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Alain Vigneault: Media Day and Training Camp recap
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
On the first day that the media were able to talk to the Rangers and their coaching staff, head coach Alain Vigneault had a lot to say about the upcoming season, his players and potentially alluding to how he plans on setting the roster.
Throughout the offseason, many people have said that this season will be of utmost importance for 24 year old forward Chris Kreider. He’s coming off of the best season of his young career, collecting 21 goals and 25 assists in the regular season, and adding seven goals and two assists in 19 playoff games.
Now, Kreider is in a contract year, and both he and the team will be looking for him to have a massive year, and for him to be a key contributor throughout the year. And that’s exactly the stance that Vigneault took.
“I look at Chris Kreider, and I believe he can be an elite player in this league,” Vigneault told Jim Cerny of Blueshirts United. “He’s got everything to become a dominant power forward in this league. He’s got almost two full years under his belt, except for a couple of games in my first year. He’s been improving, he’s been taking strides.” Read the rest of this entry
Rangers back on the ice at informal skate; Zuccarello “As good as new”
Bobby Bevilacqua
Mats Zuccarello is healthy and ready to have an impact on the ice with the Rangers this season. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
For the first time in quite a while, the New York Rangers were back on the ice, participating in an informal skate while getting re-acclimated to the ice at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York.
Almost all of the Rangers players were on the ice for the Tuesday afternoon scrimmage, excluding Henrik Lundqvist and Captain Ryan McDonagh, who are both away participating in the NHL Player Media tour. Amongst the mainstays and newcomers at the scrimmage was Mats Zuccarello, five months removed from a scary head injury.
In Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Zuccarello was struck upside the head by a puck, causing him to miss the remaining 14 games of the playoffs, and leading to some scary symptoms. He suffered a brain contusion, a skull fracture, and the loss of speech for four days.
Thankfully, Zuccarello has said that all of the symptoms stemming from his head injury have subsided, and that he will not have any side-effects heading into the season. Although he still needs to get accustomed to skating and playing hockey again, his health is fine, which is most important. Read the rest of this entry
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