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Rangers Training Camp Day 1: Key Takeaways, Line Combinations And Opening-Night Roster Clues
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- Rangers Training Camp Day 1: Key Takeaways, Line Combinations And Opening-Night Roster Clues
Day one of training camp is in the books for the New York Rangers , and after months of speculation, we got our first breadcrumbs about what the opening-night roster could look like.
Here's all you need to know from the first day of training camp
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Gabe Perreault , Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière reunite:
Mike Sullivan went back to a winning formula on Thursday, reuniting Gabe Perreault, Mika Zibanejad, and Alexis Lafrenière on a line.
For a stretch late in the 2025-26 season, these three forwards found success playing alongside each other and provided the Rangers with consistent offensive production they had not gotten all year long.
Perreault is slated to take on a larger top-six role as he heads into his first NHL season and by the looks of the team's first practice, it appears as if he'll indeed start the season as a top-six forward.
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"We thought they had pretty good chemistry, so I think just from a common sense standpoint, it would make sense to maybe see where it goes," Sullivan said.
The case to pair Zibanejad with Pavel Dorofeyev is certainly enticing and could be explored as camp progresses, but the fact that he started training camp playing with Perreault and Lafrenière may be a sign of things to come, and Sullivan confirmed that he wants to keep the same lines and defensive pairings for at least a couple of days.
"I'd like to give them a couple of practices, maybe a couple inter-squads, and see where it goes. I think it's obvious we started there for a reason," Sullivan said. "We'll learn along the way, and we'll figure out based on what we see, based on some of the conversations we have with the players involved, we'll get their feedback also, and then we'll try to make the best decisions for the team."
J.T. Miller centers line with Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand :
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After thriving playing alongside Jack Eichel in Vegas , Pavel Dorofeyev opened up camp with J.T. Miller as his new center.
Miller fluctuated from the wing to center last season, but playing his natural position down the middle is more beneficial to him, and having Dorofeyev on the wing could help him recapture his offensive game.
"J.T. is a versatile guy," Sullivan said. "I think his playmaking ability is probably undervalued. He sees the ice pretty well, I think he has an ability to distribute the puck. I think J.T. brings a physical element to the downlow-grind game that I think he can drag his linemates into a little bit, so they can create some offense in different ways.
"I think Pav is a guy that could obviously score goals, and so we wanted to see what that looks like."
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Oliver Bjorkstrand, who signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Rangers this offseason, complimented Miller and Dorofeyev, as Sullivan praised Bjorkstrand's ability to score goals.
While Dorofeyev played on the right side during Thursday's practice, Sullivan has plans to try out Dorofeyev at both right and left wing.
"I know he can play both," Sullivan said of Dorofeyev. "From talking to him, talking to some of his former coaches, I know he can play both sides. I think a lot of it is going to come down to what we think is the best fit based on the combinations that we put together.
"So we're going to explore different options to figure out how we can create the balance that we think is necessary to win consistently, but also to set players up for success, him included. I would anticipate probably seeing him on both sides throughout the course of the next couple of weeks."
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Will Cuylle Set To Play A Third-Line Role:
The Rangers' third line on Thursday consisted of Will Cuylle, Noah Laba , and new addition Eeli Tolvanen , with Taylor Raddysh also filling in.
Sullivan felt that last season Cuylle played his best hockey in a third-line role playing alongside Noah Laba, and now that the Rangers have added more depth to their top-six forward unit, it gives them the ability to utilize Cuylle on the bottom six, a position that he's better suited to thrive in.
"I thought Will Cuylle played some of his best hockey with Laba last year," Sullivan emphasized. "When you put a guy like Will on the third line, so to speak, it creates I think, a scoring threat, a physical presence, more balance through our lineup that makes us harder to play against. You potentially get more advantageous matchups. I think there are advantages to having balance. Will Cuylle with Laba, it strengthens that top nine as opposed to that top six."
