Drew Fortescue turned pro this spring after three steady seasons at Boston College, but leaving Chestnut Hill behind does not mean the NHL is within arm's reach. Given the changes made to the New York Rangers blueline through trades and the draft, an absolute disaster would need to strike Broadway for the 21-year-old defenseman to see regular minutes this season. The scenario likely isn't what he envisioned when he made the decision to turn pro, but it will provide him a challenge that will ultimately prove what he's capable of.
Rangers' defense likely set in stone
President and General Manager Chris Drury was quite busy this summer, and one of the biggest areas of focus was defense. Marcus Pettersson was acquired to anchor the left side of the second pair, Alberts Smits was drafted to one day anchor the left side of the top pair, and the Rangers also added Sean Durzi who will sit behind Adam Fox on the right side of the depth chart. Beyond that, Braden Schneider was extended, Scott Morrow and Vincent Iorio signed new contracts, and Matthew Robertson is looking to build off a successful rookie season.
The Rangers are likely to deploy a conventional defense with three left handed and three right handed defensemen, but there's no telling what will happen if someone like Smits absolutely proves he's ready for the NHL sooner rather than later.
The only true guarantees are Vladislav Gavrikov and Fox on the Rangers' top pair, and beyond that there's so much that could happen over the next few weeks. Pettersson, Durzi, Robertson, and Schneider all should be in the mix, and Smits remains the wild card that could change everything.
All of this spells bad news for someone like Fortescue, because it feels like there's multiple rungs he needs to clear just to get into the seventh defenseman conversation, let alone actual playing time.
Where Fortescue fits in Hartford
The main goal for Fortescue should be winning the top-pair job in Hartford, and in order to do that he'll need to be better than Dennis Cholowski, Jackson Dorington, and potentially Urho Vaakanainen should he be sent down to the minors if Smits forces the issue. If Smits doesn't force the issue, add him to the competition list in Hartford.
Cholowski is a 28 year old with 254 games of AHL experience, and in that time frame he's averaged 0.50 points per game. He also has 173 games of NHL experience across seven seasons. I don't view him as a huge threat, but as a veteran with experience the Rangers might view him as a better fit for a temporary opening.
Dorington has appeared in 79 AHL games to date across three seasons, and he's posted a line of 3-10-13. Prior to joining Hartford, he skated for Northeastern University in the NCAA, and he tallied a line of 8-25-33 in 105 games. For the sake of comparison, Fortescue posted a line of 8-25-33 in 112 games which yields a slightly worse P/GP average.
Lastly Vaakanainen is 27 and has 119 games of AHL experience across five seasons with a 0.33 P/GP average, and he's also logged 221 NHL games across nine seasons while averaging 0.21 P/GP. For Fortescue to get a shot to be an NHL mainstay he would need to have a pretty impressive showing to start the season, and there also would need to be some injuries.
AHL success doesn't always matter
While having success is important, sometimes you need to be what a team is looking for. While Fortescue has NHL size at 6'2" and 194 pounds, I can't help but look at his situation and think about Zac Jones. Jones probably would be an NHL regular if he were bigger than 5'11 and 190 pounds, but that's a story for another day.
Two goals for Zac Jones tonight, and they were both beauties. 🗽 pic.twitter.com/h4ThCY15if
— NHL (@NHL) September 25, 2024
He has put up quite an impressive track record which included a line of 12-35-47 in 61 NCAA games (0.77 P/GP), 28-101-129 in 168 AHL games (0.77 P/GP), but he's still projected to start this season outside of the NHL. While size has something to do with that, it just comes down to roster fit and role.
Jones at his core is a power play specialist, and that was more than covered in New York. Fortescue is known for being more of a defensive-defenseman, and there's isn't an immediate opening for that. Beyond that, the NHL is moving to a place where teams want to generate offense from all three pairs. If Fortescue isn't able to generate more offense, it could limit his chances of being an NHL mainstay.
The good news for him is that he's in a spot where he could make a lot of noise on an improved Hartford squad, and if he's able to truly shine, it could put him in a position to claim a spot if the Rangers want to shelter Smits and if Robertson were to struggle in his sophomore season. Fortescue remains an interesting NHL prospect, and one that could eventually have an impact for the Rangers, but it might be best for fans to temper expectations at least to start the season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google