Drew Fortescue’s brief run with the Rangers last season did enough to leave a mark. He arrived straight out of Boston College, skipped the usual detour through a tryout, and handled the jump to the NHL better than most would in that spot. It wasn’t spotless, but it was enough to show the Rangers they had something real to work with.
At BC, Fortescue built his case the hard way. His junior season produced four goals and ten assists in 35 games, and over three years he finished with eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points.
The numbers climbed a bit each season, but the bigger story was the role he earned: top-pair minutes, heavy usage, and responsibility in just about every situation. That growth is what led Chris Drury and the Rangers to sign him to his entry-level deal in late March without sending him through a tryout.
Fortescue’s first NHL game came in a 6-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden on March 27, and it came with a memorable twist. About 200 friends and family were in the building, and he picked up his first career point in the process. He finished the season with nine appearances in 10 possible games and two assists.
There was one healthy scratch along the way, but the Rangers framed it as a matchup-based call and a chance for him to watch and learn. There was also talk that the decision might have been tied to a significant bonus if he reached 10 games, though reports said it was more about contract control once he comes out of his ELC. Either way, the message from his play was clear: Fortescue handled himself well enough to stay in the conversation.
That conversation, though, may now point to Hartford. With Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson in the mix and first round pick Alberts Smits getting a real look out of camp, there simply doesn’t appear to be room for Fortescue on the NHL roster right now. That’s not a setback so much as the natural next step for a defenseman who has never played in the AHL and could use a full season there to settle in, run a power play, kill penalties, and absorb major minutes as one of the Wolf Pack’s key blue-liners.
The Rangers’ projected group also makes the path harder to read. A likely starting look would be:
Gavrikov - Fox
Pettersson - Durzi
Smits - Schneider
Vaakanainen
If Smits needs time in Hartford, Matthew Robertson would be the next option. After that, Fortescue would be in the mix, but Scott Morrow and Vincent Iorio are also in the picture, and Dennis Cholowski and Marc Del Gaizio bring more pro experience if the Rangers want a safer recall. Fortescue is exempt from waivers, so the team can move him without worrying about another club claiming him.
The projection here is a modest one: 1 NHL game, no points, and a much busier year in Hartford, where a 70-game season with eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points is the expectation. That would give the Rangers a better read on him, and it would give Hartford a defenseman it clearly needs.
Long term, the fit is less obvious. Gavrikov and Pettersson are signed for the next five-plus years, and Smits has been added with the hope that he becomes the left-shot defenseman of the future. Plenty can change in a couple of years, but right now Fortescue is fighting uphill for a permanent NHL role.
For the moment, though, that’s fine. The Rangers need to keep developing him, not rush him into a spot that isn’t there.
If he becomes a full-time NHL player, great. If the organization doesn’t have room for him down the line, then that becomes a different conversation.
But for now, Fortescue is exactly the kind of player Chris Drury said the team needed more of, and the priority should be making sure he keeps growing.
In Other News...
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Scott Morrows path with the Rangers got a little clearer on paper this week, even if the actual roster picture is still anything but settled. The restricted free agent defenseman signed a one-year, two-way contract after splitting last season between New York and Hartford, where he logged 29 games with the big club and 34 with the Wolf Pack.
The deal gives the Rangers flexibility, but it also leaves Morrow in the middle of a familiar camp battle for a depth defenseman trying to stick. With an NHL salary of $850,000 and an AHL salary of $125,000, he now has to make his case all over again, and the pressure only rises from here as the opening-night roster comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Top-Six Search Could Lead To A Surprising Ottawa Opportunity
The Rangers have spent the offseason adding pieces, but the search for a true top-six forward is still hanging over the roster. That leaves New York watching a few different markets, including one that has quietly become more interesting in Ottawa, where winger Drake Batherson has one year left on his contract and fits the kind of scoring role the Rangers still appear to want to address.
Bathersons situation has started to draw attention because the Senators have not yet found a path forward on an extension, even as his camp pushes for a long-term commitment. If the sides do not bridge the gap before the Sept. 15 deadline, the possibility of him becoming a future free agent would only increase his appeal for teams like the Rangers, who could be ready to pounce if the situation in Ottawa keeps drifting. [Read more 🡒]