Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Maybe

With training camp approaching and a Stanley Cup vision ahead, let us look back to one of the most unique players on the Blueshirts bench, Colton Orr. Standing at 6 feet, 2 inches and 220 lbs of Ranger, this $525,000 per this season 25-year old enforcer remains an odd force and a loyal hit-man for our Rangers coach Tom Renney.

Give this a read: Colton Orr appeared in 53 games with the Rangers, registering two goals and one assist, along with 126 penalty minutes ... Established career-highs in games played (53), goals (two), points (three), and penalty minutes (126) … Ranked third on the team and tied for 18th in the NHL with 126 penalty minutes

These stats will leave anyone scratching their head, and recently I read someone post a rant on "how in the world could any responsible franchise keep a guy like this on board for a third season straight?"

Let it be known that The Dark Ranger is a fan of Colton Orr! There, I said it.

For better or worse, for 'ass-kicking' or 'ass-kicked' - this guy has heart! He played 2/3 of last season's games and provided protection when needed, even if that required dropping his gloves to Donald Brashear of the Washington Capitals after Jagr received a couple of unnecessary jabs. He is fearless. He will take a beating to make a point. He is a New York Ranger team player.

For your visual enjoyment (if you've gotten this far), I have assembled some of my favorite Colton Orr moments of the last two seasons - some good, some bad. I attended the game when the Rangers played the Philly Flyers March 21, 2007. Fedoruk was knocked out unconscious and had to be carried off the ice in a stretcher; though a scary moment in hockey (and just not good), it cemented Colton Orr's place in seasons to come as a young and upcoming enforcer in the new NHL. The following clips are my own personal celebration of "The Guy That Will Never Be King (but will be really good friends with him)."

Press any link for a video clip and enjoy Colton Orr in action:

here vs. Todd Fedoruk - Flyers (RATED First-rate ass kicking),
here vs. Brashear - Capitals (RATED Complete ass-kicked, but A+ for fighting "the famous left hook"),
here vs. McGrattan - Senators (RATED Win, Orr kicks it)
here vs. Boulton - Thrashers (RATED tie, but Orr advantage)
here vs. Wade Belak - Leafs (RATED Loss, but kudos for fighting a very large man),
here vs. Jason Strudwick - Bruins (RATED Win, for beating up his now teammate),
here vs. Cam Janssen Round 1 - Devils (RATED Tie and note the complete deterioration of Janssen's jersey),
here vs. Cam Janssen Round 2- Devils (RATED Win and Justice).

tdr