The Rangers are giving Cole Beaudoin his first NHL shot, and the timing puts the 20-year-old rookie right in the middle of a Battle of New York matchup with the Islanders.
New York recalled Beaudoin from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, and he is now expected to make his debut against the Islanders with puck drop set for 7:30 Eastern on Oct. 6. The move comes as the Rangers look for another body up front after fourth-line center Joe Veleno was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Beaudoin has wasted no time making noise in Hartford. Through two games with the Wolf Pack this season, he has five points - one goal and four assists - and he also found the net against the Isles in the Sept. 22 preseason game. His pro debut was even louder: three points against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Oct. 3, followed by two assists the next day against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
That production has pushed him into the spotlight at just the right moment for a Rangers team already rolling. New York brings a three-game winning streak into Madison Square Garden and is trying to win four of its first five games for the 10th time in franchise history and the second time in three seasons.
Head coach Mike Sullivan made it clear the roster decisions are being driven by performance, not paperwork. Per Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Sullivan said, "The question is: Do we just put guys in the lineup and send guys down just because they're waivers exempt, or do we put the guys in the lineup that we think are going to give us the best chance to win?
We chose to make a decision based on the latter," Sullivan said. "We think the guys that are in the lineup are deserving to be in the lineup through their performance and their play."
There was another roster shakeup before the Islanders game as well, with defenseman Matthew Robertson clearing waivers and being assigned to Hartford.
Beaudoin has also already put a simple scouting report on himself out there. "That's my game to a T.
It's forecheck, hunt pucks and make plays," Beaudoin said recently on the offense he brings to the ice. "And I think that's kind of looked at as my offensive side of my game, and making plays, finding guys, shooting pucks when I get the chance."
The Ottawa native spent the previous four seasons in the OHL with the Barrie Colts, where he piled up 221 points in 236 games, including 91 goals and 130 assists.
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