The Most Incredible Stat from Each New York Rangers Star's Career

The dog-days of summer present us with a unique opportunity to look back on the careers of some of the more high-profile New York Rangers.

With a host of accomplished veterans on the roster, there are plenty of notable accomplishments to highlight.

But we’ll focus in on the five biggest stars employed by the Rangers and present to you the most impressive stat from their respective careers as a professional or a prospect in juniors.

Check them out after the jump.

Ryan Callahan

During his six-year NHL career, Ryan Callahan has defined the role of grinder. Forever hard-working, Callahan rarely takes a shift off. His aggressiveness and selflessness paved the way for him to be named Rangers captain on the eve of the 2011-12 season.

Callahan’s increased offensive production has made him even more valuable to the Rangers organization, but his hard-nosed play is still his greatest offering.

He’s become a perennial hits leader in the league since his breaking out, with his best season coming in 2009-10 when he finished third with 285 hits.

An impressive number without question, but at the end of the day it is just a number, and the effect those body-checks have on a game is much more profound. Callahan uses his checking ability to influence the game and shift momentum, and as a result Callahan has become one of the Rangers’ most important players.

Marc Staal

Marc Staal is known best as one of the league’s top defensive-defenseman. His successes shutting down some of the world’s top talent have, at times, catapulted the Rangers to victory.

But it’s been speculated at length that Staal could have more to offer, particularly on the offensive side.

Former coach John Tortorella gave Staal the green light and encouraged the 26-year-old to join the rush when the opportunity presented itself. He too believed that the big man had more to offer in the opponent’s end.

So, where did this idea come from that Staal could be a force offensively? Well, from his final season in juniors. Captaining his Sudbury Wolves side, Staal led the team to the 2007 OHL finals. The Wolves eventually lost the series in six games, but Staal registered 20 points in 22 games en route to taking home playoff MVP honors.

Not bad for a stay-at-home defenseman.

Brad Richards

There once was a time when Brad Richards was one of, if not the most, coveted prospect in junior hockey.

A long time ago—1999-2000 to be exact—Richards, then a Tamp Bay Lightning prospect, was playing in his final season of junior hockey with Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. Tampa’s decision to allow Richards another season in the Q was questionable, as he had registered 131 points in 59 games in 1998-99. But, nevertheless, he remained in Rimouski.

And what he did in that final season was, simply, ridiculous. Richards scored 186 points in 63 games. I’ll say that again: 186 points in 63 games. Of them, 71 were goals and 115 were assists. An amazing feat that now seems long forgotten considering the player’s apparent downfall.

Richards will never replicate anything like that performance ever again, but if he can find some of that creative magic in 2013-14, he’ll be a very important player for the Rangers again.

Rick Nash

Rick Nash is widely considered one of the elite offensive talents in the world. His mixture of size, speed and skill are not oft found nowadays.

But despite his talent, Nash lacks personal recognition as a pro. The only hardware in his trophy case is a single Rocket Richard trophy, which he shared with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jarome Iginla when the trio potted 41 goals each in 2004.

What makes the achievement so interesting is the goal total Nash, Kovalchuk and Iginla posted: 41. It was the fewest amount of goals scored by the league leader(s) in a full NHL season since Gordie Howe scored 38 in 1962-63.

Furthermore it was an indication of changing times in the NHL. Scoring was down, obstruction hooking was on the rise and the league was losing a lot of fans, who claimed the game had become too “boring.”

Ironically enough, the 2004-05 season was cancelled due to a work-stoppage, and when it returned in 2005-06 a plethora of new rules were introduced to boost offense and scoring.

Henrik Lundqvist

When Henrik Lundqvist burst onto the NHL scene in 2005-06 he not only took the league by storm but the entire hockey world.

In his first season, he wrestled the Rangers’ starting job out of the hands of veteran goaltender Kevin Weekes and went on to post a 30-12-9 record, complemented by a 2.24 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.

His achievements hadn’t gone unnoticed. He was, as a rookie, nominated for a Vezina Trophy: the league’s top goaltending honors. He also picked up Vezina nods in the following two seasons.

He would eventually take home the prize in 2011-12, but to this date his greatest achievement has been his consecutive 30-win seasons to begin his career.

In 2007-08, Lundqvist became the first goalie in NHL history to register 30 wins in his first three seasons.  But Hank wasn’t finished yet. He went on to register 30 wins in four additional seasons, bringing his tally to seven consecutive 30-win seasons to begin his career.

An astounding streak broken only by the 2012-13 work stoppage that nixed half the NHL season. But despite appearing in just 43 games in 2013, Lundqvist still posted 24 wins.

The man, ladies and gentleman, is a freak.