Rangers Sign Adam Tambellini to Entry-Level Contract

The New York Rangers have signed Adam Tambellini to an entry-level contract, the team has announced. Tambellini, 20, was a third-round pick in the 2013 draft.

It's a well-earned contract for Tambellini. While I have liked Tambellini for a while, going into this season I didn't think it was a lock that he'd earn a contract. His play this season with the Calgary Hitmen gave the Rangers no choice, however. Tambellini has scored 45 goals and added 34 assists in just 65 games with the Hitmen, putting him fourth overall in the WHL in goals and sixth in points. It's worth nothing that Tambellini is playing as an overager, but he's a very young overager, and those numbers are crazy anyway.

I ranked Tambellini 18th overall in my January Prospect Rankings, but the reason why the Rangers finally felt they should sign Tambellini is that he's really closed the gap on the holes in his game. He added about 15 pounds this past offseason, and while he still needs to add more it's done wonders for him in shielding the puck and winning board battles. He's also become much more active defensively and has turned into a good PKer. He's a player who will need a good amount of seasoning in the AHL and perhaps even the ECHL, but I like him as a dark-horse prospect who has top-six upside in the mold of an Anders Lee.

The signing of Tambellini means that only Pavel Buchnevich is left to sign from the 2013 draft, and that seems inevitable. It's just another mark of excellence on Gordie Clark's tenure with the New York Rangers.

Editor's Note By Joe Fortunato: I deleted the highlights because they were making the load times crazy long. I'll see if Adam can't work them into another story where they don't play automatically.