The NYR Facts Of Life: #36 Mats Zuccarello

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #36, Mats Zuccarello.

#36's #s: 42 games, 6 goals, 17 assists, 3, 4 PIM (1 playoff game, no points, even, 2 PIM).

Take the good: That Mats made it to the NHL this season is good because the transition from European puck to North American can not be understated. Once he was called up, the undersized Zuccarello showed a wonderful fearlessness that peaked with big checks on Hal Gill and Zdeno Chara. At the same time he was Lady Byng-esque in his lack of regular season penalties. His first NHL goal was an overtime game-winner - can't get much better than that. He also displayed good on-ice vision and a penchant for the skills competition, as shown by his five shootout goals (on nine attempts).

Take the bad: Of course, Zuke's four shootout misses came over his last five attempts, showing that opposing goaltenders learned how to stop his one move. MZA averaged 2:32 of power play time and came away with nine power play assists - no goals. His obvious reluctance to shoot made his work with the man advantage predictable. Tortorella's insistence on juggling his lines clearly hurt the kid as he couldn't form much chemistry and, as a pass-first guy, that led to his eventual disappearance, benching and demotion. The only person who Zuccarello worked well with - Derek Stepan - hit a wall and couldn't help propel him back to relevance.

Take them both and then we have: A young player in need of more polishing. Zuccarello needs to realize how far he has come and use that confidence to take him further. The comparison that always comes up - MZA vs Marty St. Louis - still holds as St. Louis averaged 0.51 points per game under his first season with our fair coach Tortorella - Zuccarello averaged 0.55. A broken leg limited St. Louis to 35 points in 53 games in year two, so let's hope for better fortunes for Zuke.

MZA Update

With the injuries that have ravaged the Rangers, many have wondered just how the much-hyped Mats Zuccarello-Aasen has been faring as he makes his transition to Harford and North American hockey.

Bob Crawford, the Senior Vice President, Broadcasting and Media Relations of the team soon not to be known as the Wolf Pack and the author of Crawford's Corner, was kind enough to pass along a scouting report:

"He seems to me to be doing fine. The whole team really hasn't lit it up offensively to this point. It looks to me like he's still getting used to not having as much room out there and having to make all the plays a little bit quicker and with less space, but he doesn't seem to mind the rough going at all, and the two goals he has scored have been the result of being willing to go to the front of the net and battle."

The Pack have home games tonight and tomorrow night for those in and around Connecticut. Even though their home page has made the change, their official name change to the Connecticut Whale won't officially take place until November 27th, in a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. And I don't believe it is official yet but it is expected that a game against Providence in February will be outdoors. Can't freakin' wait, even if it means paying to watch Wade Redden play again ...

Heisann Mats!

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD MATS ZUCCARELLO AASEN

New York, May 26, 2010 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent forward Mats Zuccarello Aasen.

“Mats is a highly skilled player with excellent hockey sense,” stated Sather. “He has produced at every level he has played, and we think his offensive abilities, both as a scorer and play maker, make him a valuable asset to the organization.”

Zuccarello Aasen, 22, skated in 55 games with MODO of the Swedish Elite League (SEL) this past season, registering 23 goals and 41 assists for 64 points, along with 62 penalty minutes. He [caotured] the Guldhjälmen award as the league’s Most Valuable Player.

The 5-9, 170-pound ... Norway native has represented his country in several tournaments, including the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, finishing third on the team in scoring with three points (one goal and two assists) in four contests. Recently, Zuccarello Aasen participated in the 2010 World Championship in Germany, marking his third World Championship appearance with Norway. He finished the tournament tied for the team lead with three goals and second on Norway with four points in six contests. He also led Norway with 17 shots on goal and two game winning goals in the tournament.

It is definitely nice to see the deal done as it is low risk/high reward, but - as I said a while back - let's just wait and see how quickly makes the transition this fall before we get all giddy.

Just A Word Of Caution

After a dreadful season with the annual tease of talent by the Rangers, it is no surprise that everyone is getting excited over Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. Zuccarello-Aasen, if you don't know, is a 22-year-old Norwegian right wing who is rumoured to have signed with the Blueshirts - a deal that is rumoured to become official after the World Championships - although he has several other suitors.

MZA, not to be confused with MDZ, is just 5'7, 160 but played big at the Olympics and has been monstrous at the aforementioned World Championships. He also averaged better than a point-per-game in Sweden the last two seasons for Modo (playing this season with Markus Naslund and Peter Forsberg, among others). There are plenty of clips of him looking awesome on Youtube and both Swedes and Norwegians who watched him play in person have told me he has the ability to succeed on this side of the Pond.

Now, like all of you, I want to believe that he is the second coming of Brian Gionta, or even Espen Knutsen. Really, I do. However, my own pessimism is quick to look at the last "superstar" out of the Swedish league that everyone drooled over - Fabian Brunnstrom. The amount of hype for Barnstormer was just as silly as what we are heading for MZA. They called him the next Alfredsson and look at what happened to him ... after debuting with a hat trick in 2008, things went downhill and he split last season between the (non-playoff-bound) NHL Stars and the AHL Stars. Now he is possible trade bait.

And do you remember last summer? The Rangers signed the 'Swiss Sean Avery' in Andres Ambϋhl? Judging by notes from Howlings over the course of the season Ambϋhl was pretty decent but he never was a star scorer. And the Rangers need a scorer to take the heat off of Gabby.

MZA has shown signs that he can do it internationally - with and without the magnificent Tore Vikingstad - and he played with two of the best NHLers over the last 15 years in Sweden so he should have an idea of what it takes to play in North America. But let's just wait and see if he a) does sign with the Rangers and then b) quickly makes the transition this fall before we get all giddy. There have been enough disappointments by the Blueshirts already this spring.