Rangers' Anthony Duclair assigned to juniors

ANAHEIM -- The timing isn't quite right for the Rangers, but it might be right long-term for The Duke.

Anthony Duclair, 19, who scored four goals and eight points for Team Canada, which won the gold medal at the World Junior Tournament, was re-assigned Monday to his former team, the Quebec Remparts.

The Remparts will host the Memorial Cup Tournament in late May, so Duclair's 18-game stay in New York, where he had a goal and seven points, is over, unless the Rangers are playing in June.

"We had a long discussion about it as a staff," coach Alain Vigneault said. "Right now, our team's healthy, the team's playing well, J.T's [Miller] play has picked up and it would be tough for Anthony to crack our lineup. According to the people I've talked to, our scouts, people with Hockey Canada, he had a real good tournament, he's playing with a lot of confidence. After looking at both sides, the best thing for him to do is to continue to play. He's going to again be put into a situation where there's a lot of scrutiny, and that's real good for a young player's development."