Rangers Eye Increased Role for Rookie Smits | New York Rangers News

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It's October 31st. Alright, so the New York Rangers are looking to shake things up a bit after a rocky stretch. The team's off to a better start than last year with a record of 7 wins, 6 losses and 1 overtime loss, but they've hit a bit of a skid lately. This comes after losing 3 straight and 5 of their last 6, which is definitely disappointing. We know the injury to Igor Schester can hurt, but now there's talk about giving young defenseman Alberts Smits a bigger role. In their recent loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Rangers switched up their bottom 2 defensive pairs, pairing Smits with Sean Durzi.

That could be a smart move since Smits is the 5th overall pick from the 2026 NHL draft and they have high hopes for him. While the Rangers are trying to be competitive this season, they're also in a retool, so it makes sense to focus on developing young talent. Smits has been playing on the third pair and averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time per game, which isn't much. Moving him up to the second pair could be a solid way to help him grow and get him some crucial game experience. It's also worth considering that Durzi is a reliable second pair defenseman.

If the Rangers want to extract more from Smits, they need to challenge him a bit, but not overload him.

Finding that balance is key for his progression. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see if the Rangers keep shifting things around to focus on Smits' development while still trying to win games. They've got work to do and each decision counts moving forward. Team Coverage, powered by AI. This is New York Rangers News Today.