As the Rangers' rebuild continues to unfold, expect Neal Pionk to grow into an important piece of the puzzle. Rangers fans have only seen a small sliver of what Pionk has to offer, but they must like what they're seeing.
The 22-year-old defenseman has played 15 career NHL games to date, recording five assists. Granted, this is a small sample, but I think the kid is showing a lot of promise. The constants that Pionk demonstrates are slick skating, an ability to make smart plays with the puck and a tendency to get shots through. He packs a heavy one-timer.
Eventually, that package of offensive talents can lead to solid production at the NHL level. He contributed one goal and 16 assists in 48 games for the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack prior to his call-up Feb. 8.
Pionk provided the primary assist on Mats Zuccarello's second-period goal in Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers. He has tallied four assists in the last six games. Three of the four assists have been primary assists. Pionk is tied for first among Rangers defensemen in both assists (five) and points (five) since making his debut Feb. 9.
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On the defensive side of the puck, Pionk has shown an aptitude for dispossessing opponents with solid stick-checking, and he demonstrates good gap control. The potential is there for the 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander to develop into a quality two-way defenseman.
Pionk certainly has top-four defenseman potential written all over him. He's quick at joining the attack and getting back into position defensively. Size, physicality and shot-blocking aren't the criteria that are valued in young defensemen. The ol' lumbering, stay-at-home, safety-valve kind of guy is a thing of the past.
Nowadays, teams want to get their hands on as many plus skaters who can be a positive factor in all three zones. In Pionk, 24-year-old John Gilmour and 22-year-old Tony DeAngelo, the Rangers have three of a kind. They're young defensemen who offer speed, poise with the puck on their sticks and playmaking instincts
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Eventually, Yegor (Igor) Rykov will join them at Madison Square Garden. The 20-year-old is skating in his third season with SKA St. Petersburgh of the KHL. Though he possesses a larger frame (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) than Pionk, Gilmour (6-foot, 195 pounds) and DeAngelo (5-foot-11, 181 pounds), he is known for his cerebral play, and he's gotten plenty of seasoning against KHL pros despite his youthful age.
General manager Jeff Gorton's eye and the work of coach Keith McCambridge and his staff at Hartford have established a pipeline of young defensemen coming through. With Rykov and 19-year-old shutdown man Libor Hajek in the system and a seven picks (three first-round, two second-round and two third-round) in the first three rounds of the 2018 draft, there's going to be a lot of quality and competition for blue line places at the Garden for years to come.
Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey
