Rangers sign undrafted UCONN goalie after strong play in NCAA Tournament
Apparently, the New York Rangers aren’t done signing players out of college. One day after signing top prospect Gabe Perreault from Boston College, the Rangers agreed to terms with undrafted free-agent goalie Callum Tung from UConn on a three-year, entry-level contract.
While the Perreault deal had been long anticipated ever since the highly skilled forward was selected in the first round (No. 23 overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft, signing Tung was not on anyone’s radar.
The 21-year-old also agreed to an amateur tryout (ATO) with Hartford of the American Hockey League and will finish the season there. His Rangers contract begins next season. Two other Rangers prospects, center Noah Laba and defenseman Jackson Dorrington, did the same thing within the past two weeks.
Tung just completed his Freshman season at UConn, where he split time with Florida Panthers prospect Tyler Muszelik. Tung started 15 of the Huskies’ 39 games this past season and was 10-4-1 with a sterling 2.01 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and had the second-best save percentage and third-best GAA of all goalies in the conference. His .933 save percentage was sixth-best in the nation.
Though he didn’t record a shutout this season, Tung did limit opponents to two goals or fewer in 11 of his 15 starts. Never did he allow more than four goals. He won six consecutive starts from Feb. 8 – March 28.
Tung helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the school’s history — and coach Mike Cavanaugh chose Tung to start each of their two games in the regionals. Tung didn’t disappoint, making 21 saves in a 4-1 win over Quinnipiac last Friday and 38 saves in a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Penn State in the Elite Eight on Sunday — the same day Perreault and BC were eliminated by Denver, 3-1.
Related: Peter Laviolette reveals ‘own personal scout’ who kept him updated on Gabe Perreault during college
Callum Tung joins thin group of goalie prospects with Rangers
Dylan Garand — Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
Tung, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 198 pounds, was an older freshman because the British Columbia native had been playing previously in Canada. In 2023-24, Tung was 22-14-1 with a 2.80 GAA, .917 save percentage and three shutouts playing in the BCHL.
He joins a shallow pool of prospects at the goaltender position within the Rangers organization. They have not selected a goalie in the NHL Draft since Talyn Boyko was taken in the fourth round (No. 112 overall) in 2021.
At the top end of their goalie prospects list is Dylan Garand, who’s in his third pro season playing for the Hartford. The 22-year-old, a fourth-round pick by the Rangers in 2020, played in the AHL All-Star Classic this season and splits time with veteran Louis Domingue. He’s one win shy of his first 20-win campaign as a pro, and is considered next in line to back up Igor Shesterkin one day in New York, after Jonathan Quick retires.
That won’t be next season, though. The 39-year-old re-upped with the Rangers on a third-straight one-year contract to partner with Shesterkin again in 2025-26.
Bokyo has spent most of this season with Tulsa of the ECHL, though he’s in Hartford right now with Domingue a bit banged up. Boyko did play two games for Hartford last season, though the 22-year-old primarily was in the ECHL with Cincinnati.
Like Boyko, Hugo Ollas is also 22 years old and stands 6-foot-6. The 2020 seventh-round pick from Sweden and former Merrimack College goalie has appeared in 31 games split between Worcester and Bloomington in the ECHL this season. He won his only game with Hartford, in his pro debut, at the end of last season.
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