The Rangers have asked a lot of Neal Pionk since he made his NHL debut on February 8. The University of Minnesota-Duluth alumni was almost immediately thrown to the wolves after being recalled from the Wolf Pack. Pionk has handled his trial by fire admirably and has even exceeded expectations. In the last 17 games he has shown that he has the quality to be a piece of the puzzle moving forward.
Pionk has shown remarkable consistency amidst the crumbling chaos of the Rangers post-deadline defense. His most frequent collaborators on the blue line have been left handers Marc Staal (143:13 5-on-5 TOI) and Brady Skjei (110:28 5-on-5 TOI).