Rangers Reassign Eight Players To The Hartford Wolf Pack

The New York Rangers announced more roster cuts this afternoon and have reduced their training camp roster by eight players. Among those reassigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack were Ryan Gropp, Malte Stromwall, Adam Tambellini, Alexei Bereglazov, John Gilmour, Vince Pedrie, Alexander Georgiev, Chris Nell.

The biggest surprise of the group is Alexei Bereglazov, who had a rather disappointing Traverse City tournament and only appeared in one preseason game. The thing to keep an eye with Bereglazov is that he has a European Assignment Clause in his contract, so it will be interesting to see if he reports to the AHL. He could opt to return to the KHL instead, thus ending any chance of an injury/midseason recall in the event that the Rangers need another defenseman.

The Rangers would still retain his rights though, so all is not lost if he does return to the KHL for the rest of the season. Following the recent round of cuts, the Rangers will have 11 defensemen remaining in camp. If the past is any indication, Alain Vigneault may decide to start the season with eight defensemen, which leaves Brandon Crawley, Ryan Graves, Steven Kampfer and Neal Pionk all fighting for the final roster spots.

The Rangers will play their fourth preseason game tonight against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.