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Which Rangers must step up this season if key prospects not ready for NHL
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- Which Rangers must step up this season if key prospects not ready for NHL
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The New York Rangers will walk — skate — a fine line this season. New coach Mike Sullivan is tasked with getting a talented veteran core back on track with a mandate to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs after one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. At the same time, Sullivan and Co. want to develop as many top Rangers prospects as possible and incorporate them into the lineup.
Now, one objective doesn't have to submarine the other. In a perfect world, bringing along key youngsters on a playoff-caliber team, buoyed by proven NHL stars, dovetail seamlessly. And isn't that, in part, why Sullivan's paid the big bucks anyway?
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Been there, done that. Right?
So, yes, Gabe Perreault , Brennan Othmann , Scott Morrow , and Brett Berard each will get long looks at Rangers training camp. There are spots on the opening-night roster to be earned. Perreault, the 2023 first-round pick, could land anywhere in the top-nine forward group. Othmann and Berard are likely more viewed as third-line options presently. And Morrow is a skilled right-shot defenseman that could play on the third pair and second power-play unit.
Perreault has the highest upside of that group. But he's 20 and played just five NHL games late last season. Othmann, the 2021 first-rounder, has 25 games of NHL experience and is a physical presence on the ice. However, he's yet to score his first NHL goal.
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Berard might have the best chance to break camp with the big club. That's because Berard, who turns 23 next week, uses his speed, feistiness and skill to consistently energize the Rangers lineup. That's as long as his defensive metrics improve over the 35-game sample size in 2024-25, when he played most of the season with a torn labrum.
Morrow looks ready to make waves offensively in the NHL. The 22-year-old had six points (one goal, five assists) in 14 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, and 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) in 52 games with Chicago of the American Hockey League. Morrow must prove to Sullivan that he can defend adequately and has the willingness to compete at the NHL level before landing a spot in the Rangers lineup.
Related: Gabe Perreault ready to 'make the team, find a spot' at Rangers training camp
Breaking down Rangers plan if key prospects not yet ready for NHL
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But what if each — or most — of these young players is deemed not ready for full-time NHL duty? That throws quite the wrench into the master plan.
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Sure, the Rangers have stars like Artemi Panarin , Adam Fox , J.T. Miller , Vladislav Gavrikov , and Igor Shesterkin in place to handle most of the responsibility on the big club. Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere are prime candidates for bounce-back seasons. Vincent Trocheck is a vital core member. And Will Cuylle remains on the rise.
But if the kids are not ready, that puts the onus on others to fill the void.
Let's break down which Rangers must step up in 2025-26 if the kids aren't ready to shoulder the load and/or begin the season in the minors.
Related: Top 10 New York Rangers prospects after 2025 NHL Draft, including Gabe Perreault
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Juuso Parssinen and Taylor Raddysh
Grouping these two forwards together because they enter camp as favorites to land spots on the third line. That's no matter how the kids fare in the preseason. If Zibanejad plays on the wing in the top six, Parssinen is the top candidate to be the 3C. Raddysh fits the two-way role of a third-line wing. He has a 20-goal season on his NHL resume and played well in a bottom-six role with a really good Washington Capitals team last season.
But if the kids don't crack the lineup, it's imperative that Parssinen and Raddysh excel, since there's less of a safety net. That's a big ask for Parssinen, who's 24, skilled, but a bit of an enigma. He's never played more than 48 games in a season. Raddysh is the safer bet to hang in the lineup. But the Rangers would love more than the 27 points he chipped in over 80 games last season.
Jonny Brodzinski
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Speaking of safety nets, there's Brodzinski, as usual. Likely ticketed to start the season as the 13th forward, again, Brodzinski would be thrust into a larger role if at least one of the younger forwards fails to land a spot in the lineup. The 32-year-old can play center or on the wing and is used to playing key bottom-six minutes over 108 games the past two seasons.
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Brodzinski scored a career-high 12 goals last season and can be trusted always to step up when needed.
Conor Sheary
Sheary is a veteran option should the kids falter. The 33-year-old forward is coming to camp on a PTO. He has history with Sullivan, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. Sheary also scored 14 goals or more six times in the League, most recently when he had 15 with the Capitals in 2022-23.
However, the undersized forward spent most of last season in the AHL and appeared in only five games with the Tampa Bay Lightning . It's hard to get excited about him making the the team this season.
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Brendan Brisson and Trey Fix-Wolansky
Perhaps the Rangers could catch lightning in a bottle with one of these two forwards. Brisson is an overlooked option, even though he was a first-round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020. He's put up points in the past, though just not so much in 24 NHL games (two goals, six assists). He's also 23, can play center or wing, and made the opening-night roster for Vegas a year ago.
Fix-Wolansky is a 5-foot-7 forward with 26 games of NHL experience. He's decent depth piece. But if he's on the NHL roster instead of Perreault, Othmann, or Berard, well, that's an issue.
Carson Soucy and Urho Vaakanainen
Grouping these two defensemen together because each should be on the roster, whether Morrow makes the varsity or not. If Morrow is the third-pair right-side defenseman, either Soucy or Vaakanainen should be his partner. That entails Braden Schneider moving up to play his off (left) wide on the second pair alongside Will Borgen .
But if Morrow doesn't crack the lineup, Soucy and Vaakanainen should each be in the top six, perhaps even as partners on the third pair. In that scenario, one would play his off (right) side. The Rangers would miss Morrow's offensive flair. That means Soucy and Vaakanainen must make up for that by being even more reliable defensively, while upping their production offensively.
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Matthew Robertson
Here's a bit of a wild card. Robertson had his best pro season with Hartford a year ago, and earned his first two games in the NHL with the Rangers at the end of the year. It's unlikely he's in the Rangers lineup — or even on the roster — if Morrow is. But if Morrow starts the season in Hartford, Robertson is a good bet to be among the seven defensemen in the NHL. And if his arrow continues to point up, perhaps he steals some ice time away from Soucy, or maybe even Vaakanainen, who appears to be a favorite of the front office.
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