Hockey is back, and for the Rangers, the first real test of this reset arrives quickly. Rookie camp opened Friday, with the club set for back-to-back rookie games against the Flyers on Saturday and Sunday in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Veterans report Wednesday for training camp, the preseason begins Sept. 21 in Newark against the Devils, and the regular season starts Sept. 29 in Boston against the Bruins.
That calendar comes with a different feel around the Rangers this year. After missing the playoffs the last two seasons and stripping the roster down in that span, the team spent the summer reworking the lineup. General manager Chris Drury used the salary cap room to make several upgrades, including a draft-day trade for sniper Pavel Dorofeyev, the selection of NHL-ready defenseman Alberts Smits at No. 5 overall, and a return for Vincent Trocheck that brought back 27-year-old defenseman Sean Durzi and 20-year-old prospect Cole Beaudoin.
Drury kept going on the back end, too. He added defenseman Marcus Pettersson, brought in backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo after Jonathan Quick retired, and later signed winger Eeli Tolvanen to a one-year, $1.5 million deal.
Whether that’s enough to push the Rangers back into the playoffs will play out over the 84-game season, but the new pieces give them a much different look. Dorofeyev, Durzi and Pettersson - who is expected to team with Durzi on the second defense pair - join free-agent signing Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen in giving the roster more bite.
The bigger question is whether captain J.T. Miller can stay healthy and rebound, whether second-year forward Gabe Perreault can build on the strong finish to his rookie year, and whether Alexis Lafreniere can finally turn his recent uptick into steady offense after Artemi Panarin was traded last season.
There was also a jolt of energy at rookie camp that went beyond simply getting the season started. Smits was there, and so were two 20-year-old prospects who arrived through major trades and suddenly give the organization more depth in the pipeline.
Liam Greentree, acquired from L.A. in the Panarin trade, had already been around for summer development camp. Cole Beaudoin’s path was more abrupt. He was at Utah’s development camp on July 1 when he learned he had been dealt to the Rangers as part of the Trocheck trade.
“I was just with all the guys, and then … the news kind of broke,’’ he recalled. “I wasn't expecting it, but I'm excited now.’’
Beaudoin arrives as the Rangers’ top center prospect, which matters for an organization that has been thin down the middle. He’s 6-2, 209, and he led the OHL Barrie Colts with 33 goals and 55 assists for 88 points in 54 games.
He also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships, producing three goals and four assists in seven games. His calling card, though, is balance - he wants to impact both ends of the ice.
“It's a 200-foot centerman that is super reliable in the ‘D’ zone,’’ he said when asked to describe his game. “Making sure that I have my guy, making sure I block shots, box out if that's on the PK. But then also, I feel like my offensive game's progressed a lot.’’
The Rangers’ amateur scouting staff has tracked him closely for years, and John Lilley, the team’s director of player personnel and amateur scouting, made it clear why the organization likes him.
“Our staff has seen him a lot in the course of three years since his draft year,’’ Lilley said. “Myself personally, I've had tons of views, and just always valued what he brings to the table.
He's a big, strong kid. He's skilled, but I think his determination, his willingness to play a hard, direct game, is really something we value.’’
The likely starting point for Beaudoin is Hartford in the AHL, probably with Greentree on one of his wings. Still, he’s not hiding the goal.
“Everyone's goal is to make the NHL, and that's my goal,’’ Beaudoin said. “I want to make that team... And I'm gonna push.’’
With only 13 days and four preseason games between the opening of camp and the start of the season, the window for young players to force their way onto the roster is tight. That makes the rookie games in Lehigh Valley especially important.
“It's important for these kids to make a good impression because there's less exhibition games and maybe less opportunity for them to get in,’’ Lilley said. “Every practice, and obviously the two games in Lehigh (Valley), it's very important for these young men to make a good impression.’’
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Eiserman came away sounding encouraged by the chance to skate with Eklund again, pointing to the wingers speed and his feel for the game. For an Islanders organization trying to build out more punch up front, seeing two of its youngest forward prospects already looking comfortable together is the kind of development that tends to stick in the back of your mind. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Prospects Arrive At Rookie Camp Looking Much More NHL Ready
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For the Islanders, that kind of offseason progress is exactly the sort of early checkpoint worth watching with prospects. Prokhorov now sits at 234 pounds after gaining 15 this summer, and Eklund said he has been working hard all summer and is excited to show what he has improved. Camp will give both players their first chance to show whether the added strength translates once the skating, contact and tempo start to ramp up. [Read more 🡒]