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Somewhat lost in the fallout from the Rangers’ letdown season were the five rookie forwards they rolled out at various points in 2024-25.
That marked their highest number since 2020-21, when Morgan Barron, Julien Gauthier, Vitali Kravtsov, Alexis Lafrenière and Justin Richards each made appearances. The only one who stuck around from that group was Lafrenière, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2020 draft, but the Blueshirts are hoping for more staying power from the latest influx of youth.
At least three from the quintet of Brett Berard, Adam Edström, Brennan Othmann, Gabe Perreault and Matt Rempe should make the 2025-26 opening night roster, with a chance for more.
Quite frankly, the Rangers will need it to offset salary cap concerns and keep them viable while many of their core veterans push into their mid-30s.
“We made a choice at the deadline to move on from some veteran players who were going to be unrestricted (free agents),” team president Chris Drury said. “It was good to get those players, as a group, into the lineup and get them experience in a playoff chase, up until the last week of the season. I think it will benefit all of them moving forward into the offseason, and (knowing) what they need to do this offseason to be ready for camp next year.”
All five sounded highly motivated at breakup day last week, with plans to maximize this long summer and be ready to compete for spots in the fall.
Let’s take a look at the outlook for each:
Brett Berard
The 22-year-old winger led the rookies with six goals and 10 points across 35 games played, while showcasing the speed and motor the Rangers badly need in their bottom six.
Berard pointed to improving his defensive-zone coverage as a key to earning a new coaching staff’s trust − “That definitely was a wakeup call,” he said − as well as maintaining his “pace of play” on every shift and continuing to get stronger. The latter has been a focus for years, with the 2020 fifth-round pick battling to overcome his slight 5-foot-9, 175-pound stature.
“Being a smaller guy, you want to put on some weight,” he said. “The way I play, I need to make sure I’m not getting knocked off pucks easily.”
To that end, Berard revealed his plan to spend the summer in the New York area and join a training group that includes Rempe and veterans Chris Kreider and Jonathan Quick. They’ll work with Connecticut-based Prentiss Hockey Performance, with Berard hoping it will propel him to regular lineup spot next season.
The competition will be stiff, though, with wing being the most crowded position on the roster and in the Rangers’ pipeline.
“The biggest goal of mine is to become a full-time player here, and that’s something that I’m definitely gonna take into this summer,” he said. “I definitely think there’s more that I can do to improve.”
Another chance for Berard to sharpen his game will come at the IIHF Men’s World Championships in Denmark and Sweden, beginning May 9. He was a somewhat surprising selection to represent Team USA and could build some early momentum there.
Adam Edström
A promising rookie campaign was cut short when a Feb. 1 lower-body injury led to season-ending surgery, but the 24-year-old winger did enough to put himself in strong position for 2025-26.
“I’m proud of the season I had,” Edström said. “I’m proud of coming into camp, making the team, playing all the games before I got injured. There were ups and downs, of course, but I feel like we found something at the end there. That’s kind of what I’m taking with me.”
The imposing 6-foot-7, 241-pounder appeared in all 51 games prior to his injury and was an ideal fit on the fourth line.
His point production was modest − five goals and four assists − but his skating, length and defensive reliability piqued the Rangers’ interest.
Edström moves extremely well for his size, with his top speed of 23.49 mph ranking in the 96th percentile league wide, according to NHL EDGE. That helped establish him as one of the team’s better forecheckers and most active defenders.
The 2019 sixth-round pick also uses his stick well, clogs up the high-danger areas and throws calculated hits within the flow of the game, with penalty killing a tool he could be asked to incorporate soon, as well.
The Rangers are facing a ton of questions this offseason, but the fourth line may be one of the few areas they don’t have to worry about. It’s easy to envision Edström, Rempe and veteran Sam Carrick reuniting after a useful stint together prior to Edström’s injury.
“I love both of those guys,” he said. “It was a blast playing with them.”
Edström, a restricted free agent, has already resumed skating and indicated he could have been an option had the Rangers gone far enough in the playoffs. Instead, he plans to finish his rehab in New York before heading home to train in Sweden for the summer.
Brennan Othmann
Different stats tell very different stories when it comes to the 22-year-old winger.
Othmann failed to score a goal while notching only two assists over 22 games played this season, but his 52.9% xGF ranked best among all Rangers’ forwards, according to Natural Stat Trick.
He finished with a plus-seven rating and made a mostly positive impact when given the opportunity, which was the message he received during exit interviews with Rangers’ brass. But the 2021 first-round pick also recognizes he must produce more to lock down a spot.
