Yesterday, NHL training camps finally opened up. That included the Rangers, who returned to their practice facility in Greenburgh. With the beginning of the regular season two weeks away, the camp roster includes 48 players. But it won’t be long before the coaching staff starts making cuts.

Outside of the players who are expected to be part of the Opening Night roster when the Rangers visit the Boston Bruins on Sept. 29 as part of an ESPN tripleheader, head coach Mike Sullivan will get a closer look at 2026 first round pick Alberts Smits, along with Liam Greentree, Brody Lamb, Nathan Aspinall, Cole Beaudoin, and Jacob Battaglia. Almost all of the first-year pros figure to be assigned to Hartford. Perhaps Smits can make a strong enough case to stay.

During the first practice, Smits was penciled in next to Braden Schneider on the third defensive pair. If the 18-year-old teenager can take advantage of the opportunity he’s been given, that could impact Sullivan’s decision.

As expected, Sullivan opted to keep the top pair of Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov together. They had enough success last season to run it back. According to Natural Stat Trick, Fox and Gavrikov had a 55.18 CF while going plus-seven in goal differential (32-25) at five-on-five.

New additions Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi were together on the second pair. Each are viewed as upgrades that Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury made to overhaul a blue line that struggled. By getting rid of Will Borgen and unloading Vincent Trocheck, that allowed Drury to bring in both Pettersson and Durzi. On paper, the top four looks to be much improved.

That leaves four players competing for two spots on the back end. For at least now, the Rangers want to see what Smits can do while working with mainstay Braden Schneider. If they can form early chemistry in preseason, then it’s possible that Smits could start the season with the Rangers. If he struggles with the speed and intensity, then they should send him down to play with the Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League.

Matthew Robertson worked with Scott Morrow as the fourth pair. Robertson showed enough positives to impress Sullivan in his rookie year. If they think Smits isn’t ready, then Robertson would be penciled in with Schneider to begin the season. Robertson is a solid defensive defenseman who knows how to play in his end. He was surprisingly good at jumping in on offense where he contributed six goals and 12 assists for 18 points over 72 games.

Due to an uneven 2025-26, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen with Morrow. A smooth skating offensive defenseman that came over from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the ill fated K’Andre Miller deal, Morrow has a lot to prove this camp. Can he play adequate enough in his end for the coaching staff to trust him? Morrow was a big disappointment finishing with six assists in 29 contests. If Smits doesn’t make the roster, Morrow will try to beat out Vincent Iorio, who re-signed for a year, $850,000 on Aug. 21. It’s likely that either Morrow or Iorio could be placed on waivers.

Urho Vaakanainen is an afterthought. With a $1.55 million cap hit, the 27-year-old appears to be destined for either a trade or waivers. Since he’s a left-handed defenseman, Vaakanainen can be viewed as insurance in case Smits needs to spend time adjusting in the AHL. The best guess is that they’ll keep one extra defenseman, leaving Vaakanainen unprotected.

Sullivan Sticks with Top Line

Despite Drury taking a big swing by sending two first round picks over to the Vegas Golden Knights for Pavel Dorofeyev, Sullivan has decided to stick with the same top line for now. Considering the chemistry Mika Zibanejad had with Gabe Perreault and Alexis Lafreniere to conclude 2025-26, it’s understandable why Sullivan wants to give the trio another look. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

However, the idea of sticking Dorofeyev on the second line with J.T. Miller and Oliver Bjorkstrand isn’t why they signed him for an 11 million AAV over seven years. Dorofeyev is a finisher that they need to produce. If he starts slowly with Miller and Bjorkstrand, Sullivan better not hesitate to move Dorofeyev up with Zibanejad and Perreault, who’s the best passing forward they have. Even if that means moving Lafreniere down to the second line.

In order for the roster to be successful, they’ll need Dorofeyev to score 35 goals or better, with both Lafreniere and Perreault providing strong support. Bjorkstrand is a streaky scorer who’s capable of getting 20. If he hits a slump, look for Will Cuylle to find his way into the top six. Cuylle’s scored 20 in each of his last two seasons.

With Eeli Tolvanen penciled in on the third line alongside Noah Laba and Cuylle, it’s scoring by committee for the Rangers. They can’t replace all of the production Artemi Panarin brought. However, it could become a more balanced attack. At least, that’s what the hope is entering the season. Neither can Laba replace Trocheck, who was good for 16 goals and 37 assists for 53 points. Laba had 24 points in his first season. Anywhere between 30 to 40 should be within reach.

In practice prior to today’s scrimmage, Tolvanen was rotated on the third line with Taylor Raddysh. Both are capable of filling that role. Both Tolvanen and Raddysh are on one-year deals with identical $1.5 million cap hits. It’ll be interesting to see what develops during camp.

The fourth line features former Canadien Joe Veleno between Tye Kartye and either Jaroslav Chmelar or Matt Rempe. However, Adam Sykora is a player to watch. The 2022 second round pick is a better skater with more offensive potential than Chmelar, who brings a meat and potatoes game. Each are on two-way contracts. Rempe showed no ill effects from having two thumb procedures done.

For now, Rempe is likely viewed by the organization to make the roster. However, things can change rather quickly. In the first scrimmage, Blue won 4-1 over White. Players he’s competing with scored, including Sykora, Raddysh, Lamb, and Dylan Roobroeck. The latter two are looking to turn some heads.

As far as having three goalies, Sullivan isn’t opposed to it at the start.

Dylan Garand is no longer waiver eligible. That means if he doesn’t make the roster, he must clear to be reassigned. The competition for backup between Garand and veteran Joonas Korpisalo will be interesting. I’m of the belief that if neither struggle, both will start the season on the roster.

The Rangers’ first preseason game is in four days against the New Jersey Devils on Sept. 21.