It took the New York Rangers eighteen games to finally call-up rookie forward Carl Hagelin as the fans have been calling for since training camp, and now, after having him play in two games, they must be very pleased with their decision to do so. See, when a player is brought up to the NHL club for the very first time in his career, you don't necessarily expect that wow factor to kick in right away. Hagelin, then, apparently is not your average rookie recall, because he's come in and taken the breath away of the coaching staff in just six periods of hockey, against two very tough opponents.
In order for a spot to open up for the 23-year-old Swede, quite the chain of events had to occur. In the first place, at least two spots needed to open up on the offensive bottom six, because the Rangers have a tendency to replace tough guy with tough guy under those circumstances. When both Mike Rupp and Wojtek Wolski were reportedly going to have surgery, many of us thought it would be Hagelin to get the recall. Surprise, surprise, the Rangers went with grinder/enforcer Andre Deveaux to fill the fourth line spot instead.
So now Hagelin needed Deveaux's spot to somehow open up, and thanks to a high elbow to the head of Tomas Fleischman, that very scenario occurred via suspension. Hagelin, along with John Mitchell, was then recalled, and John Tortorella being the youth-first coach that he is, scratched Erik Christensen last Friday so that Hagelin would get an opportunity in the lineup. Hagelin picked up an assist in that game against the Washington Capitals, which turned out to be a 6-3 win in favor of the Blueshirts, but his impression was made beyond the scoresheet.
One of the main reasons Hagelin was recalled is his speed, which is something we first were exposed to in September during the prospects tournament and preseason. This kid is not moderately quick, either. He joins this club and automatically contests Marian Gaborik as the fastest player on the squad. He's that quick on his skates.
His speed showed on Friday, especially on defense, and Torts said after the game that he felt Hagelin's effort and quickness almost served as a source of motivation for the guys on the bench. Those are pretty big words coming from the coach about a rookie playing in his first game, and knowing Tortorella as we do, we know Hagelin had to do something to earn that sort of praise.
In his second game, which was a day later against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden, Hagelin again impressed the coaching staff. So much so that Tortorella put him out on the ice, along with John Mitchell, in the final minute of the game to finish out the 2-0 victory. Actions speak louder than words in this situation, and the fact that Torts put those guys out there in a crucial point in the game speaks very highly of his trust in them. Which is a bit ironic since, again, it's a trust that was established in only two games.
But maybe there is no irony in it at all. Like I said, very few rookies are able to come in and have the immediate impact on a team that Hagelin has had on the Rangers. He's tremendous on both sides of the puck, he fits right into the forechecking system, he seems to be a headsy player and he most certainly has a superior skillset.
Not to mention he also recorded his first NHL goal in that game against Philadelphia, by batting the puck out of the air, I might add. Two points in his first two NHL games has to be something Hagelin is gaining confidence from, because I know the coaches definitely is.
Now I can already read the minds of some of you pessimists out there; "It's only two games, what if he isn't consistent? I think we need to calm down with this kid."
Fair enough. However, I mentioned above that it is not only on the scoresheet where Hagelin is making his impression. His speed enables him to be a tremendous two-way hockey player that is very responsible defensively and is also very effective on the forecheck. Like Ryan Callahan or Derek Stepan, when he is not scoring, there are other things that Hagelin does well to still impact the team in a positive way.
We really couldn't have expected a better start to Hagelin's NHL career, nor could he have hoped for one. If he continues to play like he did in his first two games as a Ranger, he will solidify a spot on this roster in no time.
You have to be real careful you don't make judgments in a negative way or a positive way on a couple of games. This [Hagelin] is still a young man who is going through the proper way of the process. I had a tremendous amount of interest in him when the season started, but we felt that he needed to go down (to Connecticut) to play, and he has grown---especially the past couple of weeks down there---and he certainly has played very well the first couple of games with us. - John Tortorella to Blueshirts United
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