Rangers sign collegiate hockey forward after breakout season,

Fans of the New York Rangers have not had a great deal to get excited about this season given that it was made crystal clear from the outset that the team was focused entirely on their long term future and was prepared to sacrifice their short term success in order to make that as successful a future as possible. That being said the shrewd moves made by general manager Jeff Gorton over the course of the season have given the Rangers fan base plenty of reasons to be hopeful about that future, and now the Rangers have just added one more.

According to an official announcement from the Rangers franchise, the team has signed collegiate hockey standout Patrick Newell to an entry level contract. The Rangers are reporting that Newell's deal will only begin at the start of the 2019 - 2020 National Hockey League regular season so do not expect to see him in a Rangers uniform any time soon in spite of the fact that he is now officially under contract. 

This is a huge coup for the Rangers as there is very little doubt that Newell had turned the heads of a number of amateur scouts after his breakout season with St. Cloud State this season. Newell was a dominant force in what was unquestionable the best season of his young career, recording 21 goals and 26 assists for a whopping 47 points over the course of just 39 games played. The level of discipline he showed while putting up those numbers was no less impressive with Newell ending the season with a total of just 8 penalty minutes and recording a plus minus rating of +35 over the course of the full season.

When you consider the fact that the Rangers have shipped some of their most talented players to other teams around the league as they have looked to stock pule assets, this move makes a lot of sense for both sides. For the Rangers they get a 23 year old who will fit in perfectly with their push to get younger and rebuild while on the other side of the equation Newell signs on to a team that he knows will have spots available on their roster for him to compete for come next season. 

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