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Tolvanen signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Blueshirts late in the offseason, and he provides an element of speed and physicality to a line that is centered around those two traits.
This newly assembled line brought a strong physical presence on Thursday, specifically shown on a hit delivered by Cuylle on Lafrenière.
Joe Veleno and Tye Kartye create a speedy fourth line:
Sullivan looks to be prioritizing speed on the fourth line with a duo of Joe Veleno and Tye Kartye.
The Rangers went out and signed Veleno to a one-year, $1.2 million contract, and based on the team's first practice, it appears as if he's the frontrunner to land the fourth-line center role.
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Kartye mostly played on the third line after being claimed off waivers in February, and he provided an instant spark to the team.
Sullivan noted the increase in speed to the bottom-six forward unit, specifically provided by Veleno and Kartye.
"I think we got faster in the bottom six in particular," Sullivan said. "Veleno, he can really skate. We added Tye Kartye at the end of the year. Tye could really skate, he's a dog on the bone with the puck."
Jaroslav Chmelař and Matt Rempe rotated for that last fourth-line spot.
Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson make up the second defensive pairing:
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When the Rangers acquired both Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson this summer, it was widely speculated that they would be paired together.
That was the case on Thursday. Durzi and Pettersson made up the Rangers' second pairing behind Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov .
Sullivan and Chris Drury emphasized the Rangers' need for a puck-moving defensemen that is exactly what Durzi and Pettersson provide.
"You look at our defense core, adding Marcus Pettersson, adding Durzi. We tried them together out there today, and I thought they looked really good," Sullivan said. "I think both of them have an ability to move the puck, go tape-to-tape, I think that is really going to help us.
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"Exiting out of our end, maybe getting out a little bit cleaner. If we can get the puck in motion, if we can get the puck with speed, I think it should help us off the rush. I think these guys are good players that will make our group stronger back there."
Alberts Šmits being given a real shot to make the NHL roster:
During Wednesday's press conference, Sullivan made it abundantly clear that Šmits will be given a real opportunity to make the Rangers' opening-night roster.
"Yes, he has a chance to make the team," Sullivan said of Šmits. "We have to make sure that we do the right thing for him."
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Sullivan put his words into action, placing Šmits on the third defensive pairing alongside Braden Schneider .
If this is an indication of anything, it is that the 2026 fifth overall pick is seriously being looked at to fill a roster spot come Sept. 29 in Boston to kick off the regular season.
"I thought he had a pretty strong first day. I think the thing that jumps out at me right away is just his physical stature. He's big and strong, winning puck battles, but when he passes the puck, he snaps it hard, which I think is a very evident thing with NHL players," Sullivan said. "That's one thing I noticed right away being on the ice with him, he snaps pucks. It's on and off his tape. We obviously had him paired with Schneids today. I thought he had a good first day. I thought he didn't look out of place by any stretch."
Matthew Robertson , who's Šmits' main competition for that third-pairing left-handed defensemen spot, was paired with Scott Morrow as alternates, but given Robertson's role with the Rangers last season, all indications point toward him still having an edge over Šmits for now.
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Rangers Open To Carrying Three Goalies To Start The Season:
The Rangers' backup goaltending position is up for grabs, with Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo competing for that spot.
The retirement of Jonathan Quick left a void for the backup spot behind Igor Shesterkin , and despite Dylan Garand making a strong impression when he was called up from the American Hockey League at the tail end of the 2025-26 campaign, the Rangers still went out of their way to acquire Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins .
While there still may be a competition between Garand and Korpisalo for the rights to backup Shesterkin, Sullivan hasn't ruled out carrying both goalies on the roster to open up the season.
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"Is that an option that is on the table for us, yes," Sullivan said of the Rangers potentially carrying three goalies on the roster. "It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. I think it's very manageable in the short term. I don't think it's in the best interest of the guys in the long term for obvious reasons."
Korpisalo practiced with the Rangers' main group, consisting mostly of NHL players on Thursday, while Garand practiced with most of the players expected to play for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
