That would be assistant coach Dan Muse.

Perreault and Muse have a strong bond from one amazing season together with the United States National Team Development Program U-18 team in 2022-23. That season, Perreault smashed the USNTDP record with 132 points (53 goals, 79 assists) in 63 games, besting the previous mark set by Auston Matthews in 2014-15 (117 points).

Not too bad, huh?

So, reuniting with Muse in New York could be a real benefit for Perreault. It’s likely at least a small factor the Rangers weighed when committing to burn a year off Perreault’s three-year entry-level contract by having him play immediately in the NHL.

Gabe’s first practice as a #NYR. ✅ pic.twitter.com/rMDnBdQ4zv

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 1, 2025

And by immediately, we mean immediately. Perreault is in the lineup Wednesday, making his NHL debut against the Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden, just one day after his first Rangers practice, two after signing his entry-level contract and three days after his final NCAA game with Boston College, a 3-1 loss to Denver in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Some wondered if the best course of action would’ve been to have Perreault sign an amateur tryout (ATO) with Hartford of the American Hockey League and ease him into professional hockey — though highly unlikely Perreault would’ve come out of college to do that. Instead, he’ll be playing in the top six in New York alongside J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafreniere.

And Muse will be standing behind the bench, helping ease the teenager’s transition to the NHL.

Related: Why Will Cuylle should land coveted Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award

Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse could ease Gabe Perreault’s transition to NHL

Muse had the opportunity during in 2022-23 to coach some pretty special players at the U-18 level. With his guidance, USA Hockey’s future has never looked brighter as a true powerhouse. First round picks on that U-18 roster include Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore, Zeev Buium, and of course Perreault. Each is expected to be a core player for his respective team. Several, including Perreault, cemented their Team USA legacies by winning back-to-back World Junior Championship gold medals in 2024 and 2025.

Each brings his own different style to elite skill sets. What sets Perreault apart is his high hockey IQ.

He may have alluded to this when he said Tuesday about turning pro, “I just thought it was time to take the next step. I thought my brain was definitely ready.”

You may not hear a lot about Muse as a Rangers assistant, working largely behind the scenes. But Perreault and his Team USA teammates all have praised Muse as a key part of their development.

That development continued at Boston College for Perreault, who joined USNTDP pals and 2023 first rounders Will Smith (No. 4 overall by the San Jose Sharks) and Ryan Leonard (No. 8 overall by the Washington Capitals) to form the best line in college hockey in 2023-24. Perreault had 41 assists and 60 points as a BC freshman. He finished his two-year Boston College career as the only player in school history to average more points per game than the late Johnny Gaudreau, amassing 108 points in just 74 games.

Though different players develop at different rates, the Rangers have an opportunity through Muse to change at least some of the narrative on their inability to groom and launch their best prospects, if Perreault quickly becomes the player all expect him to be.

It all begins against the Wild, when Muse will have Perreault’s back once again.

The stated goal of the NTDP is “to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on the U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice.”

Gabe Perreault, who was selected by the Rangers in the first round last year, holds the NTDP record for most points in a single season, when the forward scored 132 points (53 goals and 79 assists) in 2022-23. Current Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse was head coach of the U-18 team that season, so was very familiar with Perreault’s game. In addition, New York’s third-round pick in 2023, defenseman Drew Fortescue, was also on that U-18 team.

Other Rangers prospects to have spent time with the NTDP include 2022 sixth-round pick and current Harvard Crimson captain Zakary Karpa, and current Hartford Wolf Pack forward Brett Berard, a fifth-round pick in 2020.

Current Rangers players Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, and Jacob Trouba are all alumni of the NTDP, with former Rangers JT Miller, and Brady Skjei also being drafted by the organization after playing in the program.

If general manager Chris Drury and his staff want to select another player from the NTDP with the 30th overall pick in the first round of this draft, there are several players to consider.

