Rangers Select Pavel Cajan in CHL Import Draft

On Tuesday, the Rangers selected Czech goaltender Pavel Cajan with the 41st overall pick in the Canadian Hockey League's annual import draft. The yearly event allows for the 60 CHL clubs to select up to two import players to add to their roster for the season to come. 

The Rangers opted to only used one of their two selections with Finnish blueliner Ville Ottavainen slated to return for another season with the blueshirts. 

Cajan, a 6'2 and 176lb netminder suited up for the Bili Tygri Liberec U20 squad as a 17-year old last season and boasted a 3.13GAA and a 0.915SV% over 29 contests. He also posted a 1.55GAA and 0.917SV% over three games in U18 international play with Czech Republic.

The late 2002-born Cajan is eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft and will join overage candidate Lucas Pfeil and newly signed Jackson Parsons as the potential candidates to play between the pipes for the Rangers next season, if he reports. 

He is currently slated to be loaned to HC Benatky nad Jizerou in the Czech2 league next season. 

UPDATE: Per Josh Brown (@BrownRecord), the Rangers have talked to both Pavel Cajan and his agent and Cajan wants to join the team next season. 

The North Bay Battalion owned the top pick and used it to select Russian forward, Matvei Petrov. The full draft results can be found here.

Four Rangers Prospects Invited to Hockey Canada's Under-17 Development Camp

Today, Hockey Canada announced the rosters for their National Under-17 Virtual Development Camp. Among the 113 players invited, four Rangers draft picks were included in twins Andrew and Jacob LeBlanc, defenceman George Fegaras and goaltender Jackson Parsons. 

Former Waterloo Siskins bench boss, Chris Lazary, now at the helm of the Saginaw Spirit, was also announced as one of the head coaches for the camp. 

The yearly event, held virtually this year, is Hockey Canada's first look at the top Under-17 talent ahead of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which will be co-hosted in Charlottetown and Summerside, Prince Edward Island from Oct. 31-Nov. 7 this year. 

In all, 49 Ontario Hockey League prospects were invited to take part along with a number of OHL club staff. 

The full roster, including players and staff can be found here.

Rangers Launch Community Initiative

On Tuesday, the Rangers announced the launch on Rangers Reach, a new non-profit organization working closely with the hockey club. The organization will take care of the community involvement that team has already establishing while also continuing to expand their reach.

Since 2002, the Rangers have put $15 million back into the community through a variety of methods, including sports scholarships, facility improvements, sport access for marginalized youth and supporting numerous community causes, among others. 

Rangers Reach begins with four staff members, Craig Campbell (Executive Director), Tim Jackson (Board Chair), Kelly McManus (Director) and Lynne Short (Director).

Some popular examples of what the Rangers are looking to accomplish with the separation of community involvement from team operations include the Toronto Blue Jays' Jays Care Foundation or Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment's MLSE Foundation.

You can visit the new Rangers Reach website here.

Mike McKenzie to Resume Role as Head Coach

On Wednesday, the Rangers announced that General Manager and Interim Head Coach Mike McKenzie will remove the Interim tag and assume to role as Head Coach for the 2020-21 season. 

Over 42 games at the helm last season after taking over for Jay McKee in November, McKenzie coached the blueshirts to a 33-6-0-3 record prior to the season getting cut short. 

The Rangers will return as a younger team next season and McKenzie will have the opportunity to develop the next young core of Rangers players. 

With the unknowing of what next season will look like, "Right now, this decision makes the most sense for our organization," said McKenzie in the Rangers news release.

According to the Ontario Hockey League's media guide, Mike McKenzie joins Guelph's George Burnett and Mississauga's James Richmond as the only team personnel to hold both the Head Coach and General Manager duties.

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In Canadian Hockey League news, the CHL also confirmed that the CHL Import Draft will take place on June 30th. The Rangers are expected to make one selection this season. 

Parsons invited to Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp

Recent Rangers draftee Jackson Parsons has been invited to participate in Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp, which will take place virtually this year from June 9th to 12th due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with Parsons, Cambridge native Tristan Lennox was also invited to take part in the camp.

The camp provides Hockey Canada the opportunity to see the netminders that could compete for spots on each of their national squads throughout the season at the U17, U18 and U20 levels. Invitees will take part in online sessions focusing on development, mental and physical performance, and more.

In all, 23 goaltenders across the country were invited to take part, including seven with OHL connections: Brett Brochu (London), Domenic DiVincentiis (North Bay), Matteo Drobac (Hamilton), Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia), Nolan Lalonde (Erie), Tristan Lennox (Saginaw), Jackson Parsons (Kitchener) 

Bergkvist Signs in Sweden

Former Rangers blueliner Axel Bergkvist has signed a one-year pro deal with BIK Karlskoga, a member of the Allsvenskan in Sweden. Bergkvist, Arizona's 7th round pick in 2019, joined the blueshirts for one season after being selected in the second round of last year's CHL import draft.

After a slow start on East Ave., Bergkvist finished the season picking up 52 points (9G, 43A) in 62 contests with the Rangers, good enough for fifth in team scoring.

With Bergkvist's departure, it opens up an import slot for the Rangers to use in the upcoming CHL import draft, which is tentatively scheduled to take place June 30th. 

Finnish defenceman Ville Ottavainen signed with Karpat in Liiga back in April but is expected to return for another season with the Rangers, using up the team's second import selection. 

Checkin' In - Rangers Roster (June Edition)

With the OHL trade window opening today for the month of June, I figured I would take a look at what the Rangers look like going into it. One year ago, the Rangers used this June trade window to acquire what would arguably end up being the most important piece to their roster for the 2019-20 campaign, Jacob Ingham.

Currently, the Rangers have 12 forwards, 8 defenceman, and 2 goalies signed. Let's meet 'em:

Forwards: 
Graham Dickerson ('01)
Mike Petizian ('01)
Declan McDonnell ('02)
Reid Valade ('02)
Joseph Serpa ('02)
Isaac Langdon ('02)
Mitchell Martin ('03)
Matthew Sop ('03)
Jesse Fishman ('03)
Francesco Pinelli ('03)
Trent Swick ('04)
Andrew LeBlanc ('04)

Defencemen:
Holden Wale ('00)
Justin MacPherson ('00)
Arber Xhekaj ('01)
Michael Vukojevic ('01)
Donovan Sebrango ('02)
Ville Ottavainen ('02)
Simon Motew ('03)
Jacob LeBlanc ('04)

Goaltenders:
Lucas Pfeil ('00)
Jackson Parsons ('04)

Not included are signed 2000-born players Riley Damiani (DAL), Serron Noel (FLA) and Jacob Ingham (LAK), as they'll be graduating to the pro ranks with their respective NHL organizations in the 2020-21 season.

2001-born forward Carter Tresoor is still signed with the club but has not played since the 2018-19 season.