RANGERS SELECT MONTOYA

Michigan goalie Al Montoya is now property of the New York Rangers.
The Rangers used the sixth overall pick of the draft to grab the
Wolverine netminder.

Montoya becomes the first ever Cuban-American selected in the draft.
He was ranked the No. 1 goalie in North America after backstopping
the Wolverines to a 26-12-2 record in his sophomore year and posting
a perfect 6-0-0 record for Team USA at the World Junior Championship
en route to their first ever gold medal.

Montoya had expressed great interest in playing for the Rangers, and
his new team was surprised he was still available by the sixth pick.
The Rangers had their eyes on Montoya and there were rumors of them
possibly trading up in the draft to get him. Rangers President & GM
Glen Sather was very happy with the pick and said you can never have
enough goaltenders.

The announcers, on the other hand, were less than enthusiastic with
the selection. They felt it was a bit of a gamble because they claim
goalies out of U-M haven't faired well in the draft. Seeing as
Michigan has never had a goalie drafted this high, it's hard to
argue that when expectations have never been this great. Marty
Turco, Josh Blackburn, and Steve Shields were all fifth round draft
picks.

They also argued that the goalies at Michigan have a "great defense"
and "great, great forwards" playing in front of them and don't face
enough shots. While this has been very true of Red Berenson teams,
one can argue that the defense wasn't even close to great this past
year and the forwards/offense underachieved.

The Rangers already have a young netminder in Dan Blackburn, who is
recovering from injury, playing for the parent club behind Mike
Dunham, as well as another good prospect I believe in Sweden. Where
Montoya fits into the picture remains to be seen. Montoya has stated
that he is keeping all of his options open. Fans, on the other hand,
are praying for an NHL strike so the netminder will definitely
return to Michigan.

Michigan draft updates will be posted at Michigan Hockey Net as they
become available.

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That's all for now...

Go Blue!

Jason
Michigan Hockey Net
http://MichiganHockey.net