New York Rangers: Does Lias Andersson have a role on this roster?
Lots of competition
With three of the previously mentioned five centermen to assume roles at the pivot and guys like the scrappy Brendan Lemieux and technically-sound Jesper Fast serving as depth wingers, Lias Andersson looks to be, at best, the 13th forward to start 2019-20.
The New York Rangers desperately would like to see him flourish. This is not to say he won’t get his opportunity to shine, but with all of the changes over the last year and especially the new influx of young forward talent, he needs to earn it.
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The young Swede has no more right to the limelight than Vitali Kravtsov, Kaapo Kakko, or even someone like Vinni Letteri who has shown very small sparks of potency at times. He will certainly give everything he has to make this team and get quality ice time.
This year’s Blueshirts team is just loaded with talent breaking into the league and many of them have momentum heading into the year. Andersson is going to have to have one impressive camp. As we remember, last year he was beaten out for a roster spot by Howden, despite all of the projections that Andersson would be in the Opening Night lineup.
Tallying just six points in 42 games last season with the Blueshirts, while adding another 20 in 36 contests with AHL Hartford last season, Andersson must increase his output going forward. Some guys simply take longer to reach their potentials than others, regardless of their draft spot. So, it is way too early to throw in the towel on him, but it will be an uphill climb heading into 2019 for him.