The Rangers have acquired the rights to and are signing Harvard defenseman Adam Fox from Carolina.
The Rangers are acquiring Fox for two picks:
- Rangers 2019 Second Round Pick
- Conditional 2020 Third Round pick. The 2020 Third Round Pick becomes a 2020 Second Round pick if Fox plays in at least 30 games for the Rangers next season.
Fox will join Team USA at the World Championships where he will be teammates with Chris Kreider and Brady Skjei. Rangers assistant GM Chris Drury is the GM for Team USA and Jeff Gorton is an adviser. (Larry Brooks)
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From the Rangers release:
- Fox, 21, skated in 33 games with Harvard University this past season, registering nine goals and 39 assists for 48 points, along with a plus-23 rating and 14 penalty minutes.
- He was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in collegiate hockey in 2018-19, and he was also named a First Team All-American.
- Fox established collegiate career-highs in several categories during this past season, including goals, assists, points, and plus/minus rating.
- He led the NCAA in assists and ranked fourth in the NCAA in points in 2018-19; he ranked second among NCAA defensemen in points, only trailing Hobey Baker Award winner Cale Makar (49).
- In addition, Fox led the NCAA in assists per game (1.18) and points per game (1.45) during the past season.
- He led all players in ECAC Hockey in overall points, as well as in points in ECAC Hockey conference games (33 points in 22 intra-conference games) in 2018-19.
- The 5-11, 195-pounder has skated in 97 career collegiate games over three seasons (2016-17 – 2018-19) with Harvard, registering 21 goals and 95 assists for 116 points, along with a plus-45 rating and 32 penalty minutes.
- Fox has led NCAA defensemen in assists and points since he began his collegiate career, and he has registered 17 more points and 19 more assists than any other NCAA defenseman over the span.
- In addition, Fox leads all NCAA players in assists since he began his collegiate career.
- Over the last 20 seasons (since 1999-00), he has averaged more points per game than any other NCAA defenseman (1.20).
- Fox has been named a First Team All-American in each of his three collegiate seasons.
- Fox helped the United States earn a bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, as he registered five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-six rating while serving as one of the team’s alternate captains, and he was named one of the Top Three Players on his Team in the tournament.
- He also helped the United States earn a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship, as he notched four assists in seven games.
- Fox was named the Best Defenseman at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship while helping the United States earn a bronze medal, as he registered nine points (one goal, eight assists) and a plus-15 rating in seven games and led all defensemen in the tournament in assists and points. In addition, he earned a silver medal with the United States at the 2014 World U17 Hockey Challenge.
- Fox was originally selected by Calgary in the third round, 66th overall, of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by Carolina in a trade with Calgary on June 23, 2018.
Fox had been expected to join the Rangers though it was unclear if it would happen via trade or if he would return to Harvard for his senior season and then sign with the Rangers as UFA next summer.
For a lot more on Fox, CLICK HERE.
Adam Rotter: Did the Rangers overpay to get a player they could have gotten for nothing next summer? A little. Was it worth it? Probably, because while it may be more than they were looking to give up, they now have certainty that Fox is in the organization. While the Rangers were Fox’s top choice there was a belief from some around the league that if Carolina included Fox as part of a trade to a big market team that Fox might forego his senior season and sign with the team that acquired him. The Rangers took out all possibilities, remote as they may have been, by sending a second and a conditional third to Carolina to get him. With 10 picks last year and 10 this year, now nine after the trade, the Rangers certainly had draft picks to spare, especially since they moved up to #2 in the lottery, could still get Dallas’ 1st rounder this year and may move up a couple of spots with the Winnipeg pick. Overall the Rangers add a prospect that they really like and another player to the rebuild with high upside.