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New York Rangers: Five questions going into training camp

By Nicholas Zararis

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 31: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers is congratulated for his win by teammate Mats Zuccarello #36 during an NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 31, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 31: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers is congratulated for his win by teammate Mats Zuccarello #36 during an NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 31, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 23: (l-r) New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes and New York Rangers coach David Quinn chat during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 23: (l-r) New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes and New York Rangers coach David Quinn chat during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Can Quinn establish a culture?

At least at the NCAA level, Quinn has shown an ability to develop quality NHL players. Under Quinn’s direction, Boston University sent Jack Eichel, Charlie McCavoy, Clayton Keller and others to the show. Now, player development at the college level and the professional level are two fundamentally different things.

In the college hockey world, raw skill can get teams through an entire season. There is not a ton of organization and systemic play from those teams during the regular season. At the NHL level, a team without a plan gets exposed in about five minutes. Ask the Rangers last season why they surrendered so many goals within the first five minutes of a game. It is because the players on the ice felt they were out there on their own and given no direction.

In Quinn’s brief time as Rangers’ coach he has emphasized the importance about having a drive to compete.

“We have to come to the rink every single day and want to get better,” Quinn said during a press conference on September 13. “Part of that is practicing with intensity.

From the very jump it seems as if Quinn is going to have a more hands on approach than Vigneault. The Rangers’ former coach is known for his hands-off CEO style of coaching in which the players are left to police themselves. Being that the Rangers were such a young team last season, they did not have the right level of guidance.

It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Quinn can get the established players like Kevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and others to buy into his more direct approach early on in the season.

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