Rangers Sign Jimmy Vesey, Coveted by Much of the N.H.L.

The Rangers won the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes on Friday, signing him to a two-year contract.

Vesey, a 23-year-old former Harvard forward who won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey last season, was originally selected by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2012 draft. He opted not to sign with the Predators during his college career and his rights were traded to the Buffalo Sabres in June. The Sabres failed to agree to terms with Vesey this summer and he became an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday.

Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton said he was thrilled when Vesey called him to say he had chosen the Rangers over seven other teams that had courted him.

“I was glad to see the caller ID and see a Boston number so I hurried to answer it,” Gorton said on a conference call. “He’s got an ability to score and make plays. He’s a very talented player. We’re really excited to get a player like this.”

A 6-foot-3 left wing, Vesey had 24 goals in 33 games last season. A native of North Reading, Mass., he scored 32 goals as a junior and 80 in 128 games overall for the Crimson. His contract is worth the entry-level maximum, $925,000 per season.

“Myself, my agent and my family were very impressed with the Rangers in our meeting,” Vesey said. “They seemed to really want me. They really needed to have me in their lineup.”

The Rangers appeared poised to make a splash after a relatively quiet summer following a first-round playoff loss in five games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the Rangers’ earliest postseason exit since 2011.

They traded last season’s top goal scorer, Derick Brassard, to the Ottawa Senators last month for Mika Zibanejad and signed the free-agent forwards Michael Grabner and Nathan Gerbe.

Adding Vesey potentially gives the Rangers another offensive weapon, but he faces the potentially arduous challenge of making the jump from college to the N.H.L.

Gorton said he was confident his new forward is equipped to make the transition with the Rangers, who also signed the highly sought-after Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy in 2009 only to see the former Boston University defenseman struggle to live up to expectations.

“As they get to the N.H.L., everyone can play,’’ Gorton said. “Teams are deep. There are no nights off. I think with any player — any real good player — they make those adjustments quickly.”

Two years ago, the Rangers signed forward Kevin Hayes out of Boston College after he chose not to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, who drafted him in 2010. Hayes and Vesey are friends since childhood. The Rangers also signed their own former draft pick, Chris Kreider, also out of Boston College, in 2012.

“There were some ties to New England and my home,” Vesey said of his future teammates. “It was one of the factors in my decision.”

The league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union gives teams four years to sign college players and permits those players to become free agents after completing their senior years.

Vesey said he was unfazed by the looming pressure of performing in the New York spotlight. He cited experience playing on the Madison Square Garden ice with his Harvard teammates.

“As an athlete, I put pressure on myself on my own. I think all athletes do to perform to the best of their abilities,” Vesey said. “I feel New York is somewhere where I can plug in and play right away. I will have to put in the work.”