The off-season may be in its low period, but the New York Rangers continue to be busy improving their franchise.
According to reports, the Rangers made multiple scouting hires Monday afternoon with the hiring of Ari Vuori as director of European scouting. Vuori comes from Toronto where he spent seven years in the same role with the Maple Leafs.
Doug Gasper, Derek Richard, Pierre Rioux, and Ernie Vargas were also reportedly hired as amateur scouts.
New York touts one of the best farm systems across the NHL, and the need for consistency among their scouts has been paramount as the franchise shifts from a rebuilding team to a contending core.
Seven Rangers to Watch at World Juniors
The Rangers also happily announced that seven of their prospects would play for their respective countries in the World Juniors this week.
Brennan Othmann, Will Cuylle, and Dylan Garland will represent Canada, while Brett Berard is the lone representative for the Rangers in the United States. Berard’s college teammate Jaroslav Chmelař will represent the Czech Republic.
2022 second-round pick Adam Sykora will represent his home country of Slovakia, while Kalle Väisänen will play for Finland.
Othmann is the lone first-round pick of the group playing for the Rangers. Othmann was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
The other prospects have been later-round selections that New York has done an excellent job of developing into one of the top prospect groups in the league.
As general manager Chris Drury looks to continue to add pieces to a team that made the conference final last season, it’s important to note the success of the deep farm system that the team also holds as well.
That success could very well be future Ranger’s success as well.
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