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How Rangers rookie Noah Laba continues to ‘raise everyone around him’
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- How Rangers rookie Noah Laba continues to ‘raise everyone around him’
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When Kris Mayotte recruited Noah Laba to Colorado College, he wasn't chasing a flash of potential — he was building a foundation. The newly hired head coach had a vision : rebuild the Tigers into a championship program. And in Laba, then a driven kid playing his second full season with the Lincoln Stars in the USHL, and soon to be a 2022 fourth-round draft pick by the New York Rangers , he saw the exact kind of player who could help him do it.
"Noah was part of the first recruiting class we brought in after taking over the program," Mayotte told Forever Blueshirts. "We recruited him with the belief that he could fill a significant role immediately."
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It was a match built on shared ambition. Colorado College had a new arena, a new coach, and a promise of culture rebirth. Laba wanted the challenge.
"He joined us because he wanted to build something," Mayotte recalled. "He wanted to help create a new standard."
Noah Laba became the standard at Colorado College
Noah Laba playing for Colorado College — Photo credit: Alan Selavka Credit: Alan Selavka
Laba's growth mirrored the rise of the program itself. His biggest developmental hurdle, Mayotte explained, was "growing his offensive 2-on-1 game and learning to do it in the NCHC as a freshman center who was playing in our top six."
That steep curve didn't scare Laba — it motivated him.
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"If our program was going to take big steps forward," Mayotte explained, "he was going to have to become one of the most impactful centers in the country."
Laba didn't shy from that expectation; he embraced it.
"Everyone wants the role until they realize everything it entails," Mayotte observed. "He put in the work — developing his offensive impact while staying true to that relentless mentality he possesses."
By the time Laba left Colorado College following his junior year in the spring of 2025, he carved out a legacy defined by both standard and skill: 85 points in 100 NCAA games, including 41 goals. In his sophomore season, he established career highs with 20 goals and 37 points, earned Second-Team All-American honors and the title of NCHC Defensive Player of the Year.
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He became the heartbeat of Mayotte's rebuild — a two-way force, a leader, and an unyielding competitor. As an assistant captain in 2024–25, he guided younger teammates and set the tone for the Tigers' work ethic.
"He's one of those guys who raises everyone around him," Mayotte noted. "Noah has a high standard for himself, but he's also very demanding of his teammates. In time, he's going to be a fantastic leader for the culture and standard of Rangers hockey."
The NCAA games that proved it early
Mayotte still remembers when the proof arrived.
"His first NCHC game was against Minnesota-Duluth at home," the coach recalled. "They've got an excellent program, full of players who know what it takes to win. Noah was dominant. He scored two goals and led us to a [5-0] win."
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Most freshmen tiptoe into college hockey. Laba kicked in the door.
In his sophomore season against Denver — a rival Colorado College hadn't beaten in more than three years — he did it again.
"He scored two goals and led us to a 4–3 victory," Mayotte said, his tone still tinged with admiration. "Both were breakaways — one off a turnover, the other short-handed. He hunted down (current Minnesota Wild defenseman) Zeev Buium , stripped him, and finished the play.
"He went 15-for-21 on face-offs that night. He had established himself as the most complete center in the best conference in college hockey."
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Those weren't flashes. They were forecasts.
'Compete and mentality' separate Rangers rookie Noah Laba from others
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"There are so many things that stand out, but the two that separate Noah from the pack are his compete and mentality," Mayotte said. "Neither of those attributes takes a day off with him."
That stood out in his first NHL training camp with the Rangers this fall. Laba led the Rangers with six points in the preseason and won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, presented annually to the top rookie in camp.
Mayotte is confident that's just the start of great things for Laba on Broadway.
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Hype burns out. Habits don't. Laba doesn't sell a spark, he brings a generator.
"Rangers fans don't have to worry that this is a case of rookie enthusiasm," Mayotte assured. "It hasn't taken a day off since I've known him, and I don't anticipate that changing now."
From Colorado to Broadway
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"The Rangers wanted to sign him after his sophomore season," Mayotte explained. "You could make the case that he was ready to be a successful pro then."
Laba stayed in school.
"He came back to CC because he felt there were still growth opportunities and some unfinished business," Mayotte reflected. "He committed to CC with goals in mind. He had achieved a lot individually, but we hadn't achieved our program goals."
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Despite missing eight games with a leg injury, Laba wore a letter, tied for the team lead in goals (10) and points (26), was plus-10, and won 57.1 percent of his face-offs.
The Rangers signed Laba to a two-year, entry-level contract last spring, and he joined Hartford of the American Hockey League on an ATO. Laba scored a short-handed goal in his professional debut for Hartford, and totaled five points (three goals, two assists) in 11 games with the Wolf Pack.
Then came training camp in September — and confirmation that the kid was ready for the big stage. Laba stood out with a complete 200-foot game and a flair for rising to the occasion, even scoring an overtime winner against the Islanders . He earned a spot on New York's opening-night roster, clearly beating out Juuso Parssinen to start this season as the third-line center.
Laba made his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 7, skating over 13 minutes and winning 71 percent of his face-offs. Four nights later, Laba recorded his first two NHL points — both assists, again against Pittsburgh.
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"Every player is different in what allows them to earn jobs in the NHL," Mayotte observed. "But the attribute that stands out is belief — belief that's earned. There's always adversity and moments of doubt. The work you put in holds you up in those moments."
Laba built that belief himself.
"His career at Colorado College went about as well as we could imagine," Mayotte said. "Everything we discussed in recruiting — the opportunity, the vision — played out. It was challenging, but each moment made him stronger. Through the work, he gained more and more belief in what he could handle and accomplish."
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Off the score sheet, his résumé matched his on-ice standard: a three-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, a fixture on the league's All-Academic Team, and a leader who balanced academics, leadership, and competition without compromise.
"He attacks everything he does," Mayotte remarked, the hint of admiration clear. "He was an incredible student while at CC and has a GPA over 3.5. He'll also graduate by the end of the year. He developed his own clothing line. He's an incredibly hard-working and high-achieving individual."
Rangers can expect same 'tenacity and mentality' for years to come from Noah Laba
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"Five years from now," Mayotte predicted, "Rangers fans are going to say he's still playing every shift with the same tenacity and mentality he did when he made the team out of camp."
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It's that tenacity he displayed in the second period of a 3-1 loss to the Wild at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20. Laba took a puck to the face and came back two shifts later wearing a full bubble mask, no drama, no gesture — just a line change and a little more grit.
That's Laba: steady, stitched up, and skating, the kind of player who lets toughness speak quietly, somewhere between the whistle and the next face-off.
Most players evolve. Laba endures. Systems shift. Linemates rotate. But the way he arrives at a puck — hard, direct, convinced it belongs to him — doesn't.
The league adjusts to him. He doesn't just adjust to the league.
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And now, in New York, that same standard burns just as bright. Under new coach Mike Sullkivan, the Rangers seek an identity built on speed, grit, and relentlessness — and Laba fits that mold like a missing piece finally found. He doesn't just chase pucks, he hunts them. He wins face-offs like they're battles worth remembering. He plays every shift like it matters.
He's not an accident of opportunity — he's the product of preparation. Everything that made him indispensable in Colorado followed him to Broadway. The hunger. The habits. The standard. All earned. All inevitable.
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