Everything you need to know ahead of highly anticipated Rangers prospect development camp

The New York Rangers improved their prospect pool through the 2026 NHL Draft held on Friday and Saturday in Buffalo, and on Monday some of the newest prospects will take the ice for Development Camp in Greenburgh.

On Sunday the Rangers announced the list of names of attendees, and here's everything you need to know before the players hit the ice this week.

Rangers unveil 2026 Development Camp Roster

Forwards: Jesse Allecia, Darian Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Jacob Battaglia, Dayne Beuker, Raoul Boilard, Spencer Bowes, Tomas Chrenko, Giovanni DiGiulian, Mikkel Eriksen, Rico Gredig, Liam Greentree, Ty Henricks, Samuel Jung, Alex Pelletier, Malcolm Spence, Carey Terrance, and Kalder Varga

Defense: Sean Barnhill, EJ Emery, Felix Farhammar, Drew Fortescue, Artem Gonchar, Hunter Hady, Zeb Lindgren, Ben MacBeath, Andre Mondoux, Charlie Morrison, Evan Passmore, and Alberts Smits.

Goalies: Danai Shaiikov, Alexander Smolin, and Callum Tung

Diving deeper into the grouping of players participating

This is easily one of the more interesting assortment of names to hit the ice in quite sometime, as it features a nice combination of new prospects, returning prospects, undrafted prospects, and some names who recently joined the organization via trade.

The 2026 class of names includes No. 5 overall pick Alberts Smits, Ben MacBeath, Thomas Chrenko, Charlie Morrison, Spencer Bowes, Danai Shaiikov, Andre Mondoux, and Darian Anderson. Smits is the headliner here, although it will be interesting to see each of these players pull on a sweater.

There's not a ton to be learned this week, it will be interesting to see which players make the roster for summer games, but it will offer a chance for the media to talk with them and learn a little more about them.

Returning draft picks set to participate

The Rangers will also have some returning prospects such as EJ Emery, Artem Gonchar, Sean Barnhill, Malcolm Spence, and Mikkel Eriksen among others. These are players who are at different stages of their career with Emery joining a few drafts ago, and Spence, Gonchar, Barnhill, and Eriksen being 2025 picks. Spence was the Blueshirts' top pick last year, and he had a fine rookie NCAA season at Michigan.

Fans will be introduced to some interesting names

Then you have players like Liam Greentree, Nathan Aspinall, and Jacob Battaglia with each being of intrigue for different reasons. Each are players I would consider wild cards to factor into the main roster this season, and each should make the Wolf Pack exciting to watch this season.

Greentree was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Artemi Panarin trade, and is a prospect the Rangers have high hopes for. Aspinall is a 20 year old forward who stands 6'7", and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. He just completed a season in the OHL where he finished with 94 points in the regular season, and 17 points in eight playoff games with Flint. Battaglia was acquired in exchange for Brennan Othmann, and he finished his season with 21 points in 28 games after being traded to Flint, and he added 18 points in eight playoff games.

The undrafted invitees

Lastly, there is a group of players who have no official affiliation to the Rangers, and they have been invited to attend camp. This includes Hunter Hady, Jesse Allecia, Dayne Beuker, Giovanni DiGiullian, Alex Pelletier, and Kalder Varga.

Hady is a 6'4", 205 pound defender who turns 22 in August and had spent the majority of his recent career playing hockey in the USHL with the Chicago Steel. He joined the University of Michigan in 2024-25 and skated in 32 games, and this most recent season saw him play two games. He is set to attend Arizona State University this fall.

Allecia is a 6'1", 192 pound winger who turns 21 in October and is a native of New York City. He tallied 65 points in 64 games with the Drummondville Votigeurs of the QMJHL this season and is slated to attend Dartmouth this season.

Beuker is a 5'10" and 170 pound center who just went undrafted, and was ranked 76th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He spent this past season with the US National U-18 team and the USNTDP Juniors squad, and is set to play with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL this year with a commitment to attend the University of Denver starting in 2027. Long term he is a projects, and how he performs in the WHL and later the NCAA will determine if he's able to make it to the NHL.

DiGiulian turns 21 this September and is a left winger who played at Cornell this past season. He finished with just 14 points in 34 games after tallying 51 points in 58 games with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL in 2024-25. At 6'1" and just 161 pounds, DiGiulian has his work cut out for him as he tries to break through to the NHL.

Pelletier is a 5'10" and 190 pound winger who just turned 21 this month, and is commited to Boston College. He's been a member of the Lincoln Stars for the past two seasons, and this most recent campaign saw Pelletier score 48 goals and finish with 85 points in just 59 games. He also was a point per game player in the playoffs with four goals and assists for eight points.

Varga is a defenseman who stands 5'11" and weighs 179 pounds. Varga just turned 18 on June 24th and was the 122th ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. He spent this most recent season with the Red Deer Rebels and Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, and finished with 37 points in 68 games. Varga is committed to Denver University for this upcoming season.

Lastly, the Rangers will have Alexander Smolin as the third goaltender, and he will turn 23 in October. He's spent the last few years with Magnitogorsk, moving through the MHL, VHL, and KHL. He appeared in 35 KHL games this year (23-8-2) and posted a 2.33 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in the regular season and went 7-2-0 in the playoffs with 1.67 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. At 6'2" and just 168 pounds he's an interesting name to keep an eye on, and his numbers are quite encouraging to the point where offering him a contract wouldn't be too outrageous.

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