{"id":551687,"date":"2026-04-13T09:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/551687\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:10:15","slug":"the-nhl-rookie-lap-islanders-and-rangers-share-their-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/551687\/","title":{"rendered":"The NHL rookie lap: Islanders and Rangers share their takes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Schaefer\u2019s NHL career began with a fine. It was just the price of taking his rookie lap in style, sans helmet. <\/p>\n

The rookie lap, of course, is exactly what it sounds like. Before an NHL player\u2019s first regular-season game, he comes onto the ice alone to take a solo twirl or two before\u00a0warm-ups while his teammates wait in the tunnel.<\/p>\n

It started years ago as a prank on unsuspecting rookies. Now it\u2019s become one of hockey\u2019s more endearing traditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awesome,\u201d Schaefer told Newsday recently. \u201cGoing out for your first NHL game and doing the rookie lap with no helmet, it was pretty cool. It was definitely a moment you were fired up for. You\u2019re just like, \u2018Wow, you\u2019re in the NHL, no helmet, warm-ups.\u2019 It was a really cool feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome to The NHL, Matthew Schaefer and Maxim Shabanov! pic.twitter.com\/GUEUtIMcSY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The Islanders\u2019 record-setting 18-year-old defenseman stepped onto the ice<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0before the regular-season opener at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9<\/a> before all of his other teammates save for fellow first-year player Max Shabanov. The two proceeded to skate on their own for a half-minute or so before the rest of the team joined them for warm-ups.<\/p>\n

But NHL rule 9.6 stipulates that any player who entered the league in the 2019-20 season or later must wear his\u00a0helmet during warmups. The NHL does not divulge the price of such rookie insolence, but it\u2019s believed to be $2,500.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone gets fined for the no bucket if you\u2019re not allowed,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cI got fined for sure. They just take it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Islanders have had four players take rookie laps this season:\u00a0Laurel Hollow\u2019s Marshall Warren<\/a> and fellow defenseman Travis Mitchell in addition to Schaefer and Shabanov.\u00a0The Rangers have had five rookie laps with Jaroslav Chmelar, Noah Laba, Adam Sykora, defenseman Drew Fortescue and goalie Dylan Garand.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Islanders’ Marshall Warren, from Laurel Hollow, takes his rookie lap in Philadelphia for his NHL debut on Oct. 25, 2025.
\n Credit: Newsday\/Andrew Gross<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a special thing and I think hockey\u2019s pretty cool with how we get to do that,\u201d Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield \u2014\u00a0who took his rookie lap in Columbus on April 6, 2014, with his now-wife, Emily, and other family members in attendance \u2014\u00a0told Newsday. \u201cYou\u2019re out there by yourself for a second and it\u2019s a little weird at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rookie lap is a 21st century NHL tradition, becoming ubiquitous only during\u00a0the past 15 seasons or so. It is something every rookie now anticipates greatly.<\/p>\n

The Rangers\u2019 Gabe Perreault, the 23rd overall pick in 2023, took his at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was at MSG so it made it even better,\u201d he\u00a0told Newsday. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of what you dream as a kid, that first game and, especially, that rookie lap. You always watch it on TV. They always show it whenever there\u2019s a rookie lap. So it\u2019s super-cool. It\u2019s definitely one of the things you look forward to when you\u2019re about to play your first game. My teammates were there. My family was there. All that made it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gabe<\/p>\n

Gabe Perreault of the Rangers takes his rookie lap at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2025.\u00a0 Credit: Getty Images\/Bruce Bennett<\/p>\n

Of fear, falling and fun<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to trip and fall for sure,\u201d the Islanders\u2019 Cal Ritchie told Newsday of his rookie lap while still with the Avalanche on Oct. 9, 2024. \u201cI did fine. I didn\u2019t have my bucket off, either. So I wasn\u2019t nervous about that. I just didn\u2019t want to make a fool of myself. I remember seeing something. My family sent a video to our group chat. So that was pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Special” also would describe Matt Rempe\u2019s experience with the Rangers on Feb. 18, 2024. He became the first NHL player to take his rookie lap in an outdoor game before\u00a0a 6-5 comeback win over the Islanders<\/a> at MetLife Stadium, which also included his first NHL fight, against Matt Martin.<\/p>\n

That fear of falling is universal among those taking a\u00a0rookie lap, especially with how prevalent social media has become.<\/p>\n

The ideal is to calmly skate while stickhandling a puck before rifling it into the crease.<\/p>\n

