Rangers taking 22 prospects to Traverse City

• Tournament Preview

A group of 22 prospects will represent the Rangers next month at the annual Traverse City (Mich.) Prospects Tournament, which the Blueshirts won in 2007.

Michael Del Zotto is headed back to Traverse City with the Rangers prospects.

Sixteen of the 22 members of the 2009 roster are players whose NHL rights are currently owned by the Rangers. Ten players are Rangers draftees from the past two years, while six others have already signed their first NHL contracts with the team.

The remaining six players are either under contract to the Hartford Whalers, the Rangers' AHL affiliate, or players who are being monitored on a tryout basis.

Fifteen of the 22 players participated in the Rangers' annual Prospect Development Camp earlier this summer. This includes 2009 draft picks Ethan Werek, Ryan Bourque, Scott Stajcer and Daniel Maggio. Roman Horak, the team's 2009 fourth-round pick out of the Czech Republic, will also go to Traverse City in preparation for his first full season in North America.

Defenseman Michael Del Zotto, the Rangers' 2008 first-round pick and forward Evgeny Grachev, who won the Ontario Hockey League's Rookie of the Year Award last season after being taken in the third round of the 2008 draft, will be returning to the tournament along with forwards Justin Soryal and Dale Weise, who both played for the Wolf Pack last season. Tysen Dowzak, a defenseman who spent most of last season in the WHL, is also back from the 2008 team.

Here is a look at the complete Rangers schedule and roster:

2009 Traverse City Prospects Tournament

RANGERS SCHEDULE
Day	Date	Opponent	Time
Sunday	Sept. 6	Rangers vs. Carolina	3 p.m.
Monday	Sept. 7	Rangers vs. Atlanta	3 p.m.
Wednesday	Sept. 9	Rangers vs. Detroit	7 p.m.
Thursday	Sept. 10	Placement Game	TBD

2009 NY RANGERS TRAVERSE CITY PROSPECTS TOURNAMENT ROSTER
Forwards
No.	Player	POS.	HT	WT	Age	2008-09 Team (League)
63	Daniel Bartek	C	6-3	195	20	Everett (WHL)
60	Ryan Bourque	C	5-9	175	18	USA Under-18 Team
57	Chris Chappell	LW	6-4	209	21	Saginaw (OHL)
58	Paul Crowder	C	6-3	202	24	Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA); Hartford (AHL)
56	Craig Cunningham	LW	5-9	175	19	Vancouver (WHL)
59	Evgeny Grachev	C	6-4	220	19	Brampton (OHL)
64	Roman Horak	C	6-0	189	18	Ceske-Budejovice (Czech)
67	Luke Pither	C	6-0	183	20	Guelph-Belleville (OHL)
53	Justin Soryal	LW	6-2½	209	22	Hartford (AHL)
55	Luke Walker	RW	6-2	175	19	Portland (WHL)
65	Dale Weise	RW	6-2	206	21	Hartford (AHL)
61	Ethan Werek	C	6-1	199	18	Kingston (OHL)
Defensemen
47	Mike Berube	D	6-0	215	21	Vancouver (WHL)
43	Michael Del Zotto	D	6-0½	191	19	Oshawa-London (OHL)
48	Tysen Dowzak	D	6-5	226	21	Kelowna (WHL); Hart. (AHL); Charl. (ECHL)
51	Mitch Gaulton	D	5-11	206	19	Erie (OHL)
70	Trevor Glass	D	6-0	187	21	Spokane (WHL)
72	Sam Klassen	D	6-2	199	20	Saskatoon (WHL)
46	Tomas Kundratek	D	6-2	190	19	Medicine Hat (WHL); Hartford (AHL)
52	Daniel Maggio	D	6-2½	205	18	Sudbury (OHL)
Goaltenders
96	Chad Johnson	G	6-3	200	23	Alaska-Fairbanks (CCHA)
94	Scott Stajcer	G	6-3	195	18	Owen Sound (OHL)