By now you’ve probably heard the story of the highly touted NCAA Hobey Baker Award winner Jimmy Vesey out of Harvard University. If not, then here’s the primer: he was drafted by the Predators, did not sign in Nashville then traded to the Sabres and did not sign with Buffalo, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
You’ve probably also heard by now that he signed with the Rangers yesterday. The Rangers were a little bit of a surprise, as most (read: the Toronto-based) media had him landing either in his hometown of Boston or in Toronto, whom his father works for as a Boston-area scout.
Devils beat writer Andrew Gross of The Record and the Fire and Ice blog had an interesting tidbit about Vesey, saying that “the Devils were one of eight teams who met with Vesey and his representatives this week in Boston. Goalie Cory Schneider, a Massachusetts guy himself, was part of the Devils’ recruiting efforts.”
He also reports that although Vesey’s choices were narrowed down to the Blackhawks and the Rangers, with him ultimately deciding to take his talents to Manhattan, “there was also plenty of chatter that the Devils had made a very favorable impression on Vesey.”
Now that would be of little consolation if he had gone to Chicago, but seeing as he went to the Rangers, well, it seems almost meaningless.
I sincerely wish Vesey all of the best with the Rangers, but part of me wishes he had just gone to Chicago and been done with it.