Ronning Scores His 50th (and 51st) Goal of WHL Season ; Andersson Scores for Hartford
Ty Ronning, drafted by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Draft, has continued his torrid run of scoring. Last night, Ronning scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the third period. The goals gave his Vancouver Giants a win after entering the period down a goal.
It also gave him his 50th and 51st goals on the season. It’s an incredible feat given that he’s played just 55 games. He is also the first player in Vancouver Giants history to reach the 50-goal milestone. As mentioned before, Ronning is a 20-year-old playing against teenagers, so the accomplishment is muffled to a degree. It is not an indication of future superstardom.
It is, however, a notable accomplishment nonetheless. I spoke to a scout for an NHL team recently, and he admitted that Ronning deserved to be a fourth-round pick at the time of the draft, but inexplicably fell to the end of the seventh round. The Rangers were smart to pick him up then, and he’s rewarding them now with his production.
There have been reports that Ronning and the Rangers have essentially agreed to the framework of an NHL contract. Though one has not been confirmed, Ronning has acknowledged that discussions with the Rangers are ongoing. Assuming the two sides make it happen, Ronning should be an important member of the Wolf Pack next season, and he could challenge for an NHL spot as soon as 2019.
Lias Andersson scored his second goal in 10 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
He added a primary assist later in the game as well. He won a faceoff back to Ryan Graves, who blasted the puck past Charlotte goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
Andersson now has eight points in 10 games, though that statistic is somewhat hollow. Of his six assists, five are secondary assists. They do not all count the same. Research shows that secondary assists are largely coincidental rather than an indicator of repeatable impact. This is particularly true for prospects.
In any case, Andersson has played decently in his first string of AHL games. His Swedish team, Frolunda, announced that Andersson will spend the remainder of the season in North America. I would expect that, as he gets more acclimated, his play and production in Hartford will improve.
