As Alexander Georgiev prepares to make his second consecutive start for the New York Rangers, the media and the internet keep wondering how long the Blueshirts will carry three goaltenders. The likely scenario is that one of the three will get traded, with Georgiev the likely candidate. The thought of losing any of them can be eased by the fact that the Rangers have a very solid goaltending prospect in UMass-Lowell netminder Tyler Wall.
Not Just Another Brick in the Wall for the New York Rangers
Wall was selected by the Rangers in the sixth round with the 174th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. After a nice freshman season, Wall struggled a bit in his sophomore campaign. He turned things around when he started 21 games for the River Hawks in his junior campaign, posting an 11-7-3 record. He amassed a 2.09 GAA and a .921 save percentage with four shutouts. In his senior year so far, Wall has posted a stellar 1.80 GAA while compiling a 12-3-4 record, not to mention an outstanding .941 save percentage.
UMass-Lowell has been known for turning out NHL quality goaltenders which include alumni such as Carter Hutton (Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Buffalo), Kevin Boyle (Anaheim) and Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg). Back in November, Wall was tabbed as Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for the third consecutive week, also receiving that honor for four of those previous six weeks. He was also named the Hockey East Goaltender of the month for November. The UML senior is a candidate to win the Mike Richter Award, which is given to honor the outstanding goaltender in NCAA men’s hockey. Yes, that Mike Richter, who has his number 35 retired by the Rangers.
Wall has attended multiple Rangers Prospects Development camps. It was there he witnessed first-hand that hard work is what separates those who climb the hockey ladder from those who do not. Between these camps and his performance at UML, the conventional wisdom has the Rangers signing Wall to a contract and letting him begin his career in the AHL. Steady progress could mean that Wall would be ready around the time Henrik Lundqvist’s contract expires and/or when he decides to retire. The Rangers would be very happy to have a solid Wall in the net for the foreseeable future.