Whenever a player is pursued as a free agent without ever playing a game in the NHL, drama follows. The Nashville Predators originally selected Vesey in the third round of the 2012 entry draft. The Boston native stayed at Harvard for three more seasons before announcing he would not report to the Predators and would become a free agent.
Vesey, after a long recruiting process, chose to sign a two year deal with the Rangers. Vesey’s rookie season was front heavy, 21 of his 27 points came before the start of the 2017 calendar year. This could be attributed to the physical toll of an NHL season in comparison to a college hockey season.