In late June Glen Sather announced that he had signed Norwegian superstar Mats-Zuccarello Aasen (MZA). Last season, MZA won the MVP in the Swedish Elite Hockey League. Aasen garnered a lot of interest after scoring 23 goals and 41 assists (in only 55 games) for the SEL’s Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik.
The Rangers won the bidding and acquired an extremely talented forward, but the 5’7” Norwegian phenom will have a lot to learn about the North American game before he cracks the Rangers' roster.
MZA will attend the Rangers' training camp this September, with hopes of making the team. Though the spots seem to be filled, there are ways the Rangers' front office can open up space for players like MZA.
I hope MZA will be on the ice in game one of the season against Toronto, but I do not expect him to make the team. A season in Hartford would not hurt Zuke at all—it will only help. It would give him the chance to develop with players like Evgeny Grachev and Derek Stepan.
If things are going well for MZA in the minors (if that’s where he starts out) and the Rangers have a spot to fill on the roster at any point in the ...
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Article written by nick p
Mats-Zuccarello Aasen: What to Expect from the Rangers’ Norwegian Phenom
August 10th, 2010 by nick p Leave a reply »
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