The Rangers have announced the signing of 2018 third-round pick Joey Keane.
Keane, 19, is a defenseman that has 8 goals and 29 assists this season in 61 OHL games for Barrie and London.
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From the Rangers Prospect Report on 10/8, “He’s sort of like a Cam Fowler-type presence, a guy who has developed into the sort of player you can count on in any situation. I personally haven’t coached too many guys who can skate as effortlessly as he does. He can get caught in a bad spot offensively and still manage to recover and you don’t see him get beat one-on-one very often.” – Barrie Colts Assistant Coach Todd Miller on Joey Keane
From the Rangers release:
- Keane ranks third among OHL defensemen in penalty minutes, ranks 10th among OHL defensemen in shots on goal (167), is tied for 11th among OHL defensemen in power play assists (13), is tied for 13th among OHL defensemen in power play goals (four), and is tied for 17th among OHL defensemen in assists and points this season.
- He posted an OHL career-high nine-game point streak over his first nine games with London from Dec. 28 vs. Windsor to Jan. 13 at Kitchener (two goals, eight assists).
- The 6-0, 183-pounder has skated in 190 career OHL games over three seasons (2016-17 – 2018-19) with Barrie and London, registering 21 goals and 79 assists for 100 points, along with a plus-31 rating and 204 penalty minutes.
- Since he began his OHL career in 2016-17, Keane ranks 13th among defensemen in points, and he is one of three OHL defensemen who have recorded at least 100 points and 200 penalty minutes over the span.
- He was selected to the OHL’s Third All-Star Team in 2017-18, as he established OHL career-highs in goals (12), assists (32), points (44), and plus/minus rating (plus-45), and he led all OHL defensemen in plus/minus rating during the season.
David Quinn had said of Keane during training camp, “I like Joey. He’s done a lot of good things and has great feet and good skills and sometimes kids his age try to do too much and if he keeps it simple and lets his talent influence the game he will have a good night.”
Quinn added that Keane, “competes, a lot of physical skills. I love the fact that he is willing to learn, we think he is a great prospect, he has an awful lot of ability and as he gets older his game will adapt and grow and as he gets older. We like a lot of the things we see from a physical standpoint.”
Keane, a Rangers third round pick in June, was part of Team USA’s WJC over the summer and Jed Ortmeyer, the Rangers director of player development, said that Keane was noticeable in all of those games.
Corey Pronman of The Athletic wrote that Keane is a “very smart two-way defenseman” that can play in different situations.