A Letter Home from New York Rangers “Summer Camp”

Dear Mom and Dad:

As you know, New York Rangers head coach David Quinn does not want us to call this training camp. “This is not a training camp. We are picking up where we left off, and I want to be crystal clear about that. We’re trying to win a Stanley Cup.” coach Quinn said. Whatever you call it, things are going really well here in Tarrytown.

We had our first scrimmage on Wednesday. It was kind of sluggish as the boys are still trying to get in shape. It has been great to watch Artemi Panarin‘s and Mika Zibanejad‘s lines pushing each other. They have also been pushing each other’s buttons on the ice too!

Everyone here has been wondering who is going to be the starting goalie. All of the guys did really well but most people thought that Igor Shesterkin looked a little bit better than the others. Even Coach Quinn thought so. “I thought Igor had a great day today. I thought he was outstanding today,” Quinn said of Shesterkin, who entered this camp as the former No. 1. “I liked all of the [goalies]. I thought Hank had a good day and Georgie had a good day.”

It was good to see Chris Kreider. After he got hurt in March we did not know how well he would be skating. The good news is that he is telling everyone that he has fully recovered from his broken foot. Some people are more worried about him when we take our field trip to Toronto, as he might be the guy who escapes from the bubble. (oh, when you watch us in Toronto, you might want to keep the sound down. These guys use some colorful language)

One of the best players in camp has been the defenseman, Adam Fox. Many guys were upset when he did not get nominated to win the Calder Cup, which is given to the best first-year player. Foxyclean (that’s his nickname) didn’t even complain. “Having your name in a conversation like that is really special,” Fox said. “It’s not something I set out to do at the beginning of the year. But there are a lot of great players and I’m not really disappointed. … recognition is nice here and there, but it’s not really what I set out for.”

See what a great guy he is Mom and Dad!

Coach Quinn was a little upset but he did not let on to everyone. “I might be a little biased, but this guy has done an awful lot for us. I keep focusing on the defensive side of it because I think the offensive side speaks for itself. He’s a guy that – obviously we’re fortunate to have Tony DeAngelo here, so his power-play opportunity probably hasn’t been what Quinn Hughes’ has been or Cale Makar’s has been. I’m not taking anything away from the seasons that they’ve had. They’ve had spectacular seasons too. It’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve got this extremely talented group of rookies.”

Now its time to clean up, get checked out, and head to my solo cabin. Write to you soon!

Your Loving Son,

Peter Puck Jr.