By: Jason Streiter ’17 and Zach Strober ’19

Over the  past NHL offseason, the New York Rangers signed the highly touted prospect Jimmy Vesey. Vesey is off to a hot start with nine points, including six goals in his first ten games, sending many Rangers fans into Vesey-Mania.

Vesey was originally drafted by the Nashville Predators in 2012 but decided to play four years at Harvard, where he won the Hobey Baker Award for the best player in the NCAA.

“I’m a big follower of college hockey so I watched a lot of him last year at Harvard and he was incredibly dominant. He was by far the best player in college last year and could become one of the best players in the NHL,” Staples Hockey Captain Sam Zaritsky ’17 said. “He’s young, talented and only getting better. All Rangers fans, and hockey fans in general should be excited about watching him play for the next ten to fifteen years.”

To date, Vesey is tied with this year’s first overall pick Auston Matthews and second overall pick Patrik Laine, for the league lead in goals by a rookie. “He’s got 6 goals so far, so if he stays on track, he could win the Calder Trophy [for rookie of the year],” hockey player Jack Sharkey ’18 said. “His speed and youth is something the Rangers needed, especially on the Rick Nash line.”

“When he signed, I was very happy because I knew he would be a great addition” Dylan Honig ’19 said, “ feel like every time I look at my phone, I get an alert like ‘goal scored by Jimmy Vesey’ so I definitely think he’s living up to the hype.”

Rangers fans: be excited. Vesey-Mania is upon us.