OFFICIAL: Rangers Sign Prospect Tyler Wall to Entry-Level Contract
The goaltender was in his senior year at UMass-Lowell
The New York Rangers have signed goaltending prospect Tyler Wall to an entry-level contract, as first reported by the Lowell Sun’s Barry Scanlon and later confirmed by the organization.
Pretty good day for Tyler Wall. Mechanical engineering major takes last final at UMass Lowell. Then, hours later, senior goaltender signs contract with N.Y. Rangers.
— Barry Scanlon (@Scanlon65) May 8, 2020
Wall, 22, had just completed his senior season at Umass-Lowell (cut short by the pandemic). The Rangers were set to lose their exclusive rights to the 2016 sixth-round pick in August but were seemingly able to convince him to join the team’s increasingly crowded goaltending ranks.
Wall had an incredibly successful college hockey career. He backstopped the River Hawks to a Hockey East championship as a freshman in 2016-2017, earning all-tournament honors and playing a big role as the team made it to the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, shutting out Cornell in the opening round. He struggled mightily as a sophomore, losing his starting job, but regained form as a junior and senior. He posted a .931 save percentage this past season behind a Umass-Lowell team that gave up a lot of shots and was one of the top goaltenders in the NCAA.
The Lundqvist/Shesterkin/Georgiev carousel has been a major talking point for and will continue to be for at least the next season, but Tyler Wall now joins Adam Huska in the minor leagues with the Rangers presumably hoping that one will step up and fill the backup spot down the line whenever the Rangers clear the decks for one of Shesterkin or Georgiev.
