Blueshirts Fill Cubicles

Based on their announcement today, it seems the New York Rangers were doing a lot of interviews recently for positions either created or vacated over the last season. I'm not against any team adding smart hockey people to its front-office staff, but it seems the Rangers are building a high-end hockey staff that could skate circles around most other NHL teams' front offices. Will that help them win games and, ultimately, the Stanley Cup? As we know, nothing is guaranteed in the NHL, but the group that general manager Chris Drury has assembled is impressive. Even more impressive are the smarts and talents they people possess that they'll use to help push the Rangers to new heights in 2023-24.

Former Sharks and Devils forward Ryane Clowe played just 12 games for the New York Rangers in 2012-13 after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline, but Clowe will be playing a more prominent role in Manhattan this time after the Rangers named him as Co-Senior Advisor to President and General Manager. I'm not sure how much advising Chris Drury needs in his roles as President and General Manager, but it seems Clowe, along with Mike Barnett, will be the people to whom Drury will turn when he's vexed with a problem and needs another thought or opinion.

Drury went into the business world and recruited a solid hockey and business mind as former USA National Team member Angela Ruggiero was named as a Hockey Operations Advisor. Ruggiero is the CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab, but she was also a Senior Management Associate with Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world, prior to founding Sports Innovation Lab. With her hockey and business knowledge and connections, the Rangers are getting one of the sharpest minds in the sports world to lend her expertise and abilities to their organization.

Paul Mara joins the Rangers after a hockey career that took him through six NHL cities including three with the New York Rangers from 2006-09. The former defender more recently was the head coach of the NWHL/PHF's Boston Pride where he established a number of coaching records. He joins the Rangers as part of the player development staff where he'll work alongside former players such as Tanner Glass, Jed Ortmeyer, and Antti Miettinen in developing the next wave of talent for the Rangers.

These former players join the likes of associate head coach Phil Housley, assistant coach Mike Peca, consultant Doug Risebrough, hockey and business operations professional Adam Graves, ambassador Henrik Lundqvist, European scouts Patric Kjellberg and Sergei Kuznetsov, amateur scout Jeff Beukeboom, professional scout Steve Eminger, and European professional scout Shaone Morrisonn as some of the former pro hockey players who show up for meetings at Madison Square Garden. That front office would make a pretty decent beer league team if they hit the ice together!

Those weren't the only hirings, though, as the Rangers added some solid minds to the front office on Broadway as well!

Christian Hmura joins the Rangers after serving as the Hockey Director and Director of Player Development for the Tier 1 AAA Chicago Mission from 2017-23. The 36 year-old jumps into the fray as the Skills and Performance Development Coach for the Rangers, and he'll work with the player development team on getting some of the picks and players the Rangers have on their depth charts to the next levels of their careers!

Another hiring who will work in developing prospects is Mark Ciaccio who was named Prospect Development Skills Coach. Ciaccio is more of a promotion than a hiring as the founder of MC Hockey Skills has worked in a skills coach and development role with the Rangers since 2013. He spent time in skills development role with the Arizona Coyotes for 12 years and with the Los Angeles Kings before Arizona prior to jumping to Manhattan, and he's also spent some time working with Swedish players in the SHL in the same capacity.

The Rangers have a new Head Athletic Trainer this season after Andy Hosler was named to the role. The former Nashville Predators head athletic trainer from 2013-21 had worked in the NHL from 2007 until he accepted the head athletic trainer's role at Michigan State University in 2021. Holser holds a master's degree in kinesiology from Michigan State, and spent his first two seasons in professional hockey as the head athletic trainer for the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies.

Brandon Rodgers moves north up the east coast as the Rangers hired him to be their new Senior Sports Therapist. Rodgers spent the past five seasons as the Physical Therapist and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and we've seen the Lightning make deep playoff runs almost every year as a testament to the conditioning program they run. Rodgers also helped Lightning medical staff by performing physical therapy and traditional athletic training services, so it appears that his wide range of skills and knowledge will benefit Rangers players this season and beyond!

Kayla McAvoy was promoted to a full-time position by the Rangers to continue her work in the strength and conditioning department as Assistant Sports Scientist. McAvoy earned a master's degree in exercise physiology from Queen's College, and her experience has seen her design and implement exercise programs for professional athletes at Prentiss Hockey Performance. If the McAvoy name seems familiar, yes, her brother, Charlie, plays for the Bruins, but it's pretty clear that Kayla is carving her own path in the hockey world as part of the Rangers' strength and conditioning department.

As we know, analytics are playing a bigger part in every team's front office, and the Rangers are no exception as they hired Kathryn Yates as Manager of Performance Data Insights. She joins the Rangers' analytics department after spending the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Flyers got her after she had spent two seasons with the University of Massachusetts men's hockey team where she served as the Director of Analytics. Yates is an incredibly sharp mind as she holds mater's degrees in both business administration and sport management, and the article that ESPN did on her time with Boston University is a fantastic read!

With Ruggiero, McAvoy, and Yates working in the Rangers' front office, that also pushes the number of women working in high-level hockey positions within the Rangers organization to a new high. Some of the notable women and position they hold include Victoria Mink who holds the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jeanine McGrory who sits as the Senior Vice President of Finance, Katie Condon who is the Senior Director of Hockey Administration, and Erika Whitman who is the Director of Sports Nutrition. The Rangers are proving that success comes with amazing people leading the way, and all of these women - plus those not mentioned due to space - are making the game better for everyone.

We'll see how the Rangers do this season, but they seem to have a dynamic squad with a ton of speed, skill, and scoring that should help them ascend the Metropolitan Division standings against the likes of Carolina, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Washington. Adding some incredible minds to the people making decisions never hurts, so we'll see how all this knowledge and skill comes together on Broadway this season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!