Two New York Rangers prospects took to the ice on Sunday looking to extend longshot efforts to make it to the next round of their league playoffs. Sorry to say that neither saw their teams come away with wins and their season came to an unhappy ending.
Noah Laba (2022 fourth) turned down Chris Drury when the Rangers general manager tried to convince the Colorado College Tiger to leave school to turn professional last season. Laba was coming off a 20 goal season and was named the NCHC defensive forward of the year.
The then sophomore center felt at the time that he owed it to his college coach and school for taking a chance on him and wanted to help the school make it to the NCAA tournament. But one season later, Laba and his team ended a very disappointing season with a 9-2 loss in game three of their NCHC quarterfinals series with archrival Denver University.
Now the question is will Chris Drury want Noah Laba to turn pro after an injury filled season? In all honesty, Laba would be best served if he returned to Colorado College for his senior season and try to get his development back on track.
After 20 goals as a sophomore, two different injuries cost Laba time during the season and his development went backwards as he barely reached 10 goals on the season. What will keep the Rangers interested in him was that he won 57.3% of his faceoffs.
But the Laba we saw as a sophomore had the potential to be a second line center. The junior version is a bottom six center at best so hopefully he chooses to remain in school and has a bounce back season next year.
Zakary Karpa was the Rangers sixth round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry draft and Sunday was his last game as a member of the Harvard Crimson. The son of former Rangers player Dave Karpa, the son was a defensive center at Harvard.
Sunday his Harvard hockey team saw their upset efforts to advance to the ECAC semifinals end in heartbreak as they lost to Clarkson 2-1 in overtime of game three of the ECAC quarterfinals. The senior center ended his season with just a 1-6-7 stat line.
It is very hard for us to see the Rangers as offering Karpa an entry level contract as there is nothing to his game that suggests an NHL future. Compared to Laba, Karpa won only 52.4% of his faceoffs.
Season Over
Rasmus Larsson (injured)
Noah Laba
Zakary Karpa
Up Next
Jackson Dorrington and his Northeastern Huskies will play Maine in the Hockey East Semifinals next Thursday.
Ty Henricks and his Western Michigan Broncos are going to face North Dakota next Friday in one half of the NCHC semifinals. North Dakota’s E. J. Emery is questionable due to a lower body injury.
Brody Lamb and his Minnesota Golden Gophers are waiting to see where they will play in the NCAA tournament
Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue are waiting to see where they will play in the NCAA tournament
Nathan Aspinall and his Flint Firebirds are still playing their OHL regular season. They have clinched a spot in the OHL playoffs.
Raoul Boilard and his Baie-Comeau Drakkar are still playing their QMJHL regular season. They too have clinched a spot in the QMJHL playoffs.
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