Greetings and salutations everyone and welcome to another blog here on BlueCollarBlueShirts.com. This will be quick as time is of the essence for yours truly.
On Thursday, June 29th, Ricky O. conducted the first one-on-one interview with the 23rd-overall pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the newest-to-be Ranger, Gabriel Perreault.
To watch the lighthearted interview, where even a Chris Drury “PIZZA MAN” reference is made, click the play button below:
New York rangers first round draft choice joins the Ricky O pic.twitter.com/CLfXVmYkWx
— Ricky otazu (@RickyOtazu16) June 29, 2023
Once again, Mr. O. out-scooped the Rangers’ beat – a feat that’s becoming old hat these days!
In other news from Thursday; while the Rangers made one trade (by jumping up one spot in the third-round from 91st-overall to 90th-overall), there were no other trades to be had for the Blueshirts while in Nashville.
Furthermore, according to Mr. O., the Rangers’ staff were also the last organization to take a seat at their table on Thursday, during rounds 2-7 of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft:
As mentioned all-week, I’m not a prospects guy, so I have no insight on the four players that the Rangers drafted on Thursday. Apparently, the official website of the Blueshirts doesn’t know much about this quartet either, as they have yet to post a press release. However, they do have shiny graphics and some short interviews posted with the players, media materials which you can find here: https://www.nhl.com/rangers/team/draft-central?icmp=int_web_nyr_draft-central_lp_DL_230628
The players that Chris “ZOOM ZOOM” Drury (who still refuses to do any sort of media at all) drafted on Thursday are:
#90, Drew Fortescue, a 6’3″ and 170-pound southpaw defenseman and a player familiar with new Rangers’ assistant coach, Dan Muse, as both are from the U.S.N.T.D.P. Fortescue will be attending Boston College in the Fall, as he will join Perreault at the university.
#152, Rasmus Larsson, who is described as a big-bodied Swede, as he stands at 6’3″ and weighs in at 205 pounds. Similar to Fortescue, Larsson is also a left-hand shot defenseman. He is slated to start the Fall at Northern Michigan.
#178, Dylan Roobroeck, who is another healthy young man, as he stands at 6’7″ and weighs in at 210 pounds. He’s a center, and may draw comparisons to former Blueshirt, Brian Boyle. There’s no confirmation where he’ll play this Fall, but the money is on that he stays in the OHL (Oshawa Generals).
#183, Ty Henricks, another tall drink of water, as the left-winger stands at 6’5″ and weighs in at 205 pounds. It’s not confirmed where he’ll play in the Fall, as he does have a commitment with Western Michigan, but may remain in the USHL (Muskegon Lumberjacks) instead.
One last time, as someone who has never heard of these players before (and you can’t really judge late-round picks until five-years down the line anyway); my initial impression is that Drury favored North Americans and big “hosses” during this draft.
As mentioned on Wednesday night, it’s thought that Perreault was the best player available when the Rangers went to the podium.
Everyone else that the Rangers drafted stands at 6’3″ or more, and outside of Fortescue, all of these kids are already over 200 pounds too.
As said at the top of this, I don’t have much time tonight, so in turn, this is the shortest blog ever posted on this website! BlueCollarBlueShirts.com history folks!
I’ll be back over the weekend where we should have some free agency news to talk about.
PLUGS TIME! (Buy a book and support my Rangers’ induced therapy bills. After all, I don’t run ads on this site!)
My first plug of tonight’s blog – the mandatory plug for my book, “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden.”
As mentioned previously, the book is now available in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle formats. To purchase a copy of the book, visit this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Rafters-Madison-Square-Garden-ebook/dp/B09CM5N2WD
For those still looking for signed paperback versions of the book, I have re-ordered more copies. I now have a few signed copies for sale at $25 a pop (includes shipping price) through me directly. Here is all the information on that:
Order “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden” Book Today
My four-volume set of books, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is a game-by-game recount of the Rangers 2021-22 campaign.
My second title as an author, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is now available in eBook, paperback and hardcover formats.
To obtain signed copies, visit: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/onegamebook/
To purchase all four volumes on Amazon, visit: Amazon.com – “One Game at a Time.”
The greatest volume-set of books on Rangers’ history today!
“Tricks of the Trade – A Century-Long Journey Through Every Trade Made In New York Rangers’ History,” a four-volume set of books that meticulously covers every trade made in franchise history, is now on sale.
All four volumes of the title can be purchased on Amazon.com and are presented in three different formats – eBook, paperback and hardcover.
To purchase Volume I: Conn Smythe (1926) – Craig Patrick (1986), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume II: Phil Esposito (1986) – Neil Smith (2000), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume III: Glen Sather (2000-2015), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume IV: Jeff Gorton (2015) – Chris Drury (2022), visit Amazon.com
To purchase signed copies of all four volumes, visit https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/
Here are my last few blogs, in case you missed them:
Complete 2023 NHL Draft Coverage & Thoughts; Rangers Select Gabriel Perreault in First-Round; What’s Next For Him, “Pizza Man” Chris Drury Won’t Serve ESPN’s Emily Kaplan a Slice; The Trades and No Trades Made, NYR Future & More
Jim Ramsay Joins Jeff Gorton in Montreal; Roving Ricky O’s Scoop on Rammer’s Firing, Rangers Release 2023-24 Schedule; Lots of Saturday Games for Road-Trippers & More
NHL Award Voters/Media Make Fools Out of Themselves Again: Karlsson (-26) Wins Norris Trophy over Fox; Stamkos Blasts The Rainbow Media Mob Too, The One Award McDavid Lost, The Best 2023 NHL Awards Show Recap Around; SNL’s Chris Farley Honored, “Draft, Trades, Free Agency, Oh My” Ahead & More
If you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog for the next update:
Don’t forget to order my recently released four-volume set of books, “Tricks of the Trade!”
If you don’t order through me, all four volumes are now available on Amazon.com
For more details, check out: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/
Thanks for reading.
LET’S GO RANGERS!
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the Tweeter machine
