This Rangers defenseman prospect could turn heads at training camp
Victor Mancini will be far from the biggest name at New York Rangers training camp later this month. Even among his position group of defensemen, Mancini won’t receive a lot of attention from outside the organization.
But the unheralded 22-year-old does have the opportunity to make an impression on Peter Laviolette and the coaching staff, as well as Chris Drury and the front office. And with a relatively thin defense corps behind their top-six, the Rangers will see what they have in Mancini.
So, that makes this a very important training camp and preseason for their fifth-round pick (No. 159) in the 2022 NHL Draft.
But as far as first impressions go, Mancini already made a positive one last spring. Mancini excelled with the Hartford Wolf Pack after signing a two-year entry level contract with the Rangers and an ATO with the Wolf Pack in April. The right-shot defenseman stepped right into the Wolf Pack lineup, picked up three assists and played a solid two-way game in seven regular-season games in the American Hockey League to begin his pro career.
Then the 6-foot-3, 215-pound defenseman really impressed in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Mancini took on a regular role and led the Wolf Pack with a plus-5 rating in 10 postseason games. He also contributed three assists to help Hartford advance to the Atlantic Division Final.
Not only did Mancini make a strong first impression right after finishing his collegiate career at University of Nebraska-Omaha, but those several weeks with Hartford helped prepare him for what’s to come in training camp and his first full professional season.
“It helps with getting used to things,” Mancini told the Wolf Pack web site. “Knowing what’s going to be expected, not only of this team but of myself, going into next year. Obviously, with the way I play, I want to help out my team as much as possible and just kind of knowing that it’s going to be a grind in playoffs and kind of getting into that tough mindset of just being there for my teammates, knowing that we’re going through this together, and just rolling with the punches and always having a smile on your face.”
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Rangers training camp next big chance for Victor Mancini to make impression
Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
The Rangers return five of their six regular defensemen from last season after Erik Gustafsson signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll be replaced internally by Zac Jones, who was the No. 7 defenseman in New York a year ago. Behind the starting six is veteran Chad Ruhwedel, who was No. 8 on the depth chart after being acquired ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
The next wave of defensemen in the system now includes Mancini. He and Casey Fitzgerald, a 27-year-old with 63 games of NHL experience, are right-shot defensemen, slotting in behind Ruhwedel, who’s also a righty.
The left side is has a few more options, led by veterans Ben Harpur and Connor Mackey, and also including Matthew Robertson and Brandon Scanlin, who, like Mancini, played at Nebraska-Omaha.
Simply, this is not the deepest group, so there’s an opportunity here for Mancini to build a role for himself in the Rangers organization. And he turned some heads in Hartford already after three solid NCAA seasons, one in the USHL before that and two in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Moving up through the ranks, each step you take it’s going to get a step faster,” Mancini explained. “I’m just trying to tailor my game to that and adjust as fast as I can. As for next season, obviously just getting in the gym and getting bigger, faster, and stronger to make sure that not only do I have the strength, but I can keep the strength throughout the season playing at this level. Working on my physicality, the parts of my game that I consider my strengths, but also my weaknesses as well.”
It will all be on display soon, when the Rangers begin training camp and the first preseason games get underway Sept. 22. Mancini will have the chance to make that next solid impression.
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