New York Rangers Sports Legends

The New York Rangers are a one of the top teams in the National Hockey League, or the NHL. In the history of the New York Rangers, they have had about 67 all time players. One of the first legends the Rangers had was back in the 1900s. His name was Clarence "Taffy" Abel. In more present times, Mark Messier is a more recognizable name.

Clarence was born in 1900 and did not even start to play the game of hockey until 1918. Clarence was the first American born player to actually stick in the NHL. The first time he actually played was not for the Rangers, in 1924, Clarence made the U.S. Olympic team. He did not make a name for himself by making a lot of action plays on the ice. He spent most of his time in the penalty box, since he realized that his size was very intimidating to the other players. Clarence became a New York Ranger in 1926 with the intense way he chose to play hockey.

Mark Messier did not start out on the high side of the NHL. As a matter of fact, no one really had any faith that he would be in the NHL long. At the age of 17, he became a professional hockey player, but he was a coach's project. Messier was strong and fast and not afraid to show it all off. He just needed to hone in his skills. He accomplished this to prove everyone wrong, proving he could be the best by bringing home not one, but two Stanley Cups.