The New York Rangers recently concluded their two rookie camp matchups against the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospects with back-to-back wins. Starting with a 4–2 victory followed by a 3–1 win, the Rangers looked solid overall.
The Rangers’ prospect pool has dwindled over recent years, with many of their young stars having already made it to the NHL following the recent rebuild. Many analysts will consider the Blueshirts to have one of the weaker current pools across the league, but these two exhibition games may prove otherwise.
Six different goal scorers led the Rangers to both victories
When it comes to entertaining games, seeing one player put on an elite performance with multiple goals is always nice. But in rookie games like the two the Rangers have just played in, seeing diversity in point production is a massive success. The Blueshirts managed to tally seven goals over the two games, and there were six individual scorers throughout.
Karl Henriksson, Dylan Roobroeck, Ryder Korczak, Matthew Robertson, Luke McNamara, and Bobby Trivigno (2) all scored goals across the two contests for the Blushirts. This statistic shows that the Blueshirts have a much deeper prospect pool than originally perceived.
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Robertson scoring is a great sign for his development, as he has a lot to prove to the Rangers in the final year of his entry-level contract. Trivigno managing to score twice in the Rangers’ second game was also a plus, in addition to him proving a high level of leadership throughout camp. As two of the older players attending the camp, it was Robertson and Trivigno’s job to act as mentors as well.
“For me, it’s just trying to get better each day,” Robertson said. “Focus on what I can control, coming in, trying to be a good teammate, be positive, and try to help some of the younger guys.”
via the National Hockey League
Where does the Rangers’ prospect pool realistically rank across the NHL?
Having two elite performances is a great sign for this group of young players, but there is an abundance of talent spread out across the league. The Rangers used to have one of the deepest pools in the NHL, but with big names like Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko already on the regular season roster, their depth has quickly diminished.
The Flyers are going through a rebuild period which means their prospect pool should be growing with skill, but the Rangers seemed to pass by them twice with ease. It’s also important to note that Zac Jones and Gabriel Perrault, two of the Blueshirts’ top prospects, did not even attend the 2023 rookie camp.
Two games are not enough to make a perfect analysis of just how good the Rangers’ prospect pool is, so it should be interesting to keep a close eye on the Hartford Wolfpack this season. For now, though, it’s possible that with a good year, the Rangers could possess a top-15 pool in the league.