7 Rangers to watch at 2024-25 training camp, including Matt Rempe
It’s 21 days from the start of training camp Wednesday to when the New York Rangers open the 2024-25 season Oct. 9 in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. In between, there’ll be six preseason games and some battles for the final spots on the roster.
Past that, this training camp is about getting a large contingent of returning players ready for another kick at the can, trying to win the Stanley Cup. There’s little room for surprises or major overhaul. Veteran forwards Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick will integrate into the lineup. Zac Jones will ascend from 7th defensemen to being a regular on the third pair. And several players will contend for the 12th and 13th forward spot on the roster.
But training camp remains important. It’s a prime opportunity to focus on different players for different reasons before the regular season begins.
We will examine the Rangers key storylines for training camp separately. But for now, let’s examine several Rangers to watch at this year’s training camp.
Related: GM plans to keep Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere ‘long time’ with Rangers
These Rangers are worth watching closely at training camp
This list began as a top-five, but grew to seven, and includes someone who’s not a player.
These seven Rangers are listed alphabetically.
Filip Chytil
The 25-year-old center played only 10 regular-season games in 2023-24 because of an upper-body injury believed to be a concussion. Though Chytil made his way back into the lineup six months after the original injury to play six games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has much to prove this season, beginning with camp.
After a full summer of training, Chytil should be back on equal footing with his teammates. General manager Chris Drury said Chytil is a “full-go” at training camp.
“Nothing holding him back, which is great news for everyone,” Drury added.
But head injuries — and Chytil has had more than one in his career — are a scary thing, and you best believe the Rangers will monitor him closely.
If he resembles the player who scored 22 goals and had 45 points two seasons ago, the Rangers are going to be handful in 2024-25 with Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and Chytil down the middle. But if he’s gun-shy or off, as he looked in the playoffs, that’s a problem.
Kaapo Kakko
After an extremely disappointing 2023-24 season, that led to offseason trade rumors, Kakko is back for perhaps his last go-round with the Rangers. That’s almost hard to believe considering Kakko is only 23 and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
He failed miserably on the top line with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider last season, sustained a knee injury that cost him a quarter of the season, then finished on the third line with 13 regular-season goals. He scored just once in 15 postseason games, and was a healthy scratch in the other playoff game.
Kakko seemed determined on breakup day in June to work harder than ever and redeem himself in 2024-25. Let’s see how that plays out, starting in camp. And will he get a look with Zibanejad and Kreider again, or will he play on the third line with Chytil and Will Cuylle (or Jimmy Vesey)?
Drury sounded optimistic Tuesday, when discussing Kakko.
“I think he’s out to prove that last year was a fluke, and he’s ready to have a good year for us.”
Jeff Malcolm
Wait, what? Who?
That’s right, the only goalie on this list is not one named Igor Shesterkin nor Jonathan Quick. Not even Dylan Garand nor Louis Domingue.
Malcolm is on this list because he was promoted to be the Rangers goalie coach. He replaces legendary goaltending guru Benoit Allaire, who held the post for 20 years and helped develop Henrik Lundqvist into a Hockey Hall of Famer, Shesterkin into a Vezina Trophy winner and Cam Talbot into a longtime No. 1 goalie in the NHL, among other accomplishments.
Allaire remains head of goaltending for the organization, but Malcolm will be with the NHL team every day. He’s worked with the goalies at Hartford of the American Hockey League the past six seasons, so he knows Shesterkin and Garand well, and Quick somewhat.
How will the goalies react to a new voice and approach with their position coach? How will Malcolm be different on the ice and behind the scenes with the goalies? It’s an intriguing storyline to follow, beginning in training camp, since Malcolm has large shoes — or skates — to fill.
Brennan Othmann
Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
He’s probably not going to crack the opening-night roster. But then again Othmann is a 21-year-old forward who scored 21 goals as a rookie pro in the AHL last season and, oh yeah, was the Rangers first-round pick in 2021. So, he’s going to get a look in the top-nine.
It will be very interesting to see what Othmann does with his opportunity in this training camp. He’s knocking on the NHL door, but with the Rangers deep up front, he’ll need to knock the door off its hinges to be considered. Considering his chip-on-the-shoulder mentality, he just might.
We’ll get an idea what the Rangers’ thinking with him is when camp — and the preseason — begins. If he’s skating with Zibanejad and Kreider and not, say, Brett Berard and Bryce McConnell-Barker, the he might get a very legit look.
Matt Rempe
The talk and hype are over. Now, Rempe needs to show the coaching staff how he’s improved his game over the summer and prove they can trust him for more than five minutes a game. In other words, hope those offseason workouts with Chris Kreider paid off.
In particular, Rempe needs to display better skating skills and be more under control when he gets going top speed. The Rangers love the popular 6-foot-8 forward, but need him to be better in every way compared to last season.
Adam Edstrom likely is Rempe’s main competition for a fourth-line spot. And the 6-foot-7 forward from Sweden is off to a good start, scoring three goals in two rookie games last weekend. Then again, Rempe bypassed rookie camp, a sign that he has a leg up on Edstrom. But make no mistake, this is serious position battle, and not one that’s a slam dunk for Rempe to win.
Reilly Smith
The Rangers didn’t land a high-priced free agent right wing to play in their top-six forward group this past offseason. But they did acquire Smith in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Will the 33-year-old be able to fill the void alongside Zibanejad and Kreider?
The younger brother of former Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith has a nice resume. He’s a 2023 Stanley Cup champion and five-time 20-goal scorer, including 26 two seasons ago with the Vegas Golden Knights. He’s a big-game player with 79 points in 106 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Smith most definitely should help the Rangers. But he is coming off a 16-point drop-off in points year over year, after finishing with 40 with the Penguins in 2023-24. And will he be able to fit with 93 and 20, because that’s proven to be a very difficult spot to fill for the past three seasons?
Jacob Trouba
The Rangers captain might just be the most motivated player entering camp. Coming off a so-so season and poor playoff, and possibly headed to third-pair duty, Trouba was nearly traded this past offseason, per several reports. Certainly, Drury was at least exploring moving Trouba and his $8 million salary cap hit, asking for the defenseman’s 15-team no-trade list sooner than required, presumably to facilitate a deal.
Trouba held tight to his list until the last second, no trade was made. And now here we are. Drury spoke highly of his captain ahead of training camp and downplayed any ill will. But how is Trouba affected by what happened this offseason?
The 30-year-old is a class act, so it would be shocking if he displayed any anger towards Drury or the organization. Expect him to put his head down and go to work. Opposing forwards should keep their heads up, though, when No. 8 is on the ice this season. Someone must pay.
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