3 Wanderers Storylines to Follow at the Start of Training Camp – Hockey Writer – New York Rangers

As training camps around the NHL begin, the New York Rangers begin their ice meeting today. Rangers are looking for a new start to major disappointment after last season. As JT Miller advances as the new captain, expectations are high for this team. Before we get there, with the start of the camp, there are three storylines here.

Which young players can catch the roster?

The roster that is entering the season is far less than the stone, so as training camp goes on we will see some roster battles among some young players. When it comes to forwards, there are three names to stare at you: Brett Berard, Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault. All three players played in NHL games last season, but no one got a fair shot to make an impact. These three may be fighting for just one or two spots, so not all of them can start in the NHL. These three are also considered the prospect of wanderers, with the greatest potential, so it would be interesting to see how they stand out compared to the rest of the players in the camp.

Another striker who might surprise someone is Noah Laba. He had a huge impact during rookie training camp last week and since he was the center and the Rangers have not yet identified the Rangers’ third-tier center role, he may be a player as he tries to secure the position. Defensively, the young player is Scott Morrow. He sent K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes from the offseason and played some games in the NHL last season, including five playoff games. The Rangers’ defense is not their strongest area, so as the camp goes on, Morrow will try to win his own results during the camp.

Can Jonathan quickly prove that he is still an NHL Caliber goalkeeper?

This season will be Jonathan’s third season as the Rangers, and not many think he will do that when he first signed with the team in the offseason in 2023. His season ended with the Los Angeles Kings and the Golden Knights in Las Vegas, where he wasn’t even one of the goalkeepers the team used on the road to winning the 2023 Stanley Cup. The Rangers are gambling him and have paid off in his first season with the team. He has a record of 18-6-2 with an average target of 2.62 (GAA) and a percentage savings of 0.911 (SV%). He is the reliable backup the team needs, and he signed a one-year extension in the 2023-24 season to return to the team last season.

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Quick dropped all categories last season as the rest of the team collapsed around him. He has a record of 11-7-2, with GAA of 3.17 and .893 SV%. While the teams around him were terrible last season, he is now entering the 39-year-old season, which will be 40 in late January. Is Dad’s time quick to catch up, or is he able to rebound in his final NHL season? If he can’t bounce, the Rangers may need to go out and grab another goalkeeper, as their system doesn’t have much depth except Dylan Garand, who entered his first season as a full-time starter for the American Hockey League (AHL) Hartford Wolf Pack.

How will the rest of the defense be shaped on the top to the outside?

Rangers’ defense has been a weakness for years, and entering this season, the defense looks a lot different from what it looked like last season. Of the six defensemen on opening night last season, there were only two players this season: Adam Fox and Braden Schneider. Fox is hoping for a rebound season and now he will have a new defensive partner at Vladislav Gavrikov to help him. Gavrikov, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason, came to Fox’s number one game and if everyone worked hard they could be one of the best defensive pairings in the league this season.

Big problems arise outside of top pairings. Schneider underwent surgery during the offseason and was unable to fully attend training camp. He may only play in two or three preseason games. Will it pair with Will Borgen when he plays, or is he still the third paired right-handed defender? The Rangers will stand out from Carson Soucy and Urho Vaakaninen because they weren’t what they had when they arrived last season? Can Morrow win the defensive player that started this season? Outside of Fox-Gavrikov pairing, there are more questions than answers to the defense, and it’s interesting how it will be fun to play in training camp.

The Rangers’ mission is to prove that last season was a kind of fl luck, this season is about moving forward and returning to the playoffs. All this started during training camp, and while there are more storylines and players to follow up as the camp evolves, these three are the biggest notes.