Jaroslav Chmelar’s NHL Debut a Positive Reminder of the Rangers Future
Chmelar’s debut showed promise and purpose, highlighting both his potential fit in Sullivan’s system and the quiet progress of Drury’s development plan.
For anyone still uncertain of how to say it, Jaroslav Chmelar’s name is pronounced, Hih-MEL-esh. If all goes well, it’s a name New York Rangers fans could grow more familiar with as the former fifth round draft pick from 2021 (144th overall) made quite an impression in his NHL debut last night against the Detroit Red Wings.
Jaroslav Chmelar drops the gloves with Travis Hamonic! pic.twitter.com/q0tpRUIqP1
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) November 8, 2025
You can make many different arguments about Chris Drury as the Rangers’ general manager, but one thing he has absolutely done right across his tenure is reward his AHL guys for playing well and giving them opportunities when they arise. We saw Brandon Scanlin get a couple cups of NHL coffee with the Rangers a few seasons ago. We saw it as recently as with Matthew Robertson and, of course, with guys like Victor Mancini and Noah Laba earning NHL jobs out of impressive training camps. Chmelar is just the latest example of this as Drury and the Rangers have rewarded his hot start in Hartford with his first major league call up.
As Keegan pointed out, Chmelar has been an impressive piece for the Wolf Pack this season as he has gelled on that top line alongside Jake Dowling and Gabe Perreault. In nine games played, Chmelar has found the back of the net twice, picking up three assists along the way for a total of five points. The Providence College alum spent his first full season of professional hockey with the Wolf Pack last year where in 71 games, he collected a total of 29 points. Not bad at all for a 21-year-old rookie from Czechia.
In a 2022 interview towards the start of his freshman year at Providence, Chmelar spoke highly of his decision to come to North America.
“I think I couldn’t make [have made] a better choice to go to this college and play college hockey because I can tell from my experience now these are the hardest games I’ve played and I think it’s so good for [my] development.”
Good for development it was, as Chmelar finished both seasons at Providence ninth on the team in points, which certainly helped make his transition from college hockey to the AHL an easier one. It also likely helped that his former linemate at Providence, Brett Berard, was also with the Rangers organization and making some noise in his own right as a member of the Wolf Pack when Chmelar first made the jump at the end of the 2023-24 season.
His success has been evident at both the NCAA and AHL levels. So what should we expect from him at the NHL level?
