Rangers Camp Battles and Lineup Decisions | New York Rangers News

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On September 17th. All right, so the Rangers are back on the ice, training camp officially kicked off this week. It's a shorter camp this year, which means every practice and every scrimmage is gonna count. The league switched up the schedule, so teams, especially the Rangers, with all the roster moves they've made, gotta hit the ground running. They've got fewer players in camp this time around. No tryouts, no junior guys, just the core looking to make their mark. One of the biggest battles to watch is who's gonna be backing up Igor Shesterkin. Rookie Dylan Garand looked solid last season, but the front office brought in Joonas Korpisalo to add some veteran presence. Korpisalo's got a bigger contract, so he's likely got the inside track. But with this condensed preseason, Garand might not get many chances to prove, himself. If they decide to send Garand down, he'll have to clear waivers, which is always a gamble.

Then there's the defense. Adam Fox and Vladaslav Gavrikov are locked in, and they added Marcus Pedersen and Sean Dursey to beef up the second pair. Braden Schneider is back, but the spot next to him is still up for grabs.

Matthew Robertson is looking like the favorite after a strong showing last year, but they're also giving a look to guys like Albert Smits and Drew for Tescue. They've got some solid depth on the blue line this season, which should make them tougher to play against. We're also seeing if any of the young guns can make the jump to the NHL. Besides the defensemen we just talked about, there are forwards like Taylor Raddysh and Matt Rempe who are looking to secure spots. Keep an eye on guys like Juroslav Schmeler, Liam Greentree and Cole Bodewin, because you never know who might surprise everyone with a breakout camp. Performance. Finally, the top six forward lines are still a work in progress.

They brought in Pavel Dorofeyev, who inked a long term deal, and the big question is, who he'll be skating with? Will he join Mikas Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, who were clicking at the end of last season, or will he be on the second line with JT?

Miller and Oliver Björkstrand? There are a lot of different combinations the coach can roll out, so it'll be interesting to see how they line up when the season officially starts. This has been New York Rangers News Today, powered by AI.