The New York Rangers were very busy Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, where they completed rounds two through seven of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The only round in which they did not have a pick in was the third, but even still managed to walk away with some solid prospects that will attend prospects camp within the next few weeks back in New York. Below is a recap of the Blueshirts' day two at the Staples Center.

Round 2, 40th overall: Christian Thomas (RW, 5-9, 165 lbs)

Scouting Report: ...His bread and butter of going hard to the net is supported by excellent speed and skating skills (what else would you expect of Stumpy’s [Steve Thomas'] son) and a nose for goal. Coupled with decent hands, a high hockey IQ, and cannon shot, Thomas has the potential to be a killer offensive force in junior the next couple of seasons.

...Christian has a chippy edge and has shown he isn’t afraid to throw around what mass he has and furthermore he works hard on the puck all the time and knows how to make himself open. You could characterize Thomas’ play as doing the simple things well, doing them consistently and doing them with fast, hard skating.

Round 4, 100th overall: Andrew Yogan (C, 6-3, 202 lbs)

Scouting Report: In 63 games for the Erie Otters, Yogan scored 25 goals and added 30 assists for 55   points while picking up 97 penalty minutes. Yogan played for Team Cherry at the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game, where he made it onto the score sheet from a fight with Team Orr's Matt MacKenzie.

Yogan has a big frame and skates well, but lacks the skill to be a top-six forward at the NHL level. A better passer than a shooter, but he chooses to shoot a lot. Work ethic is an issue, as is hockey sense.

Round 5, 130th overall: Jason Wilson (LW, 6-2, 205 lbs)

Scouting Report: The Rangers have taken Jason Wilson of the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL with their 5th round, #130 overall. Wilson put up a line of 17-18-35 with 101 PIMs in 46 GP. Wilson is 6’2, 205 lbs.

Round 6, 157th overall:  Jesper Fasth (RW, 6-0, 176 lbs)

Scouting Report:  If there is a more appropriately named player in the draft, we haven’t met him. Fasth is a lightning-fast skater who bursts to top speed in just a few steps and can really back defenders up when he goes straight at them. The problems come when he has to handle the puck at top speed or finish off plays on offense, and is why he’s not ranked among the top prospects in this class

Round 7, 190th overall: Randy McNaught (RW, 6-5, 221 lbs)

Scouting Report: Randy McNaught, with his 6-5, 221 lb frame, is a pure bruiser that knows how to use his body. He has run into trouble in the past while playing in the WHL with suspensions, but other than that he is a clean gritty player with a whole lot of size. In fact, he has dropped the gloves and fought Rangers' first round draft pick, Dylan McIlrath, in the past.

Also, the Rangers traded prospect defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to the Carolina Hurricanes for draft picks. Details on that trade can be found on my site here. 

Here is a full pick by pick recap of the first round of tonight's 2010 NHL Entry Draft, including all draft selections and trades made at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Come back here tomorrow for coverage of the remainder of the draft.

1. Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall, LW
2. Boston Bruins: Tyler Seguin, C
3. Florida Panthers: Erik Gudbranson, D
4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Ryan Johansen, C
5. New York Islanders: Nino Niederreiter, RW
6. Tampa Bay Lightning: Brett Connolly, LW
7. Carolina Hurricanes: Jeff Skinner, C
8. Atlanta Thrashers: Alex Burmistrov, C
9. Minnesota Wild: Mikael Granlund, C
10. New York Rangers: Dylan McIlrath, D
11. Dallas Stars: Jack Campbell, G
12. Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler, D
13. Phoenix Coyotes: Brandon Gormley, D
14. St. Louis Blues: Jaden Schwartz, C
15. Los Angeles Kings: Derek Forbort, D
16. St. Louis Blues (from OTT): Vladimir Tarasenko, RW
17. Colorado Avalanche: Joe Hishon, C
18. Nashville Predators: Austin Watson, LW
19. Florida Panthers (From Los Angeles): Nick Bjugstad, C
20. Pittsburgh Penguins: Beau Bennett, RW
21. Detroit Red Wings: Riley Sheahan, C
22. Montreal Canadiens: Jared Tinordi, D
23. Buffalo Sabres: Mark Pysyk, D
24. Chicago Blackhawks: Kevin Hayes, LW
25. Florida Panthers (From Vancouver): Quinton Howden, LW
26. Washington Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov, LW/C
27. Phoenix Coyotes: Mark Visentin, G
28. San Jose Sharks: Charlie Coyle, RW
29. Anaheim Ducks: Emerson Etem
30. New York Islanders (From CHI): Brock Nelson, C

Trade Alerts:

- Florida trades 15th pick to the Los Angeles Kings for the 19th and 59th pick.
- Senators trade 16th pick to Blues for D David Rundblad.
- Coyotes trade 22 and 113 to Habs for 27 and 57.
- Florida trades Ballard and prospect Victor Oreskovich to Vancouver for Bernier, Grabner and Canucks' 25th overall pick.
- Isles trade 35 and 58 to the Hawks for the 30th overall pick.

