Story by
Rangers promote Tanner Glass to director of player development
- Story by
- Rangers promote Tanner Glass to director of player development
Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Rangers promoted Tanner Glass to director of player development on Saturday, one day after Jed Ortmeyer left the organization after nine years in that role.
Glass served as the team’s assistant director of player development since June 2019 and figured to be a top candidate if president and general manager Chris Drury wanted to promote from within.
Advertisement
The 42-year-old was a bottom-six forward during his 11 seasons in the NHL and was a member of the Rangers from 2014-17. The Regina, Saskatchewan, native appeared in 66 regular-season games and 19 playoff contests for the Blueshirts in 2014-15, helping New York advance to the Eastern Conference Final, though the Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
He retired after playing 16 games for the Calgary Flames in 2017-18 with 69 points (24 goals, 45 assists) and 658 penalty minutes in 527 NHL regular-season games, including six goals and 15 points in 134 games during his three seasons with the Blueshirts. Glass also had two goals and six points in 67 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including one goal and four points in 30 games with New York.
Player development was an issue for the Rangers under Ortmeyer and was a key in back-to-back playoff misses in the past two seasons. Top-10 picks Lias Andersson (No. 7 in 2017) and Vitaly Kravtsov (No. 9 in 2019) were busts, and Kaapo Kakko (No. 2 in 2019) never lived up to his draft status before the Rangers traded him to the Seattle Kraken in December 2024. Forward Alexis Lafreniere, the first player taken in the 2020 draft, has not reached 30 goals or 60 points in his six NHL seasons.
Advertisement
2023 first-rounder Gabe Perreault showed promise this season but still has more to prove at the NHL level.
Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Brennan Othmann , taken with the 16th pick in 2021, never panned out and was traded to the Calgary Flames in March. Lafreniere and defenseman Braden Schneider (No. 19 in 2020) are the only players left from the Rangers’ nine first-round picks from 2017-21, although they did have some success with recent mid- and late-round picks this season.
In addition, the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, finished last in the league this season and has failed to consistently produce NHL-ready depth, generating criticism that the player development operation need a complete overhaul. With the Rangers embarking on what Drury in January called a “retool” that’s going to be driven by adding young talent, a change in leadership for the player development operation isn’t surprising.
Advertisement
Tanner Glass promoted to Rangers head of player development
The first move came April 8, when Kevin Maxwell rejoined the Rangers as director of pro scouting. He’ll work alongside John Lilley, who’s their amateur scoring director, when it comes to running the player personnel department. Maxwell, now 66, spent 14 years scouting in the Rangers organization and was their director of pro scouting from 2011-22 before leaving to become the general manager of the St. Louis Blues ’ AHL affiliate after Drury made a number of moves in the Blueshirts’ scouting operation.
Maxwell was with the Rangers during their rebuild after a successful run in the 2010s, and his return came less than three months after Drury’s announcement of the current retool. He and Glass were together with the Rangers for three years.
Drury was asked during a Zoom call with the media on April 17 whether the Rangers were considering changes to their player development staff. He responded that they “are looking at every different department and areas as to what we can do better.”
Kim Klement-Imagn Images
The Rangers figure to have a chance to add the kind of prime young talent they’ve been lacking in this year’s NHL Draft. By finishing 30th in the overall standings, New York has an 11.5 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in next week’s draft lottery, according to Tankathon. Even if they don’t get the first pick, the Rangers will be in the top five and should get a premium selection.
Advertisement
They also own the Dallas Stars ’ first-round pick, which should be in the early-to-mid 20s. The Stars were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they lost 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Related Headlines
