan.

2: Rubenstein watched a four-year love affair between Hagelin, nicknamed the “Swedish Chef,” and rabid fans at Yost Arena, where the Wolverines played. When you get entire crowds to chant your name, you’re doing something. He had many memorable and clutch goals at Michigan and showed well in five playoff games with the Whale while being helped by former Wolverines teammate Chad Kolarik. Rubenstein feels Hagelin has an excellent chance to make the Rangers, and I agree after watching him play with the Whale and how he handled himself off the ice.

1.Rubenstein said McIlrath could be the Rangers’ first defensive stopper since Jeff Beukeboom retired in 1999. His presence has caused teams to change how they attack, as Medicine Hat did when it refused to go down McIlrath’s side of the ice after two clean body checks. Teams have shied away from going after a teammate of the 6-5, 215-pounder with Moose Jaw of the WHL. At the other end of the spectrum, one of the toughest guys in the WHL gave us his Friday night to read to first graders. Plus, he has worked hard on his shot since the middle of last season, including during a month’s stay with the Whale after Moose Jaw was eliminated from the WHL playoffs. But McIlrath is only 19, so he’s likely to return to the Warriors, especially since the Rangers already have plenty of young defensemen.

Meanwhile, The Hockey News’ Top 10 list, from top to bottom, is Erixon, Kreider, McIlrath, Thomas, Miller, forward Steven Fogarty, St. Croix, Weise, Fasth and Bourque. For some unknown reason, THN didn’t include Hagelin.

RICHARDS TABBED AS NEWCOMER BEING COUNTED ON MOST

While we’re discussing rankings, who does NHL.com columnist John Kreiser think is the player acquired in the offseason being counted on most to make a major impact on their new team?

Not surprisingly, it’s center Brad Richards, the plum pick of free agency that the Rangers signed to a nine-year, $60 million contract after he had 28 goals and 49 assists with the Dallas Stars last season. Richards played for Rangers coach John Tortorella and won the Conn Smyth Trophy in 2004, when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

“Richards was a one-of-a-kind item in this year’s free-agent market – a real, honest-to-goodness No. 1 center,” Kreiser wrote. “The Rangers gave him a nine-year, $60 million deal to come to the Big Apple with hopes that he’ll provide them with a significant offensive upgrade. Their primary objective is to use Richards, one of the NHL’s elite passers, to get the puck to (right wing) Marian Gaborik, who fell to 22 goals last season after getting 42 in 2009-10, and to move the Rangers from a team battling to make the playoffs to one that can contend for the Cup.”

No. 2 is Ilya Bryzgalov, who brought about an organizational change in the Philadelphia Flyers, who traded their top two centers, Jeff Carter and captain Mike Richards, to free salary cap space to sign the best goalie on the market.

“The Flyers haven’t had consistent, top-level goaltending in years, but that’s what they’re expecting from Bryzgalov, who left Phoenix to sign a nine-year deal,” Kreiser wrote. “Bryzgalov will have more offensive support than he had with the Coyotes, but he’ll also be under more pressure to produce while playing for a team with much higher expectations.”

The remainder of Kreiser’s Top 10 are defenseman James Wisniewski (Columbus from Islanders), goalie Semyon Varlamov (Colorado from Washington), goalie Tomas Vokoun (Washington from Florida), wing Dany Heatley (Minnesota from San Jose), defenseman Brian Campbell (Florida from Chicago), defenseman Ian White (Detroit from New Jersey), wing Ryan Smyth (Edmonton from Los Angeles) and wing Erik Cole (Montreal from Carolina).