Larry Brooks has stated the following on his Twitter account, “Indication is that (Alex) Frolov is going to be out for a while with knee. Another recall will be necessary.”
The likely question now is who gets the recall. Waiver issues are certainly going to be a concern. Therefore you can rule out both of the Williams’s, Jeremy and Jason, Todd White, Tim Kennedy and Kris Newbury. Kelsey Tessier, Oren Eizenman and Ryan Garlock aren’t likely to get a realistic shot right now.
So who does that leave?
Devin DiDiomete and Justin Soryal are good tough guys who have some talent but are probably not being given serious consideration at the moment.
The ones who would likely be getting talked about between Ken Gernander, John Tortorella and the coaching staff are Brodie Dupont, Evgeny Grachev and Chad Kolarik.
Dupont would get his first NHL call-up if he were chosen and he has certainly paid his dues this season and earned it. Dupont has three goals and three assists in his last six games. He could also come out and grind on the fourth line if need be and can play center or wing. Dupont was one of the earliest cuts out of camp, so that might be working against him.
Grachev has been virtually invisible the entire season. When Gernander started to put him on the PK, that woke up the 6’4” 222-pounder from Khabarovsk, Russia and over the past five games has had a three point night with a goal and two helpers and had another goal two games later. Over the span Grachev has 2 goals and 2 assists and has played far better.
Kolarik is an interesting case as well. Prior to going out with an undisclosed injury, the 5-11” forward who’s been off the scoring for the past two games had six goals and four helpers in the previous nine. Kolarik is a threat to score on any shift that he’s on the ice. The Rangers traded to get him from Columbus in the Dane Byers trade in late November.
The emotional choice here would be to give Dupont his first shot at the NHL. He’s been a good soldier for four years now and has earned the chance.
The safe choice is Grachev. He’s already played six games with the Rangers earlier this season and has improved his game of late. It could serve as a strong reinforcement to his development to give him another run at it.
If the Rangers want to get more offense out of their fourth line then the choice is clearly Kolarik, although because of his size and what not, he’d really need to be in a more top two line scenario and that’s not likely to happen unless Tortorella decides to put Sean Avery back on the fourth line and given how well he’s played of late with Marian Gaborik that’s not likely to happen.
We think the replacement for Frolov is going to be Grachev.
We’ll all find out soon enough.
