The New York Rangers begin their first on-ice session of the 2026-27 preseason on Thursday, and coach Mike Sullivan and the front office have already signaled that two rookies are the ones to watch as camp gets underway.
Of the 16 prospective rookies on the training camp roster, goaltender Dylan Garand and defenseman Alberts Smits stand out as having the most realistic shot at cracking the lineup.
Garand, 24, is competing for the backup goaltender job behind star netminder Igor Shesterkin, a role left open after Jonathan Quick’s retirement. He’ll face off against veteran Joonas Korpisalo, who was acquired from Boston this summer in a trade that sent Kalle Vaisanen and a 2028 fourth-round pick to the Bruins.
Garand made a case for himself late last season, posting a 2-0-1 record in his first three NHL games.
“I think [Garand] showed us late in the season last year that he’s very capable of making saves in this league,” Sullivan said. “That, in and of itself, just his overall growth and development, has given us a little bit more legitimate depth at the goaltending position. Korpy is a guy that I think is a bona fide NHL goalie that’s had success and has a body of work in this league that shows that he can be an effective goaltender, especially at the backup position.”
“He’s done an admirable job in the places that he’s been. We feel like that position right now is competitive. I think ultimately as an organization the ultimate goal is to have fierce internal competition, healthy competition at all the positions.”
On the blue line, 18-year-old Alberts Smits arrives with experience in international men’s leagues, which Sullivan says has helped prepare him for this level. The Rangers drafted Smits fifth overall in June, and he has been discussed as one of the most NHL-ready defensemen in the 2026 draft class — a label the organization appears wary of overemphasizing.
Sullivan acknowledged Smits has a chance to make the Opening Night roster, but both he and president and general manager Chris Drury have stressed the importance of managing his development carefully.
“We’re impressed with his game,” Sullivan said. “I think the most important thing is, and we have talked about this internally, is that in the big picture, the sooner that Smits becomes part of our roster the better. But we also have to make sure that we do the right thing for him, both in the short term and in the long term.”
“We’ll see where it goes. We’re going to watch him in training camp with our veteran players, and his play will tell us where we think he fits and what’s best for him.”
Elsewhere on the roster, Sullivan said forward Pavel Dorofeyev, 25, will get looks on both wings during camp as the coaching staff experiments with line combinations.
“I think a lot of it’s going to come down to what we think is the best fit based on the combinations that we put together,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to explore different options to figure out how we can create the balance that we think is necessary to win consistently, but also to set players up for success. Him included. I would anticipate probably seeing him on both sides throughout the course of the next couple of weeks.”
Forward Cole Beaudoin is listed as day to day and forward Aidan Thompson is week to week, both with undisclosed injuries.
Camp also opens under a new collective bargaining agreement that took effect Wednesday, which lowers the maximum contract length to seven years for players re-signing with their current team, down from eight, and six years for players signing with a new club as free agents. Several teams rushed to lock up young players to maximum-length deals ahead of the change, including the Washington Capitals with Ryan Leonard (eight years, $84 million), the Buffalo Sabres with Noah Ostlund (eight years, $52.8 million) and the Ottawa Senators with Drake Batherson (eight years, $86 million).
Asked whether the Rangers might pursue a similar long-term deal with forward Gabe Perreault or another young player, Drury declined to discuss specifics.
“As you all know, I’m not going to get into contract negotiations publicly,” Drury said. “All or any conversations I have with players or agents, keep that private. We’re happy with where we’re at. We’re happy with where our roster is at. We’re happy with our cap projections going into this year and in the future. We’re excited to see Gabe and other young players continue to grow, take on more responsibility, earn more responsibility here and have good productive years for us.”
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