The New York Rangers have announced their roster for the 2017 Traverse City Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. The Blueshirts are making their 11th consecutive appearance in the eight-team tournament, which is set to begin on Friday, September 8.
Rangers Announce 2017 Traverse City Roster
Annual prospect tournament begins September 8
New York's roster features 23 prospects (14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders), including both of the Rangers' first round selections in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil. In addition to Andersson and Chytil, the Rangers' fourth round selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Brandon Crawley, will participate in the tournament. Ten of the 23 prospects on the Rangers' roster for the tournament were selected by the team in the NHL Entry Draft. In addition, eight of the players on the Blueshirts' roster for the tournament signed with the Rangers as free agents, including defensemen Alexei Bereglazov, Vince Pedrie, and Neal Pionk. Several of the prospects on this year's roster also represented the Rangers at the 2016 Traverse City Tournament, including 2016 draft picks Sean Day, Tim Gettinger, and Ty Ronning.
The Rangers are one of four teams that comprise the Gordie Howe Division, along with the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings. The Blueshirts begin the tournament with a contest against Chicago on Friday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. New York will face Carolina on Saturday, September 9 at 3:30 p.m. and Detroit on Monday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. Following their three round-robin games, the Rangers will have a placement game against a team from the Ted Lindsay Division on Tuesday, September 12.
Over the 10 years the Rangers have previously participated in the Traverse City Tournament, they have reached the Championship Game twice and won the Tournament in 2007. Current Blueshirts such as Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, Brady Skjei, Jimmy Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich, Jesper Fast, and Marc Staal all represented the team at the tournament in recent years.
In every year since the team began participating in the Traverse City Tournament in 2006, at least one Rangers prospect who represented the team in the tournament also played in an NHL game with the Rangers during the same season.
2017 Traverse City Tournament Roster
| Player | Jersey No. | Position | Height | Weight | Shoots/Catches | DOB | 2016-17 Team | Birthplace | How Acquired | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Andersson, Lias | 50 | Center | 6-0 | 200 | Left | 10/13/98 | HV71 (SHL) | Smogen, Sweden | Drafted (1st Round/7th overall in 2017) | | Bereglazov, Alexei | 41 | Defenseman | 6-4 | 205 | Left | 4/20/94 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) | Magnitogorsk, Russia | Signed as a free agent on April 21, 2017 | | Carbonara, Adrian | 65 | Right Wing | 6-2 | 204 | Right | 3/12/97 | London Knights (OHL) | Mississauga, Ontario | Amateur Tryout (ATO) | | Chytil, Filip | 72 | Center | 6-2 | 192 | Left | 9/5/99 | PSG Zlin (Czech) | Kromeriz, Czech Republic | Drafted (1st Round/21st overall in 2017) | | Crawley, Brandon | 73 | Defenseman | 6-1 | 205 | Left | 2/2/97 | London Knights (OHL) | Glen Rock, New Jersey | Drafted (4th Round/123rd overall in 2017) | | Day, Sean | 85 | Defenseman | 6-2 | 231 | Left | 1/9/98 | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) | Leuven, Belgium | Drafted (3rd Round/81st overall in 2016) | | Fontaine, Gabriel | 54 | Center | 6-1 | 191 | Left | 4/30/97 | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) | Sherbrooke, Quebec | Drafted (6th Round/171st overall in 2016) | | Gettinger, Tim | 97 | Left Wing | 6-6 | 217 | Left | 4/14/98 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) | Cleveland, Ohio | Drafted (5th Round/141st overall in 2016) | | Georgiev, Alexandar | 90 | Goaltender | 6-1 | 180 | Left | 2/10/96 | TPS Turku (Liiga) | Moscow, Russia | Signed as a free agent on July 19, 2017 | | Gropp, Ryan | 78 | Left Wing | 6-2 | 190 | Left | 9/16/96 | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) | Kamloops, British Columbia | Drafted (2nd Round/41st overall in 2015) | | Kotyk, Brenden | 87 | Defenseman | 6-6 | 240 | Right | 8/27/91 | University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA) | Regina, Saskatchewan | Signed to AHL contract with Hartford | | Kovacs, Robin | 96 | Left Wing | 6-0 | 186 | Left | 11/16/96 | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | Stockholm, Sweden | Drafted (3rd Round/62nd overall in 2015) | | Leedahl, Dawson | 92 | Left Wing | 6-1 | 195 | Left | 3/16/96 | Regina Pats (WHL) | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Signed as a free agent on May 8, 2017 | | Lettieri, Vinni | 95 | Center | 5-11 | 195 | Right | 2/6/95 | University of Minnesota (NCAA) | Excelsior, Minnesota | Signed as a free agent on March 27, 2017 | | Moore, Ryan | 79 | Right Wing | 5-7 | 168 | Left | 4/9/97 | Flint Firebirds (OHL) | Troy, Michigan | Professional Tryout (PTO) | | Nell, Chris | 80 | Goaltender | 6-1 | 190 | Left | 9/2/94 | Bowling Green State University (NCAA) | Green Bay, Wisconsin | Signed as a free agent on March 23, 2017 | | Pedrie, Vince | 74 | Defenseman | 6-0 | 195 | Left | 1/17/94 | Penn State University (NCAA) | Rochester, Minnesota | Signed as a free agent on March 28, 2017 | | Pettit, Kyle | 46 | Center | 6-4 | 200 | Left | 1/19/96 | Erie Otters (OHL) | Komoka, Ontario | Amateur Tryout (ATO) | | Pionk, Neal | 44 | Defenseman | 6-0 | 190 | Right | 7/29/95 | University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA) | Hermantown, Minnesota | Signed as a free agent on May 1, 2017 | | Ronning, Ty | 59 | Right Wing | 5-9 | 167 | Right | 10/20/97 | Vancouver Giants (WHL) | Burnaby, British Columbia | Drafted (7th Round/201st overall in 2016) | | Smith, Luc | 57 | Left Wing | 6-5 | 205 | Right | 1/20/98 | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) | Stony Plain, Alberta | Amateur Tryout (ATO) | | Stromwall, Malte | 84 | Right Wing | 6-0 | 191 | Right | 8/24/94 | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | Lulea, Sweden | Signed as a free agent on April 17, 2016 | | Zborovskiy, Sergey | 64 | Defenseman | 6-4 | 200 | Right | 2/21/97 | Regina Pats (WHL) | Moscow, Russia | Drafted (3rd Round/79th overall in 2015) |
