Cole Beaudoin probably couldn’t have scripted a much better first weekend of games in his professional hockey career. Not only he scored a goal in his pro debut for the Hartford Wolf Pack, but the New York Rangers top center prospect had five points in his first five periods of play.
Oh, and the Wolf Pack, who finished last overall in the American Hockey League last season, won back-to-back games on the road against Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Rangers lines: projected lineup and starting goalie →
There were plenty of heroes for the Wolf Pack this past weekend, and Beaudoin wasn’t the only rookie pro to score his first professional goal — Nathan Aspinall had the eventual game-winner Sunday in a 3-2 victory over WBS. But there’s no question Beaudoin was the standout performer for the new-look Wolf Pack, whose makeover includes several top Rangers prospects added to the roster, as well veterans who have both NHL and AHL experience.
So, what stood out most about Beaudoin to Hartford coach Jay Leach these first two games?
“The biggest thing is his work ethic. He’s a dog on a bone. He’s relentless on the forecheck, he wins pucks, smart player, can certainly defend, and really has straight-line speed,” Leach told Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey after Sunday’s win. “So, he’s been very competitive, clearly has taken a step in his professional career to say ‘Hey, I’m here and I’m ready to compete.’ He’s been very impressive.”
Beaudoin kickstarted his pro career with a three-point outing in a 5-2 win over Lehigh Valley on Saturday. The mature 20-year-old, who was captain of Barrie in the OHL in 2025-26, assisted on Hartford’s first goal of the season in the first period, scored by one of those veterans alluded to above, Taylor Raddysh.
Then in the third period after Lucas Vanrobys gave Hartford a 3-2 lead, Beaudoin scored an unassisted goal off the rush at 8:23. He closed out his plus-3 outing with an assist on Vincent Iorio’s empty-net goal.
Rangers prospect Cole Beaudoin ‘will not be denied’ on ice with Hartford of the AHL
It didn’t take long Sunday for Beaudoin to prove that his debut 24 hours earlier wasn’t a fluke. He slid a soft pass right into Marc Del Gaizo’s wheelhouse, and the defenseman hammered home a power-play goal at 1:14 of the second period to tie the game 1-1.
Remember the “dog-on-a-bone” comment by Leach (using a favorite phrase of Rangers coach Mike Sullivan)? Well, Beaudoin was just that, diving to poke the puck behind the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton net and then setting up Raddysh with a whirling blind back-hand feed into the slot for another goal at 14:44 of the second period to make it 2-1.
“Relentless is just the best word to describe him,” Leach explained. “He will not be denied when he sees a loose puck or anything he can get remotely close to him, he’s going to go grab that thing and try to make a play.”
That, on top of his strong defensive play, physicality, and fire, made for quite a first impression for the kid that the Rangers acquired from the Utah Mammoth as part of the Vincent Trocheck trade July 1.
In somewhat of an irony, when Trocheck returned to Madison Square Garden with the Mammoth to face the Rangers on Sunday, Beaudoin was starring in Pennsylvania — and could be considered for a call-up to New York after fourth-line center Joe Veleno sustained a lower-body injury in the win against Utah.
A move could be in the works because defenseman Matthew Robertson didn’t practice Monday with the Rangers, who are at the 23-player roster limit and need to send someone to the minors before recalling a center if Veleno is out — whether it be Beaudoin or a more experienced option like Justin Dowling or Juuso Parssinen.
The Rangers aren’t looking to rush the 2024 first-round pick’s development. But Beaudoin did have a solid training camp with the Rangers — in fact, he even scored a goal against the Islanders at MSG, and that’s the exact same opponent and locale of the Blueshirts next game on Tuesday night.
Just saying.
But no matter what’s next, it’s a really good start for Beaudoin.
Jim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of … More about Jim Cerny
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