According to Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants, the Rangers have acquired defensive prospect Tim Erixon (Jan's son) from the Calgary Flames in exchange for their two second-round picks in the 2011 Draft and forward prospect Roman Horak. The Flames apparently had until 5 p.m. today to sign Erixon before he re-entered the draft, but GM Glen Sather was able to work out a deal to acquire the 6-foot-2, 190-pound defenseman before then and later would ink Erixon to a new contract here in New York.
Here is the scouting report on Erixon courtesy of Hockey's Future:
A very smart defenseman that plays a solid two-way game. Erixon is not very spectacular, but plays an effective and rather simple game. He does not throw his body around, but can be aggressive and has active stickwork. Hockey sense is very good and so is his offensive positioning. Not a pure offensive force, but has enough skills to put up points and quarterback the powerplay if needed. Furthermore, he has good size and mobility and handles the puck well.
Erixon, 20-years-old, had five goals and 19 assists in 48 games played last season in the Swedish Elite League.
This could potentially create more competition at the defensive position come training camp in September. When you think about guys like Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger or Matt Gilroy who are on the bubble, if this kid shows up determined, there is a chance he could push one of them out of the picture.
As for Horak, from what I have heard about him, he had potential but maybe was being overshadowed by the likes of Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello and Christian Thomas. The Rangers need a puck-moving, quarterbacking defenseman more than they do another depth forward right now, so in my opinion this was a smart trade by Slats.
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Colin Campbell Steps Down
In other news, TSN is reporting that Colin Campbell is stepping down as the NHL's head of discipline and former Ranger Brendan Shanahan is most likely to take over the job. More on that here.
