For the first time in recent memory, the New York Rangers have several intriguing center prospects whom they're developing together at the professional level. And though neither Noah Laba, Dylan Roobroeck nor Carey Terrance is expected to crack New York's opening-night roster out of training camp, each will be watched closely before an important season of development begins with Hartford of the American Hockey League.
The Rangers have six players on the varsity that can play the center position: J.T. Miller , Vincent Trocheck , Mika Zibanejad , Sam Carrick , Jonny Brodzinski , and Juuso Parssinen . Coach Mike Sullivan must decide in training camp if Zibanejad is a center or a wing to start the season. If the decision is that Zibanejad plays on the wing, that creates an opportunity in the middle on the third line, where Parssinen isn't a sure bet to fill that role long term and Brodzinski is likely viewed as a temporary fix in a move up from his role as 13th forward.
That means the quicker this trio of young Rangers centers develops in the AHL, the deeper the competition becomes to play on Broadway. This emergence of youthful depth down the middle is a big deal for the Rangers, especially after they traded Filip Chytil , the only homegrown center on the NHL roster, to the Vancouver Canucks to acquire Miller on Jan. 31.
So, with prospects development camp completed and training camp still two months away, let's take an offseason look at Laba, Roobroeck and Terrance.
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Carey Terrance — Peter Carr/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Laba was New York's fourth-round pick (No. 111 overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft. He turns 22 in August and is prepping for his first full season of pro hockey. He recorded five points (three goals, two assists) in 11 games with Hartford late last season after finishing up his junior year at Colorado College.
"I don't think you really understand kind of the play (in professional hockey) and the level until you're there playing it, so it definitely was great to get those games in," Laba explained at development camp in early July. "I played with some older vets who helped me grow. They're great players and it's so easy when you're on the ice with them."
A mature two-way player, Laba scored a short-handed breakaway goal 8:17 into his pro debut with Hartford. He fit in pretty seamlessly with his older teammates, holding his own in all game situations. Hartford coach Grant Potulny loaded his plate and Laba voraciously attacked each opportunity.
It's pretty easy to project Laba as a 3C one day in the NHL. He's strong in the face-off circle, can be a tone setter with his straight-ahead offensive game, and is excellent defensively, especially on the PK. Laba scored 20 goals and had 37 points in 36 games as a sophomore, though injuries limited him to 10 goals and 26 points in 29 points in his final NCAA season.
Take note that Laba also racked up 115 penalty minutes in 2021-22 playing 50 games with Lincoln of the USHL.
"I think I'm a big (6-foot-2, 195 pounds), strong, powerful two-way center who can play offense as well as be good defensively and help create time and space for my teammates," was Laba's recent self scouting report. "That's what I'm trying to bring to all levels."
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Roobroeck, who turns 21 in late July, made a somewhat surprisingly strong first impression as a rookie pro in 2024-25. The towering (6-foot-7) center tied for eighth among AHL rookies and led all Hartford skaters with 20 goals — in his age-20 season.
Not too bad for a sixth-round pick (No. 178 overall) in the 2023 draft.
One of the more impressive things Roobroeck showed last season was consistent improvement. He didn't have a lot of success early on, but got better and better as the season progressed. That led to more opportunities, including PK and power play, and more production. Roobroeck closed out the season with nine goals in his final 12 games.
"Going into your first year, you just want to keep improving," Roobroeck explained at development camp . "If you start out slow, it's not the end of the world, you just have got to get better each day, each week. I think that's what I focused on, just trying to get better throughout the season."
While Laba has the look of a more complete third-line center, Roobroeck is trying to carve out his own path to the Rangers lineup one day, too. Considering the success the Rangers have had recently with massive forwards selected late in the draft — like Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom — there's a good chance there'll be a spot for Roobroeck at some point too if he continues to take such a major strides with his overall game.
He'll be hard to ignore if he keeps scoring goals like the past two seasons, which includes a 26-goal output with Oshawa of the OHL in 2023-24.
The Rangers acquired Terrance earlier this offseason in the trade that sent Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks . To his credit, Terrance is unfazed about coming over for one of the more popular Rangers ever, one who scored 326 goals, third most in franchise history. The young center swears that has zero impact on how he approaches coming to a new organization.
And that's a big part of his appeal. Terrance is very mature, thoughtful, well-spoken, and a natural leader. That's a good start before you even get to his on-ice game, where — similar to Laba — he's a solid two-way player.
"I can skate up and down the ice very well," he self critiqued. "I can play in all situations, whatever the coach needs me to play that game or that shift. If he needs me to play on the penalty kill or on the power play. I think I'm a versatile player and I can play up and down the lineup.
"Defense wins championships. That's the thing the past two years playing at the World Juniors and the U18s, playing on the PK, win face-offs and be reliable. That's something I've taken pride in my four years of junior and tournaments like that."
He scored 30, 29, and 20 goals the past three seasons with Erie in the OHL, where he was teammates and linemates with New York's top pick this past June, forward Malcolm Spence. But it's Terrance's 200-foot game that will get him noticed in the pros.
Terrance is the youngest of these three prospects and will play as a rookie pro in his age-20 season. But there's not denying his maturity or leadership ability, after he was Erie's captain a year ago. There's a lot to like about this kid, who was Anaheim's second-round pick (No. 59 overall) in the 2023 draft.
"He's very coachable, he wants to be coached. He works hard," Rangers director of pl;ayer development Jed Ortmeyer said. "I got to see him at World Juniors and he's competitive and he likes to play a high-tempo game. He's been great, getting to know him, and he's eager to learn and wants to be great. We're excited to add him to our group."
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