While some of the star players on the New York Rangers have struggled so far this season, one player has stepped up to be a consistent force for the Blueshirts.  This takes the form of 22-year-old Jericho, N.Y. native Adam Fox, who trails only Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich for the team lead in points scored this season.
Fox certainly caught the attention of NBCSN’s Pierre McGuire during Wednesday night’s national broadcast, as the veteran announcer consistently heaped mounds of praise on Fox’s play throughout the overtime loss to the Bruins.
McGuire on TSN690 calls Adam Fox a "hockey brain surgeon" and says he is "brilliant out on the ice". #NYR
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) February 11, 2021
Even though it sounded like McGuire was working for Fox’s PR department, the young defenseman has certainly been worthy of praise for his play thus far.
Per @PR_NHL, Fox’s 49 career points are the fifth-most by a Ranger defenseman through their first 82 NHL games in franchise history (trailing only Brian Leetch, Sergei Zubov, Reijo Ruotsalainen, and Ron Greschner).
This play by Adam Fox was just ridiculous bruh ? pic.twitter.com/MIxEKfYzNN
— Andrew (@based_shesty) February 11, 2021
In addition to his time on the power-play unit, Fox has also been added to the penalty kill line. all of this has meant that Fox is now at the top of the Rangers time-on-ice list at just over 24 minutes per game. His presence has been needed for a defense that has been a little thinned out due to injuries to Jack Johnson and Brendan Smith, as well as having Tony DeAngelo being placed on waivers and told to stay home.
If Artemi Panarin has to miss anytime after suffering an injury in Wednesday night’s game, Fox will be counted on even more to pick up the slack.
This is not something that would seem to bother head coach David Quinn, who recently said about Fox in a Zoom conference that “He’s very easygoing. Not a lot rattles him, pressure doesn’t get to him. He’s pretty cool, calm, and collected off the ice, as well. But our guys recognize what type of player he is — and I think not only our guys but players across the league.”
Fox was selected by the Calgary Flames, 66th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft but decided to play college hockey at Harvard. In June 2018, Calgary traded Fox’s NHL rights to the Carolina Hurricanes, who traded them to the New York Rangers in April 2019 for two picks, something that now looks like quite a bargain.
Fox and the Rangers will get another shot at the Bruins Friday night as the two teams meet again at MSG with a 7 p.m. puck drop.