Rangers will have cutouts in the stands for NWHL’s Riveters and Whale in Lake Placid
So, who gets to keep the cutouts?
The 2020-21 NWHL season begins on Jan. 23 in Lake Placid, New York, and the New York Rangers will be in the stands supporting the Metropolitan Riveters and Connecticut Whale. Well, sort of.
Of course, fans will not be in attendance at Lake Placid because of the pandemic so the NWHL’s six franchises have made it possible for fans to submit pictures of themselves (and their pets) to be made into cardboard cutouts to fill the seats. Today, the NWHL announced that cutouts of all 25 Rangers will be in the stands at the Herb Brooks Arena in support of the Riveters and Whale. You love to see it.
“When we’re competing for the Isobel Cup, seeing the faces of all the Rangers players in the stands at Herb Brooks Arena will have us fired up,” said Whale captain and veteran defender Shannon Doyle.
NEWS: The @NYRangers will have cardboard cutouts of their 25 players in the stands in Lake Placid in support of the @Riveters and @CTWhale_NWHL. Very cool gesture of support. #NYR
— Mike Murphy (@DigDeepBSB) January 5, 2021
“This is an extraordinary gesture by the New York Rangers.” - @russooo18 pic.twitter.com/aKrRclbqq8
It’s a small but welcome gesture of support from the Rangers who have collaborated with the NWHL in the past for hockey clinics and camps for girls in the Tri-State area. Although it’s unclear if there is any financial support involved, group packages (five cutouts or more) cost $40 each. Individual cutouts, for those who are interested in joining the Rangers in the stands, will cost you $50.
First-year Connecticut Whale general manager Amy Scheer had high praise for the Rangers. “The New York Rangers have always been genuine advocates of hockey as a game for everyone,” Scheer shared in the league’s release. “We appreciate their leadership and what they’ve done to cheer on our Connecticut Whale and the rest of the women in Lake Placid.”
This is the kind of gesture and support members of the women’s hockey community have been hoping to see from NHL players and clubs. It’s simple but it can make a big impact in drawing more eyes to the Riveters, Whale, and to women’s hockey in general. One more thread connecting the NWHL — and specifically the Riveters and Whale — to the Rangers can only be good news for professional women’s hockey in the area.
If you want to learn more about the NWHL, the Riveters, the Whale, and get into women’s hockey, go check out SB Nation’s The Ice Garden. You won’t regret it.
