John Gilmour and Vinni Lettieri Get Well-Deserved New York Recall
BY: The New York Rangers
NEW YORK, March 18, 2019 – New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton announced today that the team has recalled defenseman John Gilmour and forward Vinni Lettieri from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Gilmour, 25, has skated in all of Hartford’s 66 games this season, registering 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points, along with 31 penalty minutes. Gilmour established Hartford’s single-season franchise record for goals by a defenseman, and he has also established personal AHL career-highs in goals, assists, and points this season. He leads AHL defensemen in points, ranks second among AHL defensemen in goals and shots on goal (162), and ranks fourth among AHL defensemen in assists this season. In addition, Gilmour leads the Wolf Pack in assists and points, ranks second on Hartford in shots on goal, and is tied for second on the team in goals in 2018-19. He also represented Hartford at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic. Gilmour has registered 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in the last seven games with Hartford, posting five multi-point games over the span, and he recorded four consecutive multi-point games from Mar. 9 at Springfield to Mar. 15 at Syracuse.
The 6-0, 190-pounder has skated in 186 career AHL games over three seasons (2016-17 – 2018-19), all with Hartford, registering 32 goals and 72 assists for 104 points, along with 71 penalty minutes. He has represented Hartford in the AHL All-Star Classic twice during his tenure with the team (2018 and 2019), and in 2018, he won the Fastest Skater title during the AHL All-Star Skills Competition with a time of 13.663 seconds.
The Montreal, Quebec native skated in 28 NHL games with the Rangers last season, registering two goals and three assists for five points, along with 14 penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut on Feb. 9, 2018, vs. Calgary, and he recorded his first career NHL goal/point on Feb. 13, 2018, at Minnesota. In addition, he tallied the game-winning goal in overtime on Feb. 28, 2018, at Vancouver, becoming the first rookie defenseman to register an overtime goal in franchise history. Gilmour ranked fourth on the Rangers – and led team defensemen – in shots on goal from the time he was recalled on Feb. 9 until the end of the 2017-18 season (61).
Gilmour was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on August 18, 2016. He was originally selected by Calgary in the seventh round, 198th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Lettieri, 24, has skated in 44 AHL games with the Wolf Pack this season, registering 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points, along with 20 penalty minutes. He leads the Wolf Pack in goals, points per game (1.05), and shots on goal (165), and is tied for third on the team in points in 2018-19. Lettieri registered a point in 12 of the 15 games he played with the Wolf Pack after he was assigned to Hartford on Feb. 13 (11 goals, eight assists over the span), and he posted a five-game point streak over his last five games with Hartford (six goals, three assists).
The 5-11, 191-pounder has established AHL career-highs in assists, points, and shots on goal this season, and he has tied his career-high in goals (he has recorded 23 goals in 44 games this season after tallying 23 goals in 55 AHL games in 2017-18). Lettieri is also tied for 19th in the AHL (min. 10 games played) in points per game thus far this season.
The Excelsior, Minnesota native has skated in 37 career NHL games over parts of two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19), both with the Rangers, including 18 games this season. Lettieri tallied his first career NHL goal/point while making his NHL debut on Dec. 29, 2017 at Detroit.
