2025 Rangers Report Card: Adam Edstrom

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Report Cards, grading the performance of each member of the 2024-25 New York Rangers. To view more report cards in this series, go here.

Expectations:

Adam Edstrom made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers last season and in 11 games had two goals to show for it. Heading into this season, it wasn’t necessarily a sure thing that he would make the team out of camp, at least as much as it felt to be a certainty for Matt Rempe. Edstrom was one of the oldest Rangers “prospects” that attended rookie camp, whereas Rempe, who is a year younger, got to skip it altogether—decision that still makes no sense almost a full year later, but I digress. 

Edstrom was a standout in rookie camp, preseason, and earned an opening night roster spot as a reward for those efforts. Given the uncertainty regarding his place on the team, Edstrom’s expectations for the season weren’t necessarily high. The team saw him for what he was: a fringe fourth liner with some upside that was still in the early stages of his career. That being said, any progress from the year prior would be considered a success and what we saw from him this year was a noteworthy step in the right direction. 

Performance

Prior to the injury he suffered at the start of February that put an early end to his season, Edstrom was on pace for a full 82 game season. That in itself could be proof that he exceeded expectations, seeing as his roster spot wasn’t a sure thing to begin with. From the early parts of the season, Edstrom showed there was upside to his game and that he had more to offer than just being another really tall bottom-six forward. In the Rangers home opener, Edstrom celebrated his 24th birthday by challenging Utah’s Jack McBain to a fight as Sam Carrick was already having a go with Michael Kesselring. That would be an early boost to Edström’s penalty meinutes stat as he would collect 15 penalty minutes in just about 12 minutes of ice time across the first two games of the season. 

That fight got him a game misconduct but proved that on top of having more of an overall skill set to his game, he could do all that rough stuff that made the coaching staff (and fan base) fall in love with his good buddy, Matt Rempe. Perhaps that was a sign of what was to come but it wasn’t long before Rempe’s ice time continued to decrease and Edstrom essentially took his roster spot altogether. Rempe would rejoin the team soon enough but from that moment on, Edstrom proved to be an integral part of the team’s fourth line. 

Throughout the month of October, Edstrom was averaging about seven and a half minutes of ice time on that fourth line with Sam Carrick and Jimmy Vesey. Across nine games, he had one assist and was a plus one on the season. November would prove to be a step forward for the young forward as he scored his first goal of the season in a 5-2 win against the Islanders and was averaging closer to ten minutes of ice time throughout the month. 

January would be the best month for Adam Edstrom and in hindsight, probably a close second for the Rangers as a whole. In 14 games played, Edstrom picked up three goals and two assists for a total of five points with his highest ice time average which clocked in at about ten and a half minutes per game. Edstrom even had goals in back-to-back games during a Western Conference road trip against the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. Without question, the 10 games leading up to the one he got injured were some of his best hockey of the season, which made the injury all the more unfortunate. 

Here’s a clip of him reflecting on his impressive redirect goal against Vegas in a game where he came back after blocking a hard shot with his knee:

Edstrom was becoming the exact type of fourth liner this team is looking to have. Someone with size that can bring a physical presence when needed, but alsop has the speed and skill to make things happen in the offensive zone. I hate to keep comparing him to Rempe, but it’s hard not to. Especially with consideration to the fact that at their best, both of them have shown capabilities of making skilled plays at higher speeds while cycling the puck down low. The way they buzz around the net and below the goal line has the potential to be such a productive force for the Rangers. 

I mentioned at the top that the organization likely viewed Edstrom as a fringe fourth liner with some upside heading into the season. After what we've seen from him in 51 games, there’s reason to believe he’ll be a key part of the fourth line next season and could even have what it takes to top out as a third liner down the road. If he can model his game around what made Brian Boyle successful, I can see him becoming a really effective role player as he continues to navigate his NHL career. 

A good goal for this player next year would be to play a full 82 game season or as close as possible to one. Eventually, once the Jonny Brodzinskis and Sam Carricks are out of the picture, if he can begin to transition to center ice, he can become all the more valuable. 

Grades

Author Grade: B-

Banter Consensus: B+

Final Evaluation

Edstrom is being graded on a bit of a curve on account of the fact that he did not get to play a full season but given what he did across the first 51 games of the season, he certainly deserves the grade he’s receiving. Had he been fully healthy for the entire 82-game campaign and still had the stat line he had this season to show for it, it’s reasonable to say that would have been considered a success in itself. However, given his level of production leading up to the injury, you can’t help but wonder what his numbers could have been had he finished the season. 

He will be a restricted free agent this summer where he will surely re-up for at least another year around a million dollars or will accept his qualifying offer which, according to PuckPedia, is $813,750 . The Rangers have a really unique opportunity to have one of the tallest fourth lines likely ever centered around Rempe and Edstrom and it will be really exciting to see what they can do together across an entire season if given that opportunity.