Rangers training camp is in full swing. It’s still early, but we have noticed a few trends in camp that are worth monitoring. From defense pairs to forward duos, Mike Sullivan clearly has a framework for how he expects this team to look, with a few missing pieces to complete the puzzle. We discussed some of this on Live From the Blue Seats, but even now some of what we said is outdated. As per usual, I have some thoughts.
Forward duos seem to be the trend in Rangers training camp
1. It looks like Sully has forward duos he’s keeping together while looking for a complementary third for each line. Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck were paired together, as were JT Miller and Mika Zibanejad. Those duos were not surprising. What is a bit surprising is Will Cuylle seemingly paired with Juuso Parssinen, as many had Cuylle penciled in as a top six forward. We will see where that one in particular goes, especially since Sully has said he envisions the third line being a shutdown, defensive zone start line.
Matt Rempe and Sam Carrick are also paired together, likely for the fourth line. Adam Edstrom was notably absent in that trio, being moved around a bit to find his best fit.
2. While not a duo, it’s worth noting that Noah Laba, Brett Berard, and Gabe Perreault have been inseparable in camp. At least on the ice. Many, including myself, had Berard penciled into a third line role with the Rangers this season, but it seems like this trio is going to be Hartford’s top line. There’s a piece of me that wonders what that trio can do at the NHL level, but there’s no need to rush them. It will be fun to see what they can do in a preseason game, if they remain together throughout Rangers training camp.
For what it’s worth, Laba in particular has been called out as having an excellent start to Rangers training camp. I still don’t think he or Perreault start the season with the Rangers, but both could be on a fast track to the NHL come December.
3. Conor Sheary is going to get a long look from Sully at Rangers training camp. We expected this when he was signed to his PTO. Today he’s with Parssinen and Cuylle. I don’t think Sheary will take an NHL spot away from someone like Brennan Othmann, but perhaps he’s going to be a stopgap until the coaching staff feels more comfortable with one of the guys on the Perreault-Laba-Berard line.
Given his history with Sully, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sheary get a one year deal and break camp with the Rangers as a spare forward. I don’t think Sheary takes an actual roster spot away from a deserving kid though.
4. Today Alexis Lafreniere moved into a wing spot next to Vincent Trocheck with Panarin out with a lower body injury. I do think Sully will keep that trio together, but hasn’t put them together just yet to see if there are other, better options. Taylor Raddysh is there right now, but if that’s going to be a line relied upon for offense, Raddysh is a temporary plug there. Nothing about Raddysh’s game screams offensive zone juggernaut. He’d probably fair much better on that third line with Parssinen and Cuylle, though that trio hasn’t been put together just yet.
5. We are at that point of the year where “X player put on Y pounds of muscle during the offseason” gets a lot of hype. The player with those honors in Rangers training camp this year is Matt Rempe, who added 12 pounds of muscle to his frame. He’s looked good in camp as well.
Defense pairs remain a mystery
6. Without Braden Schneider participating in scrimmages, it’s tough to see how Sully envisions the defense pairs in Rangers training camp. Both Schneider and Scott Morrow have stated they can play left defense and Sully did mention he will at least try Schneider there at some point in Rangers training camp. I guess that will be towards the end of camp when most of the other bodies have been cut.
This morning, Morrow was with Carson Soucy have played together a few times in camp. Morrow and Will Borgen were also together briefly. Looks like Schneider-Borgen may get a look as the second pair, with Soucy-Morrow as the third pair to start the season.
7. Vlad Gavrikov and Adam Fox are essentially joined at the hip. This was expected and they will be the top pair. That isn’t surprising.
What is surprising through three days of Rangers training camp is Urho Vaakanainen essentially never getting a look with anyone projected for an NHL spot. I think he’s the 7D to start the season, as many had projected. While the actual pairs remain a bit of a mystery, it looks like we know the 7 players that will break camp. None of those 7 are a surprise.
It’s a different kind of camp this year
8. Something we’ve all noticed is Rangers training camp this year has a different feel to it. The Rangers got their fair share of bag skates in the first day, with constant reminders from Mike Sullivan that they were playing too slow. This Rangers team will be faster and tougher to play against for sure. This is the John Tortorella type of camp that the Rangers desperately needed. Sully is cut from that mold for sure.
9. The Rangers will be tougher to play against simply because of having a top-three coach in the NHL behind the bench. Sully, Jon Cooper, and Jared Bednar are my top three coaches, with Rod Brind’Amour right up there as well. These are the only four coaches–in my opinion–that truly make a difference for their teams. Most other coaches are different iterations of the same thing, just rotating through to get a different voice.
Sometimes that different voice finds the perfect situation and it brings them up a level, like Paul Maurice in Florida. Maurice couldn’t get over the hump after a decade in Winnipeg, and found the perfect situation in Florida. Kris Knoblauch only has two seasons in the NHL, but two very good seasons in the NHL. Worth mentioning here before someone yells at me.
To me, Sully is a huge difference maker with how the Rangers play on the ice.
10. Final point on Rangers training camp thus far: Sully being a difference maker is a direct input to playing faster. Playing faster doesn’t mean increasing straight line speed or edge work or skating or things like that. It’s knowing where to be, where the puck will be, making better reads, and moving the puck faster. Playing faster doesn’t mean being faster. It means knowing where to go, where to be, and what’s going to happen. Anticipation within a system makes a team faster and tougher to play against.
That’s the Mike Sullivan factor.
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