Just like old times.
While the current Rangers take on the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon, the organization will host alumni Kevin Klein, Michael Del Zotto, Colton Orr and Adam Hall on a weekend trip to take in the game. The alumni trip is one of two that will occur this season and aims to help bolster the relationships between Rangers players past and present.
“It’s what you miss the most when you retire,” Orr said. “All of those moments of just being in the room, hanging around with the guys, being on the road with the guys. It’s so exciting to get that experience again. It really just brings us all closer together. We feel really privileged to get to go on this trip together.”
Despite Klein, Del Zotto, Orr and Hall not having played together on the same Rangers team, there was some overlap throughout their respective careers. And even for those who didn’t overlap or play alongside one another, the shared bond of having at one point sported the iconic Blueshirt and having skated at Madison Square Garden is like none other.
“You pick up where you left off,” Orr said. “You won’t see each other for a while, or it’s guy that you might have played against, then you get around here back together just like old times. Guys are razzing each other, you’re joking around -- it’s just like it was back in the dressing room.”
While this trip in particular will feature just Klein, Del Zotto, Orr, and Hall in attendance, the Rangers alumni community is tight knit. From Rangers legends like Adam Graves and Mark Messier to players who only played a handful of games, the organization is proud to support a robust alumni network and offer opportunities like this weekend’s in Nashville as a means of creating even more memories.
“It’s cool because you get to see some of the Rangers legends,” Orr said. “Those are guys that you grew up watching play. Then you get to sit around with guys you played with and even against, so it’s just a mix of experiences and stories. Everything brings the table together to bond across the different generations. You really get to know each other and share that mutual bond [of having played for the Rangers].”
Another benefit of offering a trip like the one in Nashville is it affords players the opportunity to network and gain insight from other alums as they navigate a new chapter of their lives – like in the case of Del Zotto, who announced his retirement in September.
“When I first stopped playing, it was like, Okay, what am I going to do?’” Orr said. “You’re not sure at first, and then for me, it was just finding my way back to the game of hockey, which is what I’m most passionate about. Just meeting new people in the game, getting into coaching, stuff like that. It’s really important to be able to have that community that’s still around the game so that you can bring those opportunities to other alumni trying to figure out [their post-playing career] as well.”
