VESEY HITS THE WALL
Rangers rookie has fallen out of favor after scorching hot start
DETROIT — Jimmy Vesey went from rookie darling of the Rangers to fourthliner real fast.
It is easy to see the grind of his first NHL season is wearing him down, and the Harvard graduate is not shy to admit it.
“Sometimes, I think in my first year, some games I have been a little tired or fatigued,” Vesey said after Saturday’s practice in Westchester before the team left for Detroit, where they will take on the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon. “I think my body is still adapting to this many games and stuff like that. So it’s been a learning curve, definitely.”
Vesey, 23, was benched for the entire third period in the team’s wild 7-6 loss to the Stars on Tuesday, then got just 11:32 of total ice time in the 5-2 win at Toronto on Thurs- day, a victory that broke a three-game losing streak and helped settle down goalie Henrik Lundqvist back into some semblance of normalcy.
That was the 45th regular-season game Vesey had played, in addition to four games in preseason and four games at the Traverse City rookie tournament. Last season at Harvard, he played 33 games in a college career of 128.
“Everyone talks about the physical grind, but it’s also mental as well,” Vesey said. “You can’t get in your own head. You just have to stick with the process and make sure you’re doing all the little things right, make sure you have the right approach, then things will sway themselves.”
It has been the return of Rick Nash, Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad, all within the past four games, that sent Vesey falling down the depth chart. But it wasn’t hard for coach Alain Vigneault to cut down Vesey’s role, as he now is in a 16game stretch during which he has one goal and one assist, along with a minus-9 rating in the previous seven games.
Nash and Buchnevich both have been back for four games, starting Jan. 13 against the Leafs at the Garden, the first game after the bye week. Zibanejad returned from his broken leg Tuesday, and immediately centered Nash and Buchnevich, sending Vesey down to a fourth line with Oscar Lindberg and Brandon Pirri.
“He’s a young player that, like any young player, is going through the process of becoming a pro and understanding what it takes,” Vigneault said. “We really love his game and what he brings, but right now there are some other guys on those topnine slots that are playing a little better than he is.”
After choosing the Rangers in a muchballyhooed decision as a free agent this summer, Vesey began his NHL career with six goals and nine points in his first 10 games. In the 35 games since, he has five goals and 10 points.
But he is not judging his performance solely on points. He went back to a Dec. 13 game against the Blackhawks, when he didn’t get on the scoresheet but thought he played a strong game.
“I think probably my best game this year was against Chicago,” he said. “That was probably the one game that sticks out as me feeling it or whatever. No one likes to go extended periods without a goal or without a point, so I think once I get one, everything will get going again.”
Vigneault is rightfully reticent to break up the Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello line, and same for the Michael Grabner-Kevin Hayes-J.T. Miller combo. So that has moved Vesey down the lineup, cut his ice time and put him back in a humble place where most rookies reside.
“My role has changed on the team, and I’m still learning the level of hockey,” Vesey said. “Right now, for me, I’m just trying to get back to basics, making sure I’m finishing my checks, being responsible in my own end. Once I do that, then bang in a goal, I’ll get going again and hopefully get more ice time.”