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Bowling Green junior goaltender Chris Nell has signed with the New York Rangers, forgoing his final year of eligibility.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms with free agent goaltender Chris Nell. Nell, 22, appeared in 34 games with @BGathletics this season.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 23, 2017
Nell is listed at 6-1 178 lbs., though plays bigger than his size with aggressive positioning and good athleticism. This past season, he posted a stat line of .916/2.15
In 2015-2016, we ranked Nell as the 50th-best NHL prospect in the NCAA, writing this:
The Falcons already have one former free agent goalie starting in the NHL in Andrew Hammond, and Nell could be next. Nell is only listed at 6'1" but he has a lanky frame and positions aggressively, allowing him to cover a lot of net and really cut down on angles. He's developed more consistency in his sophomore season, raising his save percentage from .917 as a rookie to .930 as a sophomore.
Nell didn’t have quite as strong of a junior season, in part because of some early struggles while dealing with the unexpected death of his father a month before Bowling Green’s season began. But the potential is certainly there for Nell to become a very good pro goalie.