The unsigned NCAA player everyone remembers the New York Rangers signing was Neal Pionk. Undrafted, Pionk starred at Minnesota-Duluth, was signed by New York and within a year was a regular at the Garden. Is there another Neal Pionk out there?
For every Neal Pionk signed there are dozens of players who are inked to contracts and never make it to the NHL. Does anyone remember the players the Rangers or Hartford signed last spring?
The Rangers signed forward Patrick Newell from St. Cloud State. The Wolf Pack signed Ryan Dmowski from UMass-Lowell, Nick Jones from North Dakota, Lewis Zerter-Gossage from Harvard and Shawn McBride from American International College.