Welcome back to my New York Rangers Prospect Power Rankings for the month of November. These rankings are based on the play of Rangers prospects from the 8th to the 30th of the month. Just like the previous month, no goalies are included in this ranking, it is solely for skaters in the organization who are under the age of 23 and have played less than a full season in the NHL.
In the first edition of the power ranking, I ranked every Rangers prospect, but for the rest of the season, it will be the top 10 players only. I will always note if a player has fallen out of the rankings due to injury instead of play. Brennan Othmann is such a case, as the top forward has been out with an upper-body injury since October 19th. The injury was only supposed to keep him out until Thanksgiving, but his timeline has recently been pushed back to closer to Christmas.
If there is desire for Rangers prospect power rankings beyond the top 10, please let me know in the comments!
1. Brett Berard: LW/RW, Hartford Wolf Pack/New York Rangers (10 GP: 3G, 4A) [+3]
Moving up three spots and into first place for this month’s Rangers prospect power rankings is none other than Brett Berard. After a bit of a slow end to last month, he looked like his usual self in the six games to start November that he played with the Wolf Pack, where he put up two goals and three assists.
On the 23rd of the month, he got called up to the Rangers due to an injury in the top six, and he quickly made his presence known. In the four games he has played with them this past week, he not only got his first NHL point — an assist in his first game — but he scored his first NHL goal in his second game as well. He has shown his speed, his shot, and his physicality, and he is going to make it hard for the Rangers to decide whether or not they send him back to Hartford.
2. Gabe Perreault: LW/RW, Boston College (7 GP: 1G, 9A) [-1]
Although Gabe Perreault fell one spot to second place in this month’s Rangers prospect power rankings, it’s at no fault of his play. Despite a dip in goalscoring in the last few weeks, Perreault has been playing really well; some of the assists he has had this month have been more impressive than the goals that they led to. His ability to find any of his teammates on the ice is unmatched, and it’s something I am constantly in awe of when I watch him play.
I would like to see Perreault be a little more selfish sometimes, but we have seen plenty of times this season that he is willing to do whatever he can for his team — even getting a little physical sometimes.
3. Brody Lamb: RW, University of Minnesota (7 GP: 5G, 3A) [+3]
One of the biggest surprises to me this season has been the play of Brody Lamb. He was great last year when he tripled his point total from his freshman year, but this year it seems like he was able to take another step. He leads his team in goals, and in the games I have been able to catch, he controls play more than you would expect on a very strong Gophers team.
There was a scare in a recent game where Lamb took a brutal knee, which caused him to leave that game and miss the next one, but fortunately for him it wasn’t serious and he has already returned to play.
4. Noah Laba: C, Colorado College (4 GP: 3A) [-1]
After missing some time due to an ankle injury that he tried to come back too soon from, Noah Laba finally returned to the Tigers lineup. While he seems to be playing a little more cautiously since his return, he is still playing important minutes for the team as well as being their top faceoff guy. Colorado College currently has about two weeks off, so hopefully Laba is able to get the rest and recovery needed to get back to his usual game in December.
5. Adam Sýkora: LW/RW, Hartford Wolf Pack (9 GP: 1G, 4A) [+3]
In the last few weeks, Adam Sýkora was given the chance to play more significant minutes on the Wolf Pack’s second line, and despite the team’s struggles, he has looked great. Something about his game that doesn’t get enough attention is how difficult he is to knock off the puck.
Usually smaller, speedy guys are able to hold onto the puck because they are faster than their opponents, but Sýkora is so strong and relentless in keeping control of the puck that they can’t move him. I would still like to see him get more time on the power play, but I have been impressed with his play so far this season.
6. Victor Mancini: RHD, Hartford Wolf Pack/New York Rangers (6 GP: 2G) [-4]
November was a pretty up and down month for Victor Mancini. He started the month in the press box for the Rangers after their regular defensemen got healthy. He was sent to Hartford for a couple of games, then he was called up again to play while the Rangers were on their Western Canada road trip for one game before being returned to Hartford again.
Mancini’s first few games with the Wolf Pack went well; he jumped right back into things, playing over 25 minutes in his first game back with them. He has been a welcome addition to Hartfords struggling power play, but constantly rotating defensive pairs have left him a little more cautious on the ice recently, so that’s something I am keeping an eye on.
7. Raoul Boilard: C, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (8 GP: 3G, 4A) [+2]
After a strong offensive but poor defensive start to the season, Raoul Boilard had a much better last few weeks. He still had some games where he struggled defensively, but his overall game across all three zones was much more cohesive than it had been at the start of the season.
While it was great to see that improvement, Boilard has struggled the last few games to win faceoffs, which are usually one of his strongest and most consistent skills. I haven’t heard anything about injury, but I wonder if there is something small that’s affecting his ability to effectively win faceoffs.
8. Nathan Aspinall: LW, Flint Firebirds (6 GP: 1G, 4A) [-1]
Nathan Aspinall continues to be one the Firebirds’ best players: he is tied for second on the team in points, he is third on the team in goals, third on the team in assists and one of the top players on the power play. His game still needs work, as do most young players’, but he is still managing to produce and play well on a bottom five team in the OHL.
I would like to see Aspinall put some work into his defensive game, although it isn’t a huge issue — he is one of the best players on his team in the defensive zone as it is.
9. Ryder Korczak: C, Hartford Wolf Pack (8 GP: 3A) [+1]
Ryder Korczak is a polarizing player. As a fan, I see a player who plays hard every night, and while he might not have the offensive output that others do, he has been one of the Wolf Pack’s steadiest forwards in the bottom six. He is undoubtedly one of the team’s best defensive players and yet despite that, he was scratched in the team’s most recent game.
Korczak did have a few games where he has struggled a bit, but he has been dealing with a rotating list of players being plugged onto the fourth line with him, as well as swapping between playing center and left wing, depending on who else is playing. It seems like the organization is giving up on him which is frustrating to see.
10. Drew Fortescue: LHD, Boston College (7 GP: 1A) [+1]
Drew Fortescue continues to impress me with his steady play on the first defensive pairing for the Eagles; he plays big important minutes and does extremely well in them as he is currently third on the team in plus-minus. Fortescue and his defensive partner, Eamon Powell, playing alongside fellow Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault’s forward line have been the most productive unit for the team so far this season.
Fortescue’s ability to stay calm and composed facing off against other top prospects across the NCAA is outstanding, and despite being a defensive defenseman, he has great vision, which allows him to get the puck out of the defensive zone effectively.
Rangers prospect power rankings honorable mentions
Since I am only doing Rangers prospect power rankings for the top ten players going forward, I will also be naming 2-3 players each time that I believe were close to making the list but fell just a little short. For November, those players are Matt Rempe (C/LW), Dylan Roobroeck (C), and Bryce McConnell-Barker (C).
All three had some good games and some tough games this month. Rempe started to settle into his role in the middle six for the Wolf Pack, and for the most part, he looked better than when he was first sent down. Roobroeck, just like in October, had a bit of a dip in play when injuries and callups started to affect the lineup in Hartford, but as things start to settle, it seems he will get back to the game we saw flashes of before.
McConnell-Barker is similar to Korczak: he has been playing well for the most part, but a rough patch of games by the team in general has his game suffering a bit as well. It is not anything to be overly concerned about, though. I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of these players break into the top ten at some point soon.
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