Oil Kings list Oilers prospect

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TPS has learned that back in October the Edmonton Oil Kings added 2009 Oilers draft pick Troy Hesketh to their protected list, meaning should Hesketh decide to play in the WHL, he'll skate in Edmonton.

Rangers Prospect Snap Shot

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The New York Rangers are one of the "original six" franchises of the National Hockey League. They were an expansion team back in 1926 and won their first of four Stanley Cup Championship victories came at the end of the 1927-28 season. It was the first time an American team had captured Lord Stanley's Mug. The Rangers won the Cup again in '33, '40 and the most recent title came in 1994.

The Rangers missed the post season for 7 consecutive years from 1997-98 to 2003-04 despite having one of the largest payrolls in the NHL. After the lockout in 2004-05, the Blueshirts have been in the playoffs each year but have fizzled out early, not getting passed the second round.

The Rangers have had a mixture of bad luck, bad picks and tragedy when it comes to their failures at the NHL Draft. While they've made several strong picks over the years, especially in recent years, the team has had more than its fair share of misfortune as well. Netminder Dan Blackburn was forced to retire due to injury, cutting short what appeared to be a very promising career. Obviously the death of Alexei Cherepanov is tragic on its own but viewed strictly from a hockey perspective, it was also a blow to the Rangers' prospect ranks.

Here's a look at what's Coming Down the Pipe for the New York Rangers...

5 To Watch For In The AHL

Last week Guy threw out some names who might be WHL rookie of the year candidates. Today I have 5 players to watch for in the AHL who might vy for the top freshman award.

1. Michael Backlund-forward-Calgary Flames
The Swede was all over the map last year, playing for his home country, then staying in Canada after the World Junior Championship. Backlund, drafted 24th by the Flames in 2007, played one game with the big club before joining the Kelowna Rockets for their Memorial Cup run. Is Backlund ready for the NHL? I don't think so, but he's certainly ready to excel with Abbotsford of the AHL.

2. Thomas Hickey-Defence-LA Kings
Hickey was pencilled in on the shut down pairing with Colton Teubert at the WJC in Ottawa, but the pair struggled and the role fell to Keith Aulie and Tyler Myers. Despite that, Hickey is ready to say goodbye to the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds and join the perennial successful Manchester Monarchs. Hickey suited up for 7 games when the T-birds season wrapped up last year and netted 7 points. This after putting up 51 points in 57 games including 15 goals with Seattle. The Kings shocked everyone when they snagged Hickey 4th overall (ahead of Karl Alzner) in 2007, but some time in the AHL should get him ready to join the already impressive blueline in LA. Expect Hickey to see some action in the NHL next year.

3. Logan Couture-Forward-San Jose
4 years in the OHL is enough for the 9th overall pick of 2007. Couture averaged more than a point per game during his junior career including scoring 39 goals and 87 points in 62 games for Ottawa last year. I'm not sure why this guy has never been a player for Hockey Canada, but I think he'll make a good pro. After some seasoning with Worcester of the AHL that is.

4. Ryan McDonagh-Defence-New York Rangers
Will the Rangers as Mcdonagh to leave Wisconsin after 2 years and turn pro? That's what I'm banking on with him on this list. The blueliner was involved in the trade that send Scott Gomez to Montreal and New York might want to get his pro career started. With Bobby Sanguinetti likely graduating to the big club this year there will be an opening on the blueline with the farm.

5. Angelo Esposito-Forward-Atlanta
An injury derailed what was a pretty good season for Esposito. After a good first half with Montreal and a decent WJC Esposito was shut down in the 2nd half, ending up with 42 points in 35 games. He played one AHL the year before in Chicago. Atlanta's farm club is full of AHL veterans that would be a nice help in Esposito's development. That is if he doesn't blow the Trashers socks off in training camp and make the team.


Also watch out for a few other players like Keith Aulie in Abbotsford as it's not likely the Brandon Wheat King will get to participate in the Memorial Cup. Jonathan Blum was the top blueliner in the WHL and should start rising up the rankings in Nashvilles organization. How about Riley Nash? The Oilers prospect is pretty sure he's heading back to Cornell, but a lot could change between now and then. Physically he's probably ready for the AHL and I think it's better to struggle for the first half and succeed in the 2nd half of the AHL then have a good full season in college.

Wednesday Re-Set

No you're not losing your mind, it's still Tuesday but with the show being a day earlier this week... well figure it out.

Last night on The Pipeline Show we began with this week's 2009 Prospect Performer: Ryan O'Reilly of the Erie Otters. Simply judging by stats and the 6', 205 lb frame... Millard wondered out loud whether O'Reilly might be compared to former Brampton Battalion forward Raffi Torres. That's one we'll throw out to those of you who have seen both play as juniors - you tell us!

From Pennsylvania we moved West to Wisconsin in order to fulfill a requested player interview. Montreal fans were asked a few weeks back to pick a prospect that they would like to hear more from and they chose 2007 1st round pick Ryan McDonagh. The Badgers blueliner was a fantastic interview, one both Dean and I considered to be one of the best of Season 4.

Our entire second hour was dedicated to the WHL playoffs. We were joined by Cam Moon, voice of the Red Deer Rebels, and his Regina counterpart Rod Pedersen. Those two 'Dub insiders helped us breakdown the 1st round matchups in the Eastern Conference including tonight's pivotal 1-game series between Edmonton and Prince Albert.

To help us tackle the Western Conference we brought in Allan Bristowe of PGTV, better known as the newest blogger here at 'Coming Down the Pipe!'. Bristowe went on and on (and on) about the P.G. Cougars but found enough time to put his homer goggles away when making his predictions.

You can hear what Moon, Pedersen, Millard, Bristowe and Flaming came up with for 1st round predicitons plus our guesses for WHL Conference champs and Memorial Cup representative... or wait another day when we add A.J. Jacubec's picks to the mix after the Raiders/Oil Kings tilt tonight.

You can hear the complete March 16th edition of The Pipeline Show, conveniently cut into segments, by visiting the archives HERE.

And feel free to make YOU'RE WHL playoff predictions in the comments section below... in fact, we demand it!