Rangers vs. Devils: Preseason Doesn't Count, But It Does Matter

• When Chris Drury sent out his Letter last season he said that the New York Rangers were going to:

...target players that bring tenacity, skill, speed, and a winning pedigree with a focus on obtaining young players, draft picks, and cap space to allow us flexibility moving forward. 

• A lot of that was on display in preseason game number three against the New Jersey Devils. The roster that took the ice was a mix of three types of players:
  • Guys we can expect to take the ice when the season kicks off.
  • Guys we know are ticketed for Hartford.
  • Guys who could go either way.
• In the first group you had: Noah Laba, Tye Kartye, Joe Veleno, Will Cuylle, and Mattias Maccelli—sorry—I mean Gabe Perreault.
• In the second group it was: Anton Blidh, Glenn Gawdin, William Trudeau, Marc Del Gaizo, Cole Beaudoin, Liam Greentree, Nathan Aspinall, and Drew Fortescue.
• And in the third group you have: Matthew Robertson, Scott Morrow, Joonis Korpisalo, Matt Rempe, Jaroslav Chmelar, and Alberts Smits.
• My goal for group one is to come through the game healthy. My goal for the second group is for the young guys to show us that the future is bright. My goal for the third group is: earn it. So, how did it go?
• The puck drops on the regular season in less than a week and when it does I fully expect Alberts Smits to be in the lineup. He has played in every preseason game thus far and has definitely looked better than Matthew Robertson.
• That's not to say that Robertson has looked bad, But you can just see the difference in skill between Smits, who has first pair upside, and Robertson who is a really good third-pair guy.
• Fast and physical: Barring a trade or waiver claim I think there's a good chance that the fourth line on opening night is going to be Kartye - Veleno - Taylor Raddysh. I cannot stress enough how much of an upgrade that is from the line of Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe that was deployed there last year. Again, that's not a knock against anyone, but Kartye, Veleno, and Raddysh are all tremendous skaters who play physically and are actually reliable NHL players who you can deploy in a variety of situations.
• Matt Rempe is a really good AHL player because AHL players don't know what to do with a man his size. That means he looks like a passable NHL player in preseason games against uneven rosters. Despite having a work ethic that's off the charts, his game just hasn't progressed enough for him to be on this roster.
• If you're looking for size, watch Aspinall play. He has Rempe's size but can really play.