The Hartford Wolf Pack are heading into their 30th season with a roster picture that looks a whole lot different than it did a year ago.
Between the New York Rangers’ overhaul and Hartford’s own summer work, new head coach Jay Leach suddenly has real depth to sort through. That’s a sharp contrast from last season, when the Wolf Pack were forced to scrape together lineups with too few forwards and often dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen. This time around, there should be no shortage of bodies up front.
On the Rangers’ side, the changes have been dramatic. New York landed star winger Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights during the NHL entry draft in June, moved veteran center Vincent Trocheck to Utah, and added defenseman Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks.
Hartford has been busy too. The club brought in a new coaching staff and made several depth signings as it tries to bounce back from a last-place finish in 2025-26. The result is a much wider pool of options for opening night, with a mix of prospects beginning their pro careers and steadier veterans in the mix.
Here’s how the Wolf Pack’s forward group could look when the puck drops next month:
Nathan Aspinall
Jacob Battaglia
Anton Blidh
Cole Beaudoin
Justin Dowling
Glenn Gawdin
Liam Greentree
Zakary Karpa
Brody Lamb
Bryce McConnell-Barker
Justin Nachbaur
Dylan Roobroeck
Adam Sykora
Carey Terrance
Aidan Thompson
There are five forwards in this group who are expected to be in Hartford for the first year of their entry-level contracts: Nathan Aspinall, Jacob Battaglia, Cole Beaudoin, Liam Greentree, and Brody Lamb.
Aspinall, taken 159th overall in 2024, and Lamb, a 104th overall pick in 2021, are both Rangers draft picks. Battaglia, Beaudoin, and Greentree came to the organization in trades involving Brennan Othmann, Trocheck, and Artemi Panarin, respectively.
Aspinall and Lamb already have some Hartford experience on amateur tryout contracts. Aspinall played five games to close out the 2024-25 season, while Lamb appeared in 15 games during the 2025-26 campaign.
There’s been plenty of buzz around this crop, especially around former first-round picks Beaudoin, selected 24th overall in 2024, and Greentree, picked 26th overall in 2024. Still, the expectation is that both players will spend the season in Hartford, unless strong play and injuries create a short-term NHL opening.
In Other News...
Rangers Suddenly Have A Backup Goalie Battle That Really Matters
Among the additions the Rangers brought in this offseason, the one that could quietly shape the early part of the season is in goal. Joonas Korpisalo came over in the trade with Boston, joining a group of newcomers that also included defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson and forwards Pavel Dorofeyev, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen, and he now steps into the picture behind Igor Shesterkin with a real chance to matter.
The battle for the backup job is expected to come down to Korpisalo and rookie Dylan Garand, with preseason offering both a chance to make their case. Garands late-season NHL look last year showed the Rangers there is some upside there, while Korpisalo arrives as a more established option, which makes this one of those seemingly small competitions that could end up carrying real weight once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
National NHL Voice Is Buying The Rangers For A Big Bounce Back
The Rangers are heading into another fall with plenty of questions, but there was at least some encouragement floating around a recent NHL discussion among a familiar trio of former players. Paul Bissonnette sounded bullish on New Yorks chances of taking a step forward in 2026-27, pointing to the power play as one area that could help drive a turnaround, while co-hosts Ryan Whitney and Keith Yandle also noted the teams youth movement and the possibility of improvement.
J.T. Millers recent media appearance came up as part of that broader optimism, the kind of small off-ice ripple that can sometimes fuel a bigger on-ice conversation around a talented roster. The debate, though, made clear that belief in a playoff return is not universal yet, and the Rangers will start giving everyone a better sense of their outlook when preseason opens on Sept. 21 before the regular season follows on Sept. 29. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Blue Line Spending Signals A Changing Of The Guard
A new defense market keeps pushing the bar higher, and Cale Makars eight-year deal at an average annual value of $20.4 million only underlined how expensive elite blueliners have become. For the Rangers, the bigger takeaway is how much of their future payroll is already tied up on the back end, a reminder that the teams blue line has become one of the costliest parts of the roster as clubs sort out where to spend in a cap era that keeps forcing hard choices.
That spending picture matters because it is not just about star power, but about how the Rangers have reshaped the group around the edges and through separate moves. Additions such as Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson fit into a broader recalibration of the defense corps, while other cap hits have been shifted out in the process, leaving the Rangers squarely in the conversation as one of the NHLs most expensive blue lines heading into 2026-27. [Read more 🡒]