The selection of defenseman EJ Emery may have been a steal for the New York Rangers.
The Rangers drafted Emery with the 30th overall pick in June as Chris Drury was able to beef up the team’s defensive prospect pool.
For fans that don’t know much about Emery’s game, former Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy will get you excited about the young prospect.
“Rangers fans are going to love him,” Gilroy said via Jim Cerny of Forever Blueshirts.
If anyone has the right to make these claims, it’s Gilroy. The 40-year-old served as an assistant for two seasons with the USNTDP and was recently named assistant coach at Harvard University, so he knows what a promising prospect looks like.
Gilroy went into detail about not just his play on the ice, but how mature of a young man Emery is.
“To be a kid at such a young age and be so driven and focused, it’s pretty wild to see,” Gilroy said. “I think his strength is how he understands defense. It’s such a hard skill to learn and he already understands it at a high, high level.
“He’s going to a great program at North Dakota and he’s only going to get better. I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he’s going to be as a player. To see him over the next few years is going to be very exciting. Rangers fans should be excited.”
The 18-year-old played 61 games for the U.S. National Development Program last season and recorded 16 assists while he also spent some time in the USHL.
Emery is set to play at the University of North Dakota this upcoming season as he continues his development path into the NHL.
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