Of course, playing to that fear can lend itself to pranks.<\/p>\n

The Islanders\u2019 Emil Heineman became the butt of a joke before making his NHL debut with the Canadiens on Dec. 21, 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember I asked one of the equipment guys to push out a few pucks so I don\u2019t step on them,\u201d Heineman told Newsday. \u201cAnd he tossed every single puck out there and they were like mines all over the zone. I was so scared of falling. That\u2019s my recollection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dressing room neighbor Marc Gatcomb listened in on Heineman\u2019s tale, the two of them sharing a laugh over it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had one puck on the ice,\u201d volunteered Gatcomb, who took his rookie lap for the Islanders on Jan. 14, 2025, against the Senators at UBS Arena. \u201cI think everyone\u2019s like just try not to fall. That\u2019s the one thing in your head. I remember being so nervous I was shaking, literally, until I got on the ice. And then it\u2019s kind of like a blur in the moment. You\u2019re so nervous, you\u2019re just trying not to lose the puck. You try to shoot it and not fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight after it happens, the next couple of days, it still feels like surreal. It\u2019s something that you work for. So when it happens, it\u2019s like, wow,\u00a0this is your reality. So it\u2019s cool. I definitely watched my lap a couple of times. It wasn\u2019t the prettiest one.\u201d<\/p>\n

That spurred another memory from Heineman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I watch it, I just notice how fast I\u2019m skating,\u201d he\u00a0said. \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Calm down a little bit.\u2019 I came out running out of the gate. I struggled to turn in the corners because I came in so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gatcomb wore his helmet for his rookie lap because former Islanders president\/general manager Lou Lamoriello didn\u2019t allow any of his players to take warm-ups without one. New GM Mathieu Darche relaxed that team rule this season.<\/p>\n

‘Just a cool thing we get to do’<\/p>\n

Even as the rookie lap became popular around the NHL, not every team immediately took to it.<\/p>\n

Former Islander Zdeno Chara considered it a form of hazing so Bruins\u00a0rookies did not take a lap while he was that team\u2019s captain from 2006-20.<\/p>\n

Still, the rookie lap has expanded beyond the NHL. Players take them in the minor leagues and in junior hockey.<\/p>\n

Defenseman Braden Schneider took his NHL rookie lap for the Rangers on Jan. 13, 2022, in San Jose. He also took one before his first game with the Rangers\u2019 AHL affiliate in Hartford in 2020 and with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all the same thing every time,\u201d Schneider told Newsday. \u201cIt\u2019s always exciting. I would even say like your first game in any new league or team, you\u2019re always very excited. I remember even my first exhibition game, you\u2019re going out there and you\u2019re like, \u2018Holy crap, I\u2019m wearing the jersey. You\u2019re in the Garden.\u2019 It\u2019s crazy to think about. When you actually get the opportunity to do it in the NHL, it\u2019s like, \u2018Holy crap, this is an NHL arena.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember you\u2019ve got Erik Karlsson across the ice, he was on San Jose at the time, and it\u2019s like you\u2019re trying to stay grounded but, at the same time, it feels like you\u2019re floating.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Islanders’ Kyle MacLean skates his rookie lap at the United Center in Chicago on Jan. 19, 2024.\u00a0 Credit: Getty Images\/Michael Reaves<\/p>\n

In a sense, even though the rookies are set apart from their teammates on the ice for that moment, they are not skating alone.<\/p>\n

At least, that\u2019s how Rangers defenseman Matthew Robertson, who took his rookie lap in Florida on April 14, 2025, after three seasons with Hartford, described it to Newsday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou work your whole life to get to that moment, to play your first NHL game,\u201d he\u00a0said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many emotions and so many people that helped you get to that moment. There\u2019s so much appreciation for all those people that helped me and so many others get to that moment. It\u2019s just a whirlwind of emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defenseman scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 18. He said that milestone felt different than his rookie lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst goal, you\u2019re in the midst of the game,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cYou\u2019re more focused on the game and then you score and then you\u2019ve got to shift your focus back to the next shift. You enjoy it more so after the game. But the first lap and first game\u00a0I feel like you cherish a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teammates cherish it, too, at least the ones who can watch rookies take their twirl. Many get backed up in the tunnel from the dressing room and have no view.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun seeing now,\u201d Mayfield said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun seeing guys do it. Even guys on other teams. Not a lot of people get to play in the NHL. It\u2019s just a cool thing we get to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsday’s\u00a0Colin Stephenson contributed to this story.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John\u2019s and MLB.\n<\/p>\n