The New York Rangers are set to open training camp on Wednesday, and the roster gives a pretty clear picture of where the real competition lives. Most of the familiar names are already locked into place, but there are still a handful of spots up for grabs, and the most intriguing battles are clustered around the bottom of the roster and the crease.
Thursday’s first on-ice session will kick things into motion before the preseason slate begins next week. For now, the camp group can be sorted into a few different tiers, starting with the players who already look sewn into the opening-night picture.
At the top are the roster regulars, the names fans know best and the players who are expected to be on the team when the season starts. Short of a trade, they’re not going anywhere. The exact line combinations are still to be sorted out, but a pairing of Fox and Gavrikov is the obvious starting point on defense, with some mix of Zibanejad, Miller, Perreault, Lafrenière, Dorofeyev, and Bjorkstrand filling out the top six up front.
The more interesting part of camp sits just below that group.
The bubble forwards include Cole Beaudoin, Jaroslav Chmelař, Juuso Parssinen, Taylor Raddysh, Matt Rempe, Adam Sýkora, and Joe Veleno. On defense, Vincent Iorio, Alberts Smits, and Urho Vaakanainen are in the mix. In goal, Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo are the names to watch.
Those players are fighting for the final roster spots: backup goalie, seventh defenseman, and the last three forwards, which breaks down into a fourth-line center, a fourth-line wing, and an extra forward. Raddysh is in that group because there’s a real chance he gets waived, and that could open the door for a younger player the team wants to keep. Veleno arrived on a one-year free-agent deal and was presumably brought in to handle the fourth-line center role, but the Rangers saw Laba come out of nowhere last year, and Beaudoin could be the next young player to do that.
Chmelař and Sýkora both spent time with the team last season and brought strong work habits with them. If they have a good camp, they can force a longer look and make a case that they belong on the NHL roster.
Parssinen would fit as a 13th forward, since he’s established enough to sit for stretches and still be ready when called. Rempe’s inclusion reflects a different kind of uncertainty; he may be on his last chance in New York, and he might no longer fit the way the team wants to play.
The defense battle comes down mostly to Smits and whether he’s ready for this level. If he proves he can handle it, the Rangers could have a revolving option for the sixth defenseman spot or even create a trade possibility.
Vaakanainen is already a known piece, while Iorio was claimed off waivers last year. Both are useful depth options, but neither is untouchable.
The goalie situation is the one that really stands out. Garand was excellent in his brief time with the club, and his extension this summer seemed to point to him as Shesterkin’s backup.
Then the Rangers went and brought in Korpisalo, which changed the picture fast. If Garand doesn’t make the team out of camp, he would have to pass through waivers, and there’s a strong chance another team would take him.
Beyond that group, a larger chunk of camp is made up of players who look destined for Hartford. That list includes forwards like Liam Greentree and Nathan Aspinall, who are among the more recognizable prospects because of their upside, but the lack of a top-six opening in New York keeps them in the AHL for now. If the Tolvanen and Bjorkstrand experiments don’t pan out, the Rangers could always get creative.
Hartford should also get another look at Brody Lamb, Bryce McConnell-Barker, and Dylan Roobroeck, all of whom are back after time with the Wolf Pack last season. Thompson, acquired at the trade deadline, is another name expected to push for a bigger role.
On the blue line, the Rangers’ depth in New York makes a promotion difficult unless injuries pile up. Morrow looks like the first call-up option, with Fortescue also a possibility after getting a small cup of coffee at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Then there’s the final group, the camp bodies who are there to round things out.
That bucket includes forwards Carey Terrance and Glenn Gawdin, defenseman William Trudeau, and goaltender Callum Tung. Terrance came over in the Chris Kreider trade and put up 17 points in 68 AHL games in his first season there.
Gawdin is a 29-year-old veteran with 471 AHL games and just 13 NHL appearances, useful experience but not much path to a bigger role. Trudeau arrived from Montreal as part of the Brett Berard trade, and with several defensemen ahead of him, he’s not drawing much attention in this camp.
Tung could matter only if the goalie situation breaks a certain way. If Garand gets claimed, Hartford’s backup could end up being whoever doesn’t win the NHL job.
Tung spent last season between the AHL and ECHL and the numbers were rough: with Bloomington, he went 8-9-2 with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, and with Hartford he was 7-8-1 with a 3.94 goals-against average and a .855 save percentage. He had a solid one NCAA season of 15 games with UConn, but he’ll need a much better stretch soon if he wants to stay on track toward the NHL.
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