panoo

Written by Leslie Treff
06/11/2007

The New York Rangers selected nine players in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Without a first-round selection, which was traded to Florida as part of the deal that brought Pavel Bure to the Blueshirts, the Rangers also swapped second-round selections with the Panthers in the same trade.

Of the all the players drafted by the Rangers in 2002, only one, Petr Prucha, has played in the NHL on a regular basis, and he is likely to be the only 2002 draft selection that will play with the Rangers. Although two other 2002 draft prospects remain in the Blueshirts' system, neither is expected to become a regular NHL player. Two other draftees, Nate Guenin and Joey Crabb, are legitimate NHL prospects, but are no longer part of the Rangers organization.

The 2002 NHL draft was the only one in recent memory in which the Rangers did not choose a single CHL player, or, in fact, any Canadian nationals at all. Instead, the team selected three Europeans and six Americans.

Lee Falardeau, C - 2nd round, 33rd overall (Michigan State University-NCAA)
Status: NHL Prospect
NHL Games Played: 0

Falardeau was a product of the US National Team Development Program and had just completed his freshman season at Michigan State at the time of his selection as the Rangers' first pick in the draft. A physical defensive forward, Falardeau's career has not panned out in the way that the Rangers would have hoped. Signed to a professional contract in September 2004, Falardeau has shuttled back and forth between the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack and the ECHL Charlotte Checkers over the past three years. The big center spent most of the 2006-07 season toiling with the Checkers and doing well there, but not well enough to merit a reassignment to the AHL. A long shot to ever become a regular in the NHL, Falardeau's NHL contract is not likely to be renewed.

Marcus Jonasen, RW - 3rd round, 88th overall (Vasteras IK, Ungdom Jr. 18-Sweden)
Status: NHL Bust
NHL Games Played: 0

With their third-round pick in the 2002 entry draft, the Rangers selected the 6'4, 220 lb, 18-year-old winger from Sweden. Although Jonasen did not immediately come to North America to play hockey, he was first a member and then captain of the Tri-City Americans during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. In total, Jonasen appeared in 113 WHL regular season games, amassing 67 points and 87 PIM (-8 rating). He was more productive in the playoffs, 11 points in 16 games, but just was not productive enough to garner an NHL contract after his second WHL season. Rather than return to the Americans in the fall of 2005, Jonasen returned to Sweden and has played with Almtuna IS since that time. The Rangers' rights to him expired last summer, and he is not expected to return to North America to play any time in the foreseeable future.

Nate Guenin, D - 4th round, 127th overall (Green Bay Gamblers-USHL)
Status: NHL Prospect
NHL Games Played: 9

FULL STORY