The New York Rangers alumni squad will be suiting up tomorrow night to take on the Philadelphia Flyers alumni squad in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game.

The game itself is littered with historic and great players, all of whom made an impact for their respective teams. One of those players for the Rangers is Nick Fotiu.

Fotiu says he's excited for the opportunity to play in the alumni game.

"It's going to be a pretty emotional game," he said. "Guys are getting ready for it and it's going to be a lot of fun. I think that's the main thing, getting out there and having fun. There's no pressure it's just about trying to put the puck into the net and giving a good show for the fans. I guess that's what it's all about, because without the fans we have nothing, so it's going to be a really nice event."

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One of the focal points of the New York Rangers being selected to play in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic is HBO 24/7, an all-access show that gives the viewer an inside look at both the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in the weeks leading up to and the Winter Classic itself.

The show itself requires HBO cameras to attend everything from practice, to team meetings, the locker room between periods, on the bench during games and even charity and off-ice events.

Former NHL coach Mike Keenan believes the show is important for fans and the game of hockey.

"I think it's interesting," he said. "It gives the viewership and the audience an inside perspective of what actually goes on with the preparation of a team. The audience get an inside view that they otherwise wouldn't have because of it. From that perspective, we're trying to sell the game and sell aspects of what a game involves, which is something that the fans wouldn't normally get to see."

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Mike Keenan was actually working when he received the call.

And after Keenan hung up the phone the former NHL head coach who amassed 672 regular season victories, 96 playoff victories and led the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years was going to be behind the bench again.

"Glen Sather called me and asked if I would be interested [in coaching the Rangers alumni team]," he said. "And I was actually in New York working so I was quite busy doing work for MSG."

Busy or not, Keenan didn't hesitate to take the opportunity.

"I said yes, I thought it would be fun, and that's what it's about," he said. "For the players it's a renewal of their friendships, their histories and their memories, both good and bad. And since I had coached both teams there will be many players from each team that I have coached playing."

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The New York Rangers brass have been making a steady push towards adding youth and home grown talent to their hockey team.

Today, the Rangers have four forwards (Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky) who are home grown players making an impact with the big club. 

On defense the numbers are even better, with Michael Del Zotto, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh (who counts because he spent time in Connecticut), and Michael Sauer making an impact right now. That's four of six defenseman who are home grown, and that doesn't even include Marc Staal who has yet to play a game this year.

Jim Schoenfeld, assistant coach and assistant general manager for the New York Rangers, knows the importance of having home grown players on a lineup.  

"You love to have your home grown players become the core of your team," he said. "You look at the board and over half our team is draft picks or graduates from our team in Connecticut."

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Thursday we talked about the growth of Ryan McDonagh in the absence of Marc Staal and how his game has helped the New York Rangers to success this season. But another player who is getting quite a bit of attention, deservedly so, due to a rejuvenated season is Marian Gaborik.

Gaborik, who struggled to just 22 goals last season, already has nine goals and six assists on the year, and despite not scoring in his past two games the sniper has looked as dangerous as ever.

The marriage between Brad Richards and Gaborik didn't work in the beginning but Rangers assistant general manager and assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld doesn't think it's a matchup dead in the water. 

"At first we had him playing with Brad Richards which we thought on paper might work," he said. "You have a great center and a great shooter and it really didn't work right away. That doesn't mean we can't revisit it and it doesn't mean that it might not work in the future either. But it didn't have the chemistry we thought it would."

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There have been many bright spots for the New York Rangers over the past two years. Players like Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan and the growth of players like Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky as well. 

Another young player who started his career in the Rangers' system is Ryan McDonagh, a defenseman who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round and was acquired by Glen Sather in the Scott Gomez trade. McDonagh started the season in Hartford last year, before getting called up to the Rangers and never looking back. 

Now McDonagh is a staple on the Rangers' blue line, and due to the Marc Staal injury, currently playing first-pairing minutes with Dan Giardi. It's not just the fans McDonagh is impressing with his play. 

"He's a player that started the year in Hartford last year and I think the coaching staff down there, Ken Gernander, J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller, did a really good job in getting him ready," Jim Schoenfeld, assistant general manager and assistant coach of the New York Rangers said. "He was only there for a few months and I would be able to watch him frequently and he was just finding his way."

The move to the NHL is a difficult one, no matter what position you play. But Schoenfeld says McDonagh showed the qualities of a great defenseman even when he was in Hartford.  

"It's a big jump from any program to the NHL," he said. "Ryan just needed to get acclimated. You could see [right away] his power, strength, skating ability and his one-on-one capabilities. He didn't lose many battles down there and once we called him up, bit by bit he started to feel more comfortable and then he started adding a little aggression to his game. He spent less time in skirmishes because of his explosive power. He's also an intelligent player, obviously, because you can't match up against other team's top players without having a great understanding of how to play the game."

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The New York Rangers didn't exactly get off to a hot start to the season. In fact, after all the expectations surrounding the team after the organization won the hand of prized free agent Brad Richards, the start couldn't have been much worse. 

Some attributed the slow start to the travel, others to the team not having enough time to gel with one another. Jim Schoenfeld, assistant general manager and assistant coach of the New York Rangers, was impressed with the way the Rangers handled all the adversity the start of the season provided.  

"I think there was the physical effect. We had the trip to Europe and we came home for one game on the Island, and then we left for an 11 or 12 day trip out West. I think each trip on it's own would have been fine, but when you combine the two of them our guys really pulled together and kind of gutted it out to get some wins," he said.  

"And coming back home, the first few game we suffered the effects that every team suffers after a West Coast swing," he added. "It's a tough one. The emotional boost of being in Madison Square Garden pushed us through the first period then we kind of ran out of juice. But then you could see from that point on that with each passing period we we're starting to play towards the top of our game. And although we weren't at the top of our game yet, we were playing a lot better and a lot stronger and certianly more cultured to a full 60 minutes." 

The Rangers are a much different team than they were at the start of the season. After reeling off a six-game winning streak (which they will try to extend to seven games Tuesday against the New York Islanders) the Rangers are an impressive 9-3-3 and are starting to hit their stride as a hockey club. 

Schoenfeld attributes the resurgence to a complete team effort. 

"I really think it's been different people at different times," he said. "When we were in Europe our goaltending was very good through those first two games, where we got a point in each one. Then we came home and we played the one game on the Island and out West we had some lapses but out goaltending was there for us and it was strong. And then on different nights, bit by bit, it was different players." 

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Imagine for a moment, if you will, one of the greatest hockey players to ever play the game. A true legend at his position, a man who helps revolutionize the way his position was played. 

Now imagine being that man's son, and trying to forge out a career in the NHL. 

That's Ryan Bourque, the New York Rangers third-round draft selection in 2009, who is currently fighting for a roster spot with the big club this year. Bourque survived the second round of cuts Monday night, and traveled with the team to Europe. 

That wouldn't have been possible without a fantastic preseason, highlighted by a brilliant performance in the Traverse City Tournament, which really helped put Bourque on the map. Bourque didn't over think his game before Traverse City, he just wanted to be consistent. 

"Mainly I just wanted to go in and be as consistent as I could and bring the same effort for each game," he said. "This year I really wanted to go out and keep the game as simple as possible and play my game and try to be as consistent as possible throughout the tournament. That was my main goal."

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