The New York Rangers have a familiar track record with Flint Firebirds prospects, and Darian Anderson is the latest name to keep on the radar.
The 6-3, 205-pound right wing, selected in the sixth round of this past draft, has jumped right into a prominent role with Flint. Through 11 games, Anderson is tied with Los Angeles Kings prospect Jimmy Lombardi for the team lead with 18 points, piling up nine goals and nine assists while producing at well over a point-per-game pace.
His season got rolling immediately. In Flint’s opening-night win over a talented Saginaw Spirit team, Anderson scored the go-ahead goal in the back half of the first period by driving the net and finishing a rebound off a point shot in a 2-2 game.
That goal was part of a hot start that saw him score in each of the Firebirds’ first five games. He has also taken on added responsibility, wearing a letter and handling meaningful minutes on the power play. Anderson has two power-play goals through 11 games, including one against the London Knights earlier in October.
He has made his mark at the other end of the special-teams spectrum too. Anderson has two shorthanded goals on the season, including a strong finish against the Owen Sound Attack. After Lombardi won an offensive-zone faceoff, Anderson made a quick stop to change direction, drove the puck to the net and scored on a backhander that stood up as the game-winner.
The point streak kept going even after that. He picked up two assists in game six, then added another two-assist night in the next outing before the run finally ended eight games into the season.
Even then, he has gone without a point in only two of Flint’s first 11 games. Over the weekend, he delivered a four-point performance against Saginaw, scoring twice - once on an odd-man rush where he shifted to his backhand to beat the goalie, and again on a shorthanded empty-net goal late in the game.
According to Elite Prospects, Anderson is on pace for 112 points. That would surpass the 94-point season Nathan Aspinall posted in Flint last year, and it adds another layer to the Rangers’ interest in the Firebirds pipeline after following Aspinall and later acquiring Jacob Battaglia in the Brennan Othmann trade. The team also took Anderson from Flint in the sixth round, and his well-rounded game fits the identity they’re trying to build around.
Committed to Clarkson University, Anderson still has plenty of development ahead of him before he becomes a real Rangers consideration. But if this production carries over to the NCAA level, he could end up looking like a bargain. At this stage, his ceiling appears to be a third-liner, though there is at least a path to more if his game translates to the pro level.
In Other News...
Panarin Just Reopened A Brutal Rangers Reality At MSG
Artemi Panarins return to Madison Square Garden once again put a spotlight on what the Rangers gave up when they moved on from him. In his second visit back since the trade, he was right in the middle of the action, scoring a goal and adding an assist as his new club handled the building with ease. For a Rangers team still trying to settle into life without him, it was another reminder of how quickly an old star can make a new place feel like home.
Panarin has been productive from the start this season, piling up seven goals and four assists in 10 games for the Los Angeles Kings, while the Rangers continue to look for answers from the player they brought in to replace him. Pavel Dorofeyev has managed only three goals in 14 games, and his recent move down to the third line only deepens the concern about whether New York has found the right answer yet. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Still Have One Big Pavel Dorofeyev Debate Hanging Over Them
The Rangers have enough problems without having to worry about one of their big offseason additions, but Pavel Dorofeyevs early stretch in New York has become part of the conversation anyway. In a season where the club has dropped five of its last six and has had to navigate the ripple effects of Igor Shesterkins injury along with its own defensive issues, Dorofeyevs adjustment has been closely watched because he was brought in to help add more bite to the attack.
His numbers through 14 games have lagged a bit behind what he showed with the Vegas Golden Knights, but there are signs he is settling in. Dorofeyev has started to flash more of the offense the Rangers expected, and his recent run of productivity suggests this is still a work in progress rather than a finished judgment on the move. The bigger question now is whether the Rangers can count on that trend to keep building as they try to steady themselves. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Prospects Are Starting To Build Real Momentum Overseas
A handful of Rangers prospects kept busy overseas last week, and there were signs that the organizations development pipeline is starting to pick up some real traction. Rico Gredig got on the board for EV Zug in Switzerland, while Mikkel Eriksen continued to hold a prominent role for Frjestad BK in Sweden, where he has been seeing top-six minutes and finding ways to stay involved offensively.
For a Rangers system that is always under the microscope, those kinds of updates matter because they show more than just ice time. Gredigs first goal of the season and Eriksens steady work in Sweden were part of a broader stretch that also included other prospects getting reps in their own leagues, a useful sign that several young players are building confidence at once rather than waiting for one breakout to carry the group. [Read more 🡒]