Rangers cite ex-NYPD officer's shield as good luck charm at lottery
New York jumped from sixth place to No. 2 pick at upcoming draft
ByPat Pickens @Pat_Pickens / NHL.com Staff Writer
The New York Rangers brought a good luck charm to the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery and it paid off.
Jeff Gorton, the team's general manager, had Steven McDonald's New York Police Department badge, which he cited as the extra push the Rangers needed to land the No. 2 pick, their highest in team history, at the 2019 NHL Draft on Tuesday.
#NYR GM Jeff Gorton talks about the good luck charm from the McDonald family and what Steven's legacy means to the organization. pic.twitter.com/vSpjLhG1qc
McDonald, a former policeman in New York, was paralyzed after he was shot in the line of duty in 1986. The Rangers named their Extra Effort Award after McDonald starting in 1988, and give it annually to the player who "goes above and beyond the call of duty." Forward Mika Zibanejad was selected as the 2019 winner . McDonald died in 2017, but his wife Patricia and son Conor passed his shield onto Gorton for good luck in his second straight trip to Toronto for the lottery. New York had the sixth-worst record in the NHL but jumped to second when the lottery balls landed in their favor. Only the New Jersey Devils will pick ahead of the Rangers at the draft in Vancouver on June 21.
