Rangers Agree to Terms With Chappell

[Thrillhouse]

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent forward Chris Chappell.

Chappell, 21, skated in 68 games with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) last season, registering 38 goals and 38 assists for 76 points, along with 88 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played (68), goals (38), assists (38), points (76), and penalty minutes (88). Chappell led Saginaw in goals and points, and tied for second on the team in assists.

He also led the team and tied for third in the OHL with 18 power play goals, while his 38 goals tied for eighth in the league. Chappell was selected to represent the Western Conference in the OHL All-Star Classic, and collected one assist in the contest. He posted two, seven-game scoring streaks – from November 7 vs. Ottawa to November 22 at Barrie (three goals and 10 assists) and February 25 vs. Plymouth to March 12 vs. Owen Sound (four goals and four assists) – and recorded 21 multi-point efforts, including his first career hat trick and four-point performance on February 16 at Oshawa (three goals and one assist).

In addition, the Pickering, Ontario native recorded two goals and six assists for eight points in eight playoff contests with Saginaw. He tied for the team lead in postseason assists (six) and ranked fourth in postseason points (eight).

The 6-4, 209-pounder has skated in 248 career OHL games with Saginaw, recording 70 goals and 84 assists for 154 points, along with 243 penalty minutes. In 2007-08, Chappell ranked fifth on the Spirit in goals (14) and points (34), and tied for sixth on the team in assists (20). He made his OHL debut against Plymouth on September 21, 2005, and registered his first point with an assist on October 15, 2005, against Owen Sound. Chappell has also tallied four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 22 career postseason contests with Saginaw.

[ikogan]

Never heard of him, can anybody shed some insight on him?

[caps05]

Originally Posted by ikogan

Never heard of him, can anybody shed some insight on him?

He's got some grit in him, as evidenced by the fact he had 8 fights in the OHL last year.

Looks like he can put the puck in the net as well, with 38 goals last year.

[Skorka85]

Originally Posted by ikogan

Never heard of him, can anybody shed some insight on him?

He looks like one of those guys that took awhile to mature. His stats this past season were a major jump from previous years. 24 more goals, 18 more assists and 33 more PIMs.

[Word]

Here I was hoping it was Dave Chappelle, the comedian.

Go right hand in hand with Sather and the jokes he puts up in the form of contracts.

[bigjack]

I was trying to see if he's a right or left winger. I was thinking maybe he would replace a Byers in Hartford and Byers would finally get a real shot with the big club in NY!

[evulmievl]

chris is an awesome kid and i was fortunate to have him stay with my family while he was here in saginaw. way to go chris!!!!!!!!!!! i told you you could do it!!!

[Skorka85]

Originally Posted by evulmievl

chris is an awesome kid and i was fortunate to have him stay with my family while he was here in saginaw. way to go chris!!!!!!!!!!! i told you you could do it!!!

Very cool man! What type of player is he? You'd obviously know about him, did he just take a little time to figure out the game or was he a smallish guy waiting to grow? He really busted out last season.

[papas1175]

looks to me like byers is going to make the team, that be sick if soryal does, that be a sweet combo soryal + brash

[evulmievl]

Originally Posted by Skorka85

Very cool man! What type of player is he? You'd obviously know about him, did he just take a little time to figure out the game or was he a smallish guy waiting to grow? He really busted out last season.

chris is the complete package. he was the captain this past season for the spirit and was very well liked by his teammates. as for what to expect play wise, he has very good hands and can score from anywhere. he sees the ice well and is great on the powerplay. he is also huge and can throw some big hits. although far from a goon, he will stand up for his teammates and go with anyone and more than hold his own. off the ice he is as nice as they come and i cant say enough good things about his family. just great people that have been there to support chris the whole way and they are a huge reason why he is the person he is today. once again congrats chris!!!! there is still a long journey ahead of him to make the big show, but he has what it takes and i honestly believe you will see him playing for the rangers sooner than later.