First round of cuts

As promised, after last night's 4-3 victory over the sorta-Devils, the Rangers made their first round of roster cuts, and as promised, it was a huge set of cuts. Unlike last year, when people seemed to trickle out a dozen at a time, it looks like Torts and the rest of the staff really want to pare down to the people who deserve serious looks. As such, 28 of the 63 players the Rangers had in camp were cut this morning. Here's who got cut. An * next to a player's name means he was returned to his junior squad - everyone else was returned to the Whale. (Source)

Forwards: Chad Kolarik, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Tommy Grant, Shane McColgan*, J.T. Miller*, Christian Thomas*, Jordan Hickmott, Tayler Jordan, Kale Kerbashian, Chris McKelvie, Matt Rust, Michael St. Croix*, Scott Tanski, Kelsey Tessier, Jason Wilson, Andrew Yogan*
Defensemen: Tomas Kundratek, Samuel Noreau*, Pavel Valentenko, Lee Baldwin, Collin Bowman, Peter Ceresnak*, Sam Klassen, Jyri Niemi, Jared Nightingale
Goalies: Chad Johnson, Jason Missiaen, Cam Talbot

A few things that struck me: up front, recent acquisitions Andre Deveaux and John Mitchell are apparently both playing well enough to warrant further consideration. Of the crew of kids everyone was talking about (Hagelin, Bourque, Thomas, Grant, McColgan), only Hagelin and Bourque are sticking around, and joining them is dark horse Andreas Thuresson. Meanwhile, Chad Kolarik, who was called up for a 4-game stretch last January (1 assist, 4 shots, 2 PIM, -1 in that stretch) didn't make the cut. On defense, interesting that Pavel Valentenko (who was once considered as exciting a prospect as McDonagh, and who had a reportedly terrible game last night) was sent home, while the much-less-often-praised Stu Bickel stuck around. Also interesting that McIlrath ("The Undertaker") earned an apparent plane ride to the Czech Republic. Finally, in net, I think it's at least a little notable that Johnson, the go-to callup last season, isn't coming along, while Stajcer, the Traverse City starter, is. Perhaps Johnson is the regular callup because the team is less interested in his development, while they like to let Talbot and Stajcer play. Or perhaps I'm overthinking it.

So, the Rangers cut 16 of 37 forwards, 9 of 20 defensemen, and 3 of 6 goalies cut. Which leaves 35 players in camp: 21 forwards, 11 defensemen, and 3 goalies. If you'll recall, the current plan is to bring 19 forwards, 11 defensemen, and 3 goalies to Europe, a trip that happens sometime soon after Monday night's game against the Flyers (the Rangers' first game in Europe is Thursday afternoon, in Prague against HC Sparta, and they'll be out there through the second game of the regular season, against the Ducks in Stockholm on Yom Kippur (October 8)). It sounds like we're mostly set for our initial European roster, but that two more forwards will be cut after Monday night's Flyers game. If I had to guess, I'd say anyone on that bubble will be in the lineup that night. That likely includes Bourque, Deveaux, Newbury, and Thuresson? Possibly also Hagelin, Mitchell, and Weise? Who knows?

And so, if you'll allow me to upgrade a few "other kids" to "notable prospects," here's who we've got left in camp:

Forwards (21)
Rangers you saw last season (14)
Artem Anisimov, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan, Erik Christensen, Brandon Dubinsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Marian Gaborik, Kris Newbury, Brandon Prust, Derek Stepan, Dale Weise, Wojtek Wolski, Mats Zuccarello

Summer Acquisitions (4)
Andre Deveaux, John Mitchell, Brad Richards, Mike Rupp

Notable Prospects (3)
Ryan Bourque, Carl Hagelin, Andreas Thuresson

Defensemen (11)
Rangers you saw last season (6)
Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Mike Sauer, Marc Staal

Summer Acquisitions (1)
Brendan Bell

Notable Prospects (4)
Stu Bickel, Tim Erixon, Dylan McIlrath, Blake Parlett

Goalies (3)
Rangers you saw last season (2)
Martin Biron, Henrik Lundqvist

Notable Prospects (1)
Scott Stajcer