Related: Patrick Kane linked again to Rangers in 2024 NHL free agency

NTDP players Rangers could target in first round of 2024 NHL Draft

Here are three players the Rangers could consider if they are still available at No. 30 overall on Friday.

Kamil Bednarik

A left-shooting center, Bednarik had 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 61 games with the NTDP Under-17 team in 2022-23 before making major strides with the Under-18 team this past season. Mostly skating on a line with fellow Boston University commit Cole Eiserman, Bednarik had 65 points (26 goals, 39 assists) in 61 games.

The 6-foot, 185 pounder is ranked No. 28 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters.

“I like his progression,” David Gregory of Central Scouting said. “I like how he’s impacting the game more significantly all the time. The best players are always going to have some kind of impact, and you can’t not see him when you watch that team. I’ve seen his game grow in the defensive end, too, and for a centerman, that’s a good thing.”

He scored two goals and had four assists in seven games for the United States at the U-18 World Championships, highlighted by three points in the opener against Slovakia. Bednarik is a consistent player who puts in a strong effort every game, and can play with anyone. His skating needs improvement, though he compensates with hard work at both ends of the ice. Bednarik should excel at the collegiate level, where he can add a scoring punch to his game.

According to Boston University head coach Jay Pandolfo, “He just does everything really well, probably a lot of things that go unnoticed. He’s got some offense in his game, he’s a 200-foot centerman and just does all the little things well. He plays a mature game for a young kid and his work ethic is off the charts, and I think whoever drafts him is going to get a very good player. For us, we can’t wait to have him because the NTDP coaches have told us we’re going to love coaching him because he wants to learn and is so low maintenance.”

Kamil Bednarik grew up participating in hockey and swimming under the tutelage of his mother, who was also his swim coach. But after seeing the Blackhawks win three Cups, he knew his dream was to play in the NHL.

Read more: https://t.co/7wNOaEnXmD #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/QODT5Ay1tN

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) June 17, 2024

E.J. Emery

A right-shot defenseman committed to the University of North Dakota, E.J. Emery revealed to the media that he spoke with 30 teams at the NHL Draft Combine. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound defenseman is currently viewed as a late first- or early second-round pick, though he could be taken earlier due to his strong performance in many testing categories where he finished atop the rankings, including vertical jump, body fat percentage, horizontal jump, and no arm jump. He also finished in the top 10 for agility (going right – tied for second), wingspan (tied for third), squat jump (fourth) and pull-ups (tied for seventh).

In his mock draft, former Calgary Flames general manager and current TSN analyst Craig Button had the Rangers selecting Emery with the 30th overall pick.

Craig Button has #NYR drafting RD 6'3 EJ Emery at 30th overall. https://t.co/FYsuqMPTII

— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) June 17, 2024

Emery had 16 assists in 61 games with the NTDP to go with an excellent plus-34 rating. At the U-18 World Championships, he added another six assists in seven games and was plus-15. When speaking with The Rink Live, NTDP U18 head Coach Nick Fohr had this to say about Emery: “E.J. played his best hockey at the end of the year and when you look at how he played at the U18 World Championships, that’s the type of play you’re going to get from E.J. Emery in his future. He’s such a smart kid, he’s long, he skates really well and his ability to recover is off the charts, and that’s such a valuable trait in a defenseman. I challenged him to be the best defender in the draft this year and it’s tough to say because I haven’t seen every kid obviously, but I would argue he’s right up there at the top and he’s gonna make some team really happy.”

Cole Hutson

The younger brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, Cole (main photo) is a left-shot defenseman who’s committed to Boston University. Cole scored a point per game (15 goals, 36 assists for 51 points in 51 games) for the NTDP this season before adding four goals and nine assists for 13 points in seven games at the U-18 World Championships, when he was named as the top defenseman at the tournament. His 112 career assists with the NTDP are the most all-time by a defenseman. The 18-year-old is No. 55 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters.

Cole Hutson, the younger brother of Lane Hutson, is one of the top defensive prospects for the 2024 #NHLDraft.