“I was still pretty upset that I wasn’t able to do more offensively,” he said. “That’s the goal going in the summertime. I know I can do more offensively. The organization knows I can do more offensively. It’s just an opportunity that I’m hoping to be able to get next year. This year was just an opportunity to come in and be noticeable and work hard and not so much worry about the points.”
Whether the Rangers believe Othmann is ready to take that next step could influence some of their offseason decisions.
There’s an expectation that they’ll shop Kreider, which could create an opening for Othmann (or Berard or Perreault) in the top nine. His stint with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck was encouraging, with that line registering a 74.65% xGF while outscoring opponents, 6-1, with a 15-4 HD chances advantage across 65:34 time on ice.
But if Drury isn’t convinced, he may listen to offers on the 6-foot, 192-pounder while his trade value is still perceived as relatively high.
For Othmann’s part, he’s planning to take advantage of the longest summer he’s had since prior to his draft year and focus on getting “bigger, stronger and faster.” His brief NHL experience has taught him that draft pedigree will only get you so far at this level.
“I’m having the mindset of coming back and earning a spot in this team,” he said. “Nothing’s given to you, and you’ve got to earn everything in this league. We’re going to have new eyes and new faces around, so just to earn that opportunity.”
Gabe Perreault
The youngest and top-rated prospect among the rookies may also have the longest way to go.
No one doubts Perreault’s high-end skill, creativity and hockey sense, which easily makes him the highest upside play of the bunch. But he’s only 19 (at least for one more week) and hasn’t even finished his sophomore year at Boston College, which he planned to return to campus for after breakup day.
It’s difficult to draw many conclusions from the 2023 first-round pick’s brief debut season, which was limited to five games due to since-fired head coach Peter Laviolette’s puzzling decision to scratch him three times. He didn’t register a point and produced some ugly underlying numbers, including a 31.89% xGF, but it was hard to expect much under the whirlwind circumstances.
Perreault pushed to begin his entry-level contract as soon as BC was eliminated from the NCAA tournament, which was well within his negotiating power, and believes it will give him a head start on getting ready for his true rookie season in the fall.
“It definitely helps,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve played against some good teams. I think all five games I played in were all playoff teams. So I think kind of getting the experience to know and see what it’s like a little bit definitely helps me going into training this summer.”
Once his semester is complete, Perreault will return to his home in Chicago and train with a few NHL players who are also based in the area. He said he’ll return to New York at some point, as well, to work with players he hopes will be teammates next season.
The offseason focus is similar to what Berard and Othmann expressed − the need to get stronger so he can handle the speed and physicality of the NHL game.
“It’s always been a thing for me growing up,” he said. “Trying to get faster, build my base, especially for my legs, and just trying to become more a powerful, better skater.”
That will be an especially important task for the 5-foot-11, 178-pounder, who scouts believe will need to bulk up and get quicker to maximize his notable potential.
Some feel he would benefit from time in the AHL as a stepping stone, which is a distinct possibility depending how the camp competition plays out. But Perreault left no doubt about his goal for next season.
“I’m doing everything I can to put myself in a position to be ready at camp to make the team and make an impact,” he said.
Matt Rempe
Is it crazy to think that 22-year-old fan favorite has the best chance of anyone on this list to crack the opening-night lineup?
It may be a tie between him and Edström, but Rempe is fully healthy entering the summer and coming off a finish both he and the Rangers feel good about.
“I think that I improved a lot, especially from last year,” he said. “From the beginning of the season to the end, I think a lot of development happened. My game got a lot better.”
The mammoth 6-foot-9, 255-pounder made the team out of camp but bounced in and out of the lineup and was demoted to AHL Hartford around Thanksgiving.
He called it “the best thing for me.”
“I go down there for a month and a bit, and play in all situations and play a ton of minutes,” he said. “That’s what I needed, because I did a ton of skills work in the summer, but it’s different when you’re doing that in a practice. When you go into a game, it’s suddenly, ‘How do I apply all these skills now and get better at that?’ That’s why I needed to go for a month and a half, and I think from there, I think my game took off.”
Rempe returned to New York on Jan. 7 and appeared in 37 of the final 43 games.
The Rangers outscored opponents, 15-8, while he was on the ice, with his improvement evident in several areas.
Rempe was a horse around the net and an intimidating force on the forecheck, which have always been his calling cards, but he also showed much more confidence with the puck on his stick. His line typically generated offensive-zone time, and he notably cut down on the penalties that haunted him in previous stints. He still led the team with 17 penalties in that span − a few of which came on bogus calls − but he also drew nine and limited the lapses in judgment that have resulted from his aggression.
If he can continue to harness that properly while effectively irritating and wearing opponents down, his role should be solidified.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.