Good Morning Ranger fans, Draft Day has arrived, and Blueshirt Banter will be your place for all Rangers coverage, I'm traveling to Los Angeles this morning to attend, and we'll have Joe and Nick providing updates as well.

I have my heart set on Nino, here's hoping I get my wish!

I'll be live blogging with some updates throughout the day, as AirTran takes me from Atlantic City to Atlanta to Los Angeles.

Don't forget tonight we will have a live draft open thread, and tomorrow night we will have a special Draft Wrap Up Edition of Blueshirt Banter Radio at 8 PM!

Nino! Nino! Nino! Nino!

More later.......

Well, believe it or not we are just a day away from the start of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. With that, I decided to do a mock draft with my selections for the first 15 picks, including our New York Rangers. Joe will have a complete mock up sometime before the draft so be sure to look for that as well.

Here goes nothing....

1. Edmonton Oilers: Tyler Seguin, C

2. Boston Bruins(From Toronto): Taylor Hall, LW

3. Florida Panthers: Erik Gudbranson, D

4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Cam Fowler, D

5. NY Islanders: Brandon Gormley, D

6. Tampa Bay Lightning: Nino Niederreiter, RW

7. Carolina Hurricanes: Brett Connolly, LW

8. Atlanta Thrashers: Jeff Skinner, C

9. Minnesota Wild: Vladimir Tarasenko, RW

10. NY Rangers: Ryan Johansen, C

11. Dallas Stars: Derek Forbort, D

12. Anaheim Ducks: Mikael Granlund

13. Phoenix Coyotes (From Calgary): Jack Campbell, G

14. St. Louis Blues: Jon Merrill, D

15. Florida Panthers(From Boston): Alex Burmistrov, C

            Most of you that have been around the Banter for awhile know that my posts are usually based on statistics and are meant to prove something one way or the other. This one, though, is the result of a boring job that has left me plenty of time to think. The title of this all gives it away; I think Glen Sather and the Rangers organization should seriously consider and aggressively shop their tenth overall selection going into the Draft this weekend.

            If the Rangers keep the pick and select whomever their choose, I'm sure because of the depth of this year's draft it seems as though the player will contribute nicely some years down the road. Do I like the idea of passing up on such a probable result? No, but I think if done right the Rangers could squeeze more out of their first-round pick than just keeping and selecting a prospect.

Join me after the jump for more.

Continue reading this post »

Good evening everyone. Jess from The Prospect Park and Blueshirt Bulletin will be here to take your questions on draft prospects, and what lies ahead for your New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL Draft and free agency. This works just like our open game threads, replies will automatically post, no need to refresh.

Jess will answer as many of your questions as he can, so let's get to it and have fun!

Central Scouting Forwards

Central Scouting Defenseman

Central Scouting Goalies

Tonight at 8:30 EST, Jess Rubenstein will join us for a live chat here on Blueshirt Banter. He'll take your questions
about the draft, what he thinks the Rangers might do, and anything else you might want to know about the prospects.

For those of you that missed it, we did one last year, and it was a huge success. Ironically, the first question in last year's chat was about Chris Kreider.

Hope you will join us tonight, you guys know Jess is all over it when it comes to young players, so this is a great way to get ready for the big weekend in the NHL.

FYI, we'll do the live chat "open thread" style, you can just post your question and the page will automatically refresh with replies.

It's Draft week here at Blueshirt Banter, and we have a huge week of coverage planned for you. We've been bringing
you profiles the last few weeks of all the top prospects in this year's draft, but that is just the beginning.

On Monday night, at 8:30 EST, we will be joined by Jess Rubenstein from The Prospect Park for a live chat here on Blueshirt Banter. We did one last year, and it was a big success. (If you click that link to read last year's chat, oddly enough the first question was about Chris Kreider). You guys know Jess is an authority when it comes to young players, and as Bill Chadwick used to say, "Knowing him is like going to college"

On Tuesday night, Eddie and I will take to the air for another edition of Blueshirt Banter Radio. We'll be talking about the draft, some of the prospects that are out there, and we'll give our thoughts on where the Rangers might be going in the first round.

On Friday, yours truly will head for Hollywood to cover the draft live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. We'll cover the Draft for you like no one else. If you weren't around last year, you can check out all the coverage we did by clicking the link for Live from the 2009 NHL Draft.

We'll have audio interviews, written interviews, pictures, we'll chat with Ranger fans at the Draft, and maybe have a few surprises along the way.

Then Saturday night after the Draft is complete, Eddie and I will do a Draft Wrap Up on Blueshirt Banter Radio at 8 PM on June 26th. We'll talk about all the draft picks, get your thoughts on the Rangers picks, and I will try and flag down some people to talk to.

And when that's all done, bring on Free Agency!