New York Rangers hockey was officially back, sort of, last week with rookie camp getting underway in Tarrytown, New York, at the MSG Training Center.
It is a great opportunity for some of the younger players in the organization to get acclimated to the professional game before the veterans report for camp later this week. After some practice sessions, the team went down to the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for scrimmages against the Philadelphia Flyers .
Those games did not go well. The Rangers lost both scrimmages, 3-2 and 4-1, leaving a lot to be desired. There were some stretches of solid play from the New York youngsters, but they were outmatched for the most part by a Flyers dynamic group of forwards.
However, there were a few standout performers who deserve some recognition for how they looked during rookie camp. One of those players is forward Nathan Aspinall, who has shot up the pipeline rankings this offseason.
As shared by Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (subscription required) in his piece of observations from the scrimmage, he noted that Jay Leach, the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack who led the camp, pointed out Aspinall as a standout performer.
Part of the first power-play unit along with Liam Greentree, Cole Beaudoin, Alberts Smits and Dylan Roobroeck, Aspinall netted the second goal of the game in the scrimmage on Saturday after Roobroeck recorded the first on a deflection.
"He ripped a left-handed wrister from the top of the left circle, with Flyers goalie Carson Bjarnason unable to make the save despite a relatively clear sightline. (mits earned his second assist on the play.)," wrote Mercogliano.
It was a little snippet of the offensive upside that he possesses. A fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, No. 159 overall, Aspinall looks poised to surpass all expectations that were placed on him and normally come with players selected at that point in the draft.
He has some unteachable tools, such as his imposing 6-foot-7 frame, which he is still learning how to get the most out of. Last season, he burst onto the scene as a rising prospect with 94 points in the OHL for the Flint Firebirds, scoring 33 goals to go along with 61 assists.
With Hartford, he is going to have to earn playing time in what is shaping up to be a very crowded forward depth chart. Making a great first impression, as he has done with his future head coach, Leach, is certainly a step in the right direction.
Aspinall is unlike any other prospect in the Rangers' pipeline because of the natural scoring ability that he possesses. That will assuredly get him opportunities in the lineup, but he is going to have to show progress in other areas of his game as well to remain a fixture with the Wolf Pack and eventually push for a spot in New York's lineup.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nhl/rangers/onsi as NY Rangers Top Prospect Was a Standout Performer in Rookie Camp .
