Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reports the New York Rangers have signed defenseman Madison Bowey to a professional tryout agreement. However, no confirmation has come from the team at the time of writing.
Bowey spent the first eight years of his professional career in North America before heading for the Kontinental Hockey League last season. He was drafted with the 53rd overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals and joined their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, three years later.
He quickly demonstrated his talents as a two-way defenseman in the NHL as he posted four goals and 29 points in 70 games during his rookie season with a +22 rating. He went on to tally six assists through 21 postseason games that year as he helped the Bears to the Calder Cup finals before losing to the Lake Erie Monsters in a sweep. Bowey quickly became the top defensive prospect in the Capitals’ pipeline and was projected to become a top-four fixture on the blue line.
Injuries limited his availability the following season as he only appeared in 34 games for Hershey. He did not make Washington’s opening night roster the following season but was recalled rather quickly when defenseman Matt Niskanen went down with an injury early in the season. Bowey suited up in 51 games for the Capitals in the 2017-18 scoring 12 assists in total. The 2018-19 season did not do much to inspire Washington any further after Bowey scored one goal and six points in 33 games to start the year and the team included him in a trade package to the Detroit Red Wings for Nick Jensen.
The most successful season of his career came in Detroit during the 2019-20 NHL season as he scored three goals and 17 points in 53 games which was good for second on the team in scoring amongst a weak Red Wings’ blue line. Detroit decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Bowey that summer and he surprisingly went unsigned throughout the summer which led to a PTO with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
Bowey spent the next three years bouncing from the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Montreal Canadiens organization before eventually trying his luck overseas. His lone KHL season was split between three organizations with Bowey scoring four goals and 14 points collectively.
He has an outside chance of cracking New York’s opening roster, to say the least, with other players already firmly cemented on the blue line. There may be an opening on the bottom-pairing but the Rangers will likely look to one of their prospects to fill the void rather than Bowey. Even if he does perform well at camp his ceiling will be landing a two-way contract and should see most of his playing time at the AHL level.