Hugh Jessiman

General Manager Glen Sather, along with Tom Renney and the rest of the Rangers scouting staff, were ecstatic to see Dartmouth power forward and New York native Hugh Jessiman fall into their laps at 12th overall in the 2003 draft. It came as a surprise to them, since they had Jessiman ranked as the fourth best player available in the entire draft. Either they overrated Jessiman or they saw something in him that nobody else had seen. Thus far, the pick has not apnned out as the Rangers would have hoped.

After Jessiman excelled as a freshman at Dartmouth College, earning ECAC Rookie of the Year honors, his play leveled off during the 2003-04 season. Then he was injured early into the 2004-05 season, and lost almost the whole year. Rather than return to Dartmouth, Jessiman decided to turn pro prior to the 2005-06 season.  He then spent two seasons shuttling back and forth between the AHL and ECHL Rangers’ affiliates.

Jessiman spent this past summer getting stronger and taking boxing lessons. He was determined to make the Rangers this Fall, and had a very good Rangers’ training camp. However, after a couple of pre-season games, including an embarrassing bout with the Flyers’ prospect Steve Downie, Jessiman was sent to Hartford to start the season. He has been more productive this season than in the past, but he  is still behind in development.