New York Rangers‘ sophomore defenseman Brady Skjei(76) found his way into 7 big league games as a rookie scoring no points, but came away with a +1 rating.
The big blue liner led affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack first year d-men in assists (24) and scoring (28) in a career high 68 AHL games.
He would make the Blueshirts out of training camp for 2016/2017 and has played his way into a top role on the team.
With 13 assists through 31 games, he already is showing a marked improvement over stats he was able to post through three years of college hockey and closer to what he was able to achieve in his initial year as a pro.
The 22-year old also just potted his first NHL goal, which makes sense considering he averages over a shot on net per game.
This is definitely a high draft selection that learned a great deal from his time in the minors and has arrived into his game quickly.
Brady Skjei (6)
New York Rangers‘ 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (#28 overall) defenseman Brady Skjei(6) received his first recall from minor league affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack just over a couple months into his rookie season.
The fairly large 6’3″ 207 lbs. blue liner decided to turn pro after three years at University Of Minnesota and previously two campaigns of juniors in the USHL with the US National Development Team Program.
He joined the farm team on an ato late last season and skated in all 15 Calder Cup Playoff games scoring his first AHL goal and adding 2 assists.
Upon being reassigned, he’s appeared in 28 contests, affecting the score sheet unlike he’s ever done with 2 goals and 11 assists.
In his 2 NHL games he skated an average of 22 shifts for roughly 15 minutes of ice time with 2 shots on net, 2 hits, 4 break ups, 1 giveaway, 3 takeaways, 2 penalty minutes and 4:21 in short-handed situations.
The team went 1-1 while he was up.
The 21-year old is signed to a three year entry level contract and could spend the remainder 2015/2016 in Connecticut to continue his progress but he’s definitely being given a good look to see how he reacts, when given the opportunity with the big club.