Howden Prospect Journal Entry 1: First Visit to New York

Rangers forward Brett Howden will be keeping a journal throughout this week's Rangers Prospect Development Camp.
The trade happened months ago, but Monday felt like my first day as a Ranger. I was finally on the ice with my new organization, breaking in new equipment - and new colors - and getting to know my new teammates.
I arrived in New York late Thursday night. On the flight into LaGuardia Airport, I felt nervous. But a good nervous. An exciting nervous. When we approached the airport, all I could see was the traffic and the city skyline.

I'm a diehard fan of Friends, so New York City has always been special for me. On the ride up to our hotel in White Plains, we passed through towns I'd heard on the show and couldn't help but laugh a little bit. If only Central Perk was a real place, I'd be there in a second. It's been great getting my feet wet with New York, starting Friday night when me and a few others got to spend the night at the Rangers' draft party at Madison Square Garden.
After months of talking with people in the organization, Monday was the first chance for me to put some faces to names. It felt like the first day of school in some ways. Everyone I've met thus far has been great in making everyone comfortable.
Getting to know the guys has also been a lot of fun. I thought I'd know more people on the roster than I did, but even after a few days, everyone is getting to know each other. I played against Dawson Leedahl in the Western Hockey League, and we've been hanging out a bit. I'm rooming with Ryan Lindgren, and of course know Libor Hajek from our time in Tampa. I got to meet Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil at the draft party Friday night at Madison Square Garden and they're great guys as well.

Last night we went to the Mets game as a team, my first ever MLB game. It was cool to see the skyline in the distance and cross over the bridge into Queens, and those of us who didn't know what anything was were asking questions. The stadium was huge and it was a lot of fun to check that off my bucket list.
We were back on the ice today for more on-ice testing. It wasn't easy, but we're all glad to get the hardest parts over early and just focus on hockey the rest of the week with scrimmages coming up starting on Wednesday, followed by a trip into the city.
Until the next entry.
- Brett