The annual prospect tournament set to begin on September 11, 2010

New York, July 26, 2010 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today the preliminary roster for the 2010 Traverse City Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. The annual prospect tournament is scheduled to begin on September 11 when the Rangers’ prospects face-off against the Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospects. This marks the fifth consecutive year that a team of Rangers prospects will be going to Traverse City for the eight-team tournament.

A group of 22 prospects will represent the Rangers next month at the annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament, which the Blueshirts won in 2007. Nineteen of the 22 members of the 2010 roster are players whose NHL rights are currently owned by the Rangers. Eleven players are Rangers draftees from the past two years, while eight others have already signed their first NHL contracts with the team.

Seventeen of the 22 players participated in the Rangers’ annual Prospect Development Camp earlier this summer. This includes 2010 draft picks Dylan McIlrath, Christian Thomas, Andrew Yogan, Jason Wilson and Randy McNaught.

Forward Evgeny Grachev, the Rangers’ 2008 third round selection, will be returning to the tournament for the third straight season. He will be joined by fellow 2008 third round draft pick, defenseman Tomas Kundratek, who was a member of the Rangers’ Traverse City team last summer. Five players from the 2009 draft class – forwards Ryan Bourque, Ethan Werek and Roman Horak, defenseman Daniel Maggio and goaltender Scott Stajcer – are also back from the 2009 team, as is defenseman Sam Klassen.

Competing in the tournament’s “Gretzky Division”, the Rangers will play round-robin games against Carolina, Columbus and Minnesota, beginning with a September 11 tilt against Columbus’ prospects. Their placement in the round-robin will determine who they face in the championship round that concludes the tournament.

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