The other players to watch in the first preseason game

Preseason game one for the New York Rangers is tonight and there will be a lot of new faces in the starting lineup.  Who are they?

New York Rangers training camp team A will play tonight. That means that Ranger fans will see the crown jewels of the team’s youth movement in action. Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin are all in the lineup along with prized acquisitions Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba.

For the most part all of these athletes will be wearing Ranger jerseys in the regular season.  Unless they falter badly Lias Andersson, Kravtsov and Fox will stick with the varsity.  Shesterkin is destined to cut his teeth in the AHL. The storylines about all of these players have been discussed ad nauseum so it is put up or shut up time.  We’ll have a lot to say after the game about their performance.

The fascinating element of this game will be the players we haven’t heard much about who will be in the lineup.  It’s a mix of Hartford-bound young players, players fighting for a slot on the Blueshirts and one player just fighting for a contract. . Here’s the backstory on these players.

Team A will face New Jersey tomorrow @TheGarden. 

On the cusp

Libor Hajek #43 – While the assumption is that Hajek as won a job, he still only has five NHL games on his resume and is coming back from a shoulder injury. He had a lousy season in Hartford and a solid audition on Broadway.  All indications are that Hajek is in the top six, but he has to prove that he is worth it in the preseason.

Gregg McKegg #14 – McKegg was a free agent signee, recruited from the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s a lefty shooter who can play center or left wing (where he is tonight).  McKegg was well liked in Raleigh and had excellent numbers in the AHL.  He found his way into 14 playoff games for the Hurricanes.

He is a a dark horse to make the Rangers this season, but his $750k cap hit helps him.  He’s 27 years old and could find himself on the Hartford-New York shuttle.

Boo Nieves #15 – Nieves signed a new contract in the off-season for a team-friendly $700k.  He’s proven to be a solid fourth liner with an ability to contribute to the offense.  He is still one of six centers on the team.  His cap hit makes him more likely to stick, but he needs to keep an already solid training camp performance going.

Brendan Smith #42 – Smith has two more years on a bloated $4.35 million contract.  The 30-year old has been on the cusp since he signed his deal, finding a role last season as a versatile seventh defenseman and 13th forward.

David Quinn likes his physicality and flexibility, but Smith could also find himself buried in Hartford.  That would save the team over a million dollars towards the salary cap, money they may need.

Smith has to have a good preseason in order to keep his job.  The Anthony DeAngelo holdout is helping Smith as he can play the right side where he will play tonight.