MONTREAL — The NHL announced on Thursday what the Rangers have known for 4 seasons.
Igor Shesterkin was named an All-Star for the first time in his profession and can represent the Blueshirts at the 2023 All-Star Game in Sunrise, Florida next month. The Russian netminder is the seventh goalkeeper in Rangers history to be chosen for the All-Star Game, joining Chuck Rayner, Gump Worsley, Ed Giacomin, Gilles Villemure, Mike Richter and Henrik Lundqvist.
Moreover, Shesterkin is the seventeenth goalkeeper in NHL history to win the Vezina Trophy before being named an All-Star.
Last 12 months’s All-Star snub was a glaring oversight as Shesterkin pieced together a historic season. The 27-year-old continues to be Rangers’ most significant player and has finally earned the recognition.
Amongst NHL goaltenders with a minimum of 25 starts, Shesterkin ranks third with 18 wins and seventh with a 0.917 save percentage. His 2.43-goal average can also be the seventh-best in the NHL.
![Igor Shesterkin](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/igor-shesterkin-03.jpg?w=1024)
The Rangers recalled striker Gustav Rydahl for the first time this season after Jonny Brodziński needed to miss Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Canadiens to be along with his wife during the birth of their second daughter.
Rydahl, who signed a one-year, $750,000 cope with the Rangers in the off-season, headed to Montreal on Thursday before serving as a healthy scratch.
“He’s an enormous, strong guy who’s a great skater,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said of what Rydahl saw at training camp. “He played pretty much there.
In 24 AHL games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the 28-year-old Rydahl scored 4 goals and five assists in 24 penalty minutes.
Despite the cancellation, the Rangers played with the same lineup they faced the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Brodziński was a healthy scratch in the previous two games. Libor Hajek watched the tenth competition in a row from the press box.
Rangers prospectives Brennan Othmann (Canada) and Jaroslav Chmelar (Czech Republic) faced off Thursday night in the IIHF World Youth Championship gold medal game, which Othmann and Canada won 3-2 in time beyond regulation.
Othmann, who turned 20 on Thursday, finished the international tournament with two goals and 6 assists, scoring eight points in seven games, including two midfielders in the championship. In 4 competitions, Chmelar scored one goal and earned 25 penalty minutes.
Finland’s Kalle Vaisanen finished the tournament with a goal and an assist, while Adam Sykora of Slovakia scored once in five matches.
The Rangers are scheduled to coach in Montreal on Friday before returning to Recent York. On Saturday, they’ll face the Devils for the third time this season in the morning at the Prudential Center.