Just watching him, you can see similarities between how the two handle the puck.

Cole's 68 points last year was the most in a single season in USNTDP history. pic.twitter.com/K1qVSJLXbY

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) August 24, 2023

“I previously had his brothers so there were certainly some expectations coming into this season but he exceeded them and Cole is something else,” Fohr said. “He’s such a competitive kid and he has that it factor, and I think the bigger the moment and spotlight, the better he plays. He wants the puck on his stick come crunch time and he gets criticized for something he can’t control with his size, but he makes up for it with everything else.”

USA Hockey named 29 players to the preliminary roster of its 2024 U.S. National Junior Team today. Among the camp invites are Rangers 1st Round Pick Gabe Perreault and 3rd Round Pick Drew Fortescue. The 29 players invited includes three goaltenders, ten defensemen, and sixteen forwards hailing from eleven different stats. Minnesota led the way with seven representatives. 24 of the 29 players named have been drafted by National Hockey League teams, including ten first round selections and seven second-round choices.

The pair of New York Rangers prospects will report for training camp at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan from December 14th-16th. The camp serves as an audition for a spot on the final 25-player roster which will represent the United States in the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden from December 26th, 2023 through January 5th, 2024.

The final roster for the U.S. Team is expected to be announced by December 17th.

“We’re excited with the group we’ve selected,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2024 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “With the depth of our talent pool, it’s always challenging to narrow it down, and as we go through the process I’m always reminded of the terrific volunteers we have across the country at the grassroots level who help our players in their development.”

USA Hockey

Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue named to US Junior Roster

Perreault and Fortescue are two of seven players currently playing for the Boston College Eagles. Also invited to camp are goaltender Jacob Fowler (Montreal 2023 3rd), defenseman Aram Minnetian (Dallas 2023 4th), and forwards Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia 2022 1st), Ryan Leonard (Washington 2023 1st), and Will Smith (San Jose 2023 1st).

Following a weekend series split against Northeastern University Huskies, Boston College dropped one spot to number two in this week’s United States College Hockey Online Division I Men’s Poll. The team has a record of 12-3-1 overall and has one final game before the holiday break against Jaroslav Chmelar and the Providence College Friars scheduled for Saturday, December 9th at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Gabe Perreault is leading the team in points with twenty three scored in sixteen games played. That mark is good for eighth nationally, while his nineteen assists are tied for second in the nation. His eleven assists in Hockey East conference play are tied with projected 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini of Boston University, while being tied for fourth in conference points. Drew Fortescue has also contributed offensively with three goals on the season so far. He has been tasked with a shutdown defensive role, consistently skating on the top pair for the Eagles, and skating against the opposition’s top offensive units despite being a freshman. Boston College sits tied for second in the Hockey East Men’s standings, tied with Maine Black Bears at 16 points in 8 games played.

The New York Rangers prospects are two of 21 players with prior experience representing the Team USA internationally, as both played for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. The Under 18 team having won gold this spring under the guidance of current New York Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse.

David Carle (University of Denver) will serve as the head coach of the 2024 U.S. National Junior Team. He is joined by Steve Miller (University of Minnesota), Brett Larson (St. Cloud State University), and Garrett Raboin (Augustana University) serving as assistant coaches.

An announcement of the final roster is expected by December 17th. Team USA earned bronze in the 2023 event, and has medaled in six of the last eight IIHF World Championships. Their last gold medal came in 2021.

Team USA is in Group B of the tournament, and will face preliminary round opponents Czechia, Norway, Slovakia and Switzerland. The Americans have two pre-tournament games on Thursday, December 21st against Sweden, and Saturday, December 23rd versus Canada. All games will air on NHL Network, which is the exclusive home of the IIHF World Junior Championship in the United States. E.J Hradek, Dave Starman, and Jon Rosen will call all contests for Team USA.

Per the press release, Phil Housley will join as the team’s associate coach. Meanwhile, Michael Peca and Dan Muse will take on the role of assistant coaches.

