Catching up with N.Y. Rangers signee Adam Chapie

By @MichaelCaples –

It may have been a new experience for Adam Chapie, but he was in familiar territory at the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City.

It’s unbelievable, any time I can get back here it’s great,” said Chapie, an Oxford native. “This is where my mom grew up, close to here, so I have a bunch of friends and family in the stands – it’s always nice to have them cheering me on.”

Chapie’s grandparents live close to Traverse City, which has meant plenty of vacation time in Traverse City for the Lake Orion high school hockey alum. This time around, however, he was there for business.

Chapie signed a professional hockey contract with the New York Rangers following his senior season with UMass-Lowell last spring. The NHL Prospect Tournament marked the start of his first professional hockey season.
“A dream come true,” Chapie said. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was kid, and to be a part of this organization, an Original Six, it’s awesome. I love the team so far, all these rookie guys and the staff has been great. It was an incredible week when I signed here, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The Rangers are getting a player who knows his way around both ends of the ice in Chapie, who posted a career 95 points and a +16 rating in 148 games with UMass-Lowell. Still, Chapie knows it might take a while before he’s skating at Madison Square Garden with the rest of the Blueshirts.

“You always hope you can play on the top team,” he said, “but I think I’ll end up in Hartford (AHL) and get some experience there and see where it goes.”

It’s been a wild journey for the Oxford native, who played primarily for Little Caesars growing up in Metro Detroit. After playing high school hockey for Lake Orion, he played one season with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the CSHL, then two season with the New Mexico Mustangs of the NAHL. From there, it was a move to UMass-Lowell for four seasons of Division 1 college hockey. He joked that he’s played “everywhere,” when discussing his path to pro hockey.

Chapie said he certainly enjoyed his time at the high school level before making the jump to juniors.

“It was fun – that’s the best way I can put it,” he said. “It was all of my best friends that I grew up with, just playing hockey with them…it was fun to play competitive ice hockey with them finally. That’s all I can say, really – it was fun.”

He also gave plenty of credit to Norm Bazin and the rest of the UMass-Lowell coaching staff for his development as a player.

“It was unbelievable,” Chapie said. “Playing four years under Norm Bazin and that crew, it was great for me. I learned a lot, I got bigger, I got better. They prepared me a lot for this time.”

And as one of the latest success stories from the Michigan youth hockey scene, Chapie said it’s great to see many of his peers finding success in the sport.

“Michigan’s always produced some pretty good players,” he said. “I’ve seen a couple in my age group that have done really well – I grew up playing against Cam Fowler, Kenny Ryan was one of them I can remember, Shane Berschbach who is in the ECHL. The youth programs are really good, and we’re seeing some really good young talent, and it’s great.”