Only a few hours after celebrating the hockey program's second National Championship in three years, BC's Chris Kreider traveled to Tarrytown, N.Y. to practice with the New York Rangers. Incredibly, as soon as Kreider hit the ice, the first year of his entry-level contract vanishes. Clearly the Blueshirts are serious about Kreider's chances to make an impact during the postseason this year.

During practice, Kreider skated with the Rangers third line of Brian Boyle, Brandon Dubinsky, and Ruslan Fedotenko, but remained as an extra during drills.

Right now, Kreider is skating with the team to get to know his teammates and gain an understanding of John Tortorella's system. Despite the fact that the Rangers pushed hard to sign Kreider for the Cup run, it sounds like nothing is guaranteed in the postseason.

"They definitely sent the message that if you want to play, you have to prove you're ready to play," the 6-3, 230-pound forward told reporters on Wednesday. "You're going to have to earn your ice time. That's the way it should be. I have no expectations coming in, just trying to be a sponge and learn from everyone."

Tortorella had similar comments on the issue of whether Kreider will see some playing time this week.

"We're happy he's here and he's a Ranger...from here we'll go day by day...this is a man we feel has a great future"

"All players are defined by what they do in the playoffs...no one is exempt from that"

So the question now is will Kreider hit the ice for the Rangers Quarterfinals series with the Ottawa Senators tonight? Your thoughts?

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