There’s a key difference here because Housley has more authority than both Peca and Muse. Usually, that also means if the head coach is unavailable or dismissed, the associate coach is most likely to fill the position.

All three have a prior relationship with Laviolette.

Rangers make coaching staff official

Housley, 59, has the most coaching experience of the group and is also a Hall-of-Fame defenseman with 1232 points in 1495 games. He was most recently an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes from 2019-22 and was the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres for two season from 2017-19.

Muse, 40, is an up-and-coming coach that led Team USA U-18 group to multiple World Championships. He also guided the Chicago Steel to a USHL championship in 2016-17 and the Yale Bulldogs to an NCAA title in 2013.

Both Housley and Muse served as assistant coaches to Laviolette with the Nashville Predators.

Peca, 49, played 14 seasons in the NHL split between the Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets. While with the Isles, he played for Laviolette as team captain from 2001 to 2003. During his playing time, he amassed 176 goals and 289 assists for 465 points in 864 regular-season games.

After retiring in 2009, Peca moved on to coaching, where he’s been an assistant with the AHL’s Rochester Americans in charge of their forwards and power play the last two years.

Although Peter Laviolette or the team have yet to make these hirings official, multiple reports over the last few days indicate these are done deals.

Mollie Walker of the NY Post reported the addition of Muse, while Arthur Staple of The Athletic noted Housley. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek indicated Michael Peca joining Laviolette earlier in the week.

Housley joins Michael Peca and Dan Muse on Laviolette's #NYR staff, along with goalie coach Benoit Allaire.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeNHL) June 21, 2023

Phil Housley and Dan Muse join Rangers staff

“I am thrilled to be here as the coach of the New York Rangers,” Laviolette said at his intro presser. “We have a really good team and really good players. My staff and I will work tirelessly to bring a Stanley Cup to New York.”

Let’s take a closer look at his staff.

Phil Housley

Housley, 59, is considered one of the greatest offensive defensemen to have ever played the game. In 1495 career regular-season games, he amassed 338 goals and 894 assists for 1232 points which ranks fourth all-time for blue-liners (Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis).

The Hall of Famer was briefly the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 2017 to 2019. In those two seasons, his teams failed to make the playoffs while he registered a record of 58-84-22.

Dan Muse

Muse, 40, has limited NHL experience but a vast amount of minor league and international experience. He guided the Chicago Steel to a USHL championship in 2016-17 and has been a head coach with the U.S. National Team where GM Chris Drury got to know him well.

Michael Peca

Peca, 49, played 14 seasons in the NHL split between the Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets. During his playing time, he amassed 176 goals and 289 assists for 465 points in 864 regular-season games.

The Toronto native was selected in the second-round by the Canucks in the 1992 Draft and retired after the 2008-2009 season. Afterwards, Peca moved on to coaching, where he’s been an assistant with the AHL’s Rochester Americans in charge of their forwards and power play the last two years.

Putting it all together

Both Housley and Muse worked as assistants for Laviolette in Nashville with the Predators. I would expect Peca to work with the forwards and Housley the defense for the Rangers. Muse is likely to play a similar role to that of Jim Midgley under Gerard Gallant, who was the youngest of his coaches and worked with players individually as the fourth guy on the bench.

Looking ahead, the Rangers coaching staff is pretty loaded with goalie coach Benoit Allaire and skills coach Mark Ciaccio staying on board. It’s unknown if Laviolette’s longtime running mate, Kevin McCarthy will be part of this group in some shape or form. The 65 year-old former NHL defenseman has been with Laviolette at all his previous NHL coaching stops except for the New York Islanders.

#NYR Preseason Schedule 2023:
9/24 @ BOS 5pm
9/26 NYI 7pm
9/28 NJ 7pm
9/29 @ NYI 7pm
10/4 @ NJ 7pm
10/5 BOS 7pm

— Forever Blueshirts (@4EverBlueshirts) June 21, 2023