It's becoming clear that Gabe Perreault's transition to the pro game after starring at Boston College the previous two years is a rather smooth one so far. The New York Rangers first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has goals in four straight games for the Hartford Wolf Pack and is among the top rookie point producers one month into the American Hockey League season.
Perreault had a goal and assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to Lehigh Valley on Saturday, extending his point streak to four games. The 20-year-old forward has three multi-point efforts in those four games. Earlier in the week, Perreault recorded the first three-point game of his pro career.
"I think the last couple of games he's really been skating, and when his feet are moving it allows him to unlock the brain a little bit," Hartford coach Grant Potulny explained this weekend . "I think, for us, that's been a real positive sign is seeing the pace he's playing at. The last two goals even, come off the wing with speed. Hopefully, he just keep building off of that."
The Rangers top prospect leads Hartford with five goals and 10 points in nine games. His plus-7 is also best on the team. He's already one of the League's best first-year players, tied for second in goals and points among AHL rookies .
Perreault combined smarts, awareness, vision, and skill, when he assisted on Dylan Roobroeck's goal at 19:57 of the second period Saturday. With the clock winding down, Perreault sped in to come away with the puck behind the Lehigh Valley net and alertly found Roobroeck in the slot with a perfect pass for the buzzer-beating goal, which tied the game 2-2.
Perreault kept the good times going early in the third period, when he whipped a shot from between the circles past Lehigh Valley goalie Yaniv Perets at 4:08 to make it 3-2 Hartford. After three games without a point, much less a goal, Oct. 18-24, Perreault has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak.
Despite Perreault's continued strong play, Hartford let the lead slip away when Lehigh Valley's Carl Grundstrom scored at 12:46 of the third period. Then the Wolf Pack lost their second straight overtime decision this weekend to the Phantoms, when Cooper Marody scored his first goal of the season 3:08 into OT.
Lehigh Valley defeated Hartford by the same 4-3 score in overtime on Friday. Ironically, not only were the score and result the same, but Grundstrom netted the tying goal in the third period of that game, too.
Perreault scored off the rush later in the second period Friday, sniping a laser past Carson Bjarnason to give Hartford a 3-1 lead. The talented wing recorded a season-high four shots on goal Friday, and scored on his only shot Saturday.
If there's one thing the Rangers might suggest to Perreault, it's to shoot the puck more. Though he's also a highly-skilled playmaker, Perreault's proving to possess a major league shot and ability to finish in a variety of ways. However, Perreault only has 16 shots on goal through nine games, tied for seventh most on the Wolf Pack. That's pretty much a full shot on goal fewer per game than team leader Scott Morrow (24 shots in nine games).
Perreault is no stranger to racking up points. Despite being held without a point in five NHL games with the Rangers after turning pro last spring, Perreault totaled 108 points (35 goals, 73 assists) in 73 NCAA games at BC, and 20 (six goals, 14 assists) in 14 games to help the United States win gold at the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships.
Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
In addition, Perreault scored 53 goals and had 132 points in 63 games with U.S. National Team Development Program in 2022-23. He holds the USNTDP single-season record for most points, five more than his teammate in that 2022-23 season, Will Smith (127). He broke the record previously held by Auston Matthews , who recorded 117 points in 2014-15.
Certainly, Perreault would love to have the pro success that, say, Matthews has. Though, Perreault's in the minors right now, Potulny believes that the youngester is already a step ahead in his development.
"I think Gabe's probably a little bit unique," Potulny said. "Lots of college players that come here have pretty good details, because there's four years of four-days-a-week practice. So, you have a long time to hone in on the details. And so most of the time they get here, that part of their game is OK. But it's figuring out the pace of the game is different. In college, it's literally a track meet. It's up and down the rink the whole time … it's a little bit more of a loose game. When you get here, it's bursts of speed, it's a little more controlled then a burst of speed.
"And when you've got a brain like Gabe's got, I think it's allowed him to transition as quickly as he has. … Now, he's starting to turn that corner of where he can even take that next step."
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