Rangers Acquire Defenseman Julius Bergman
Feb 25, 2019(Photo courtesy of Belleville Senators)
New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton announced today that the team has acquired defenseman Julius Bergman, a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Adam McQuaid.
Bergman, 23, was acquired by Columbus from Ottawa on Feb. 22 and had been assigned to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). Prior to being traded to Columbus, he had skated in 33 AHL games with the Belleville Senators this season, registering six assists and 12 penalty minutes. Bergman has skated in 223 career AHL games over parts of five seasons (2014-15 – 2018-19), registering 16 goals and 51 assists for 67 points, along with 151 penalty minutes. The 6-1, 205-pounder established AHL career-highs in assists (27) and points (30) with the San Jose Barracuda in 2016-17, and he tallied a career-high 10 goals with the Barracuda in 2017-18.
The Stockholm, Sweden native was originally selected by San Jose in the second round, 46th overall, of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Including the two draft picks the Rangers acquired from the Blue Jackets, the team now has 10 picks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, including two picks in the first round and five picks in the first two rounds (their own first-round pick, Winnipeg’s first-round pick, their own second-round pick, either Dallas’ second-round pick or first-round pick, either Tampa Bay’s second-round pick or first-round pick, their own third-round pick, Columbus’ fourth-round pick, their own fifth-round pick, their own sixth-round pick, and Columbus’ seventh-round pick). The Rangers also made 10 selections in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft; the 10 selections were the most the Rangers made in one year since the NHL adopted a seven-round Draft format in 2005.
McQuaid skated in 36 games with the Rangers this season, registering two goals and three assists for five points, along with 33 penalty minutes.