According to a team tweet, the New York Rangers have signed forward Bryce McConnell-Barker to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2023-24 season. PuckPedia reports the contract carries an $870,000 cap hit, broken down per year into $775,000 in base salary, $95,000 in signing bonuses, $80,000 in games played bonuses, and $80,000 in minors salary.
A natural center, the 18-year-old forward was selected by the Rangers in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft. The pick used to select him, 97th overall, was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the Alexandar Georgiev trade on draft day.
McConnell-Barker spent the last two seasons with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL after losing the entire 2020-21 campaign due to COVID. There, he’s played in 134 games and recorded 52 goals and 71 assists. The 6-foot-2, 194-pound forward also served as captain for the Greyhounds this season.
While McConnell-Barker’s -29 rating this season may be disappointing for a player heralded for his two-way game, he had a weak supporting cast on the Greyhounds, who sit with just 19 wins on the season with a handful of games remaining and are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. His production in 2022-23 has been promising, putting up over a point per game in his post-draft year.
McConnell-Barker is expected to return to the OHL next year, as he remains ineligible for assignment to the AHL until his age 20 season (2024-25).