The New York Rangers had a few new members enter their historic logbook of players last season, and it is evident that more will come once the new season begins this October. Let's take a look at which prospects made the jump last season, who can make their debut in 2025-26, and the overall state of the prospect pool.
2024-25 debuts
There were a couple of Rangers prospects to debut in the Blueshirts uniform this season, and each had an interesting storyline attached. Matthew Robertson and Gabe Perreault had their rookie laps this season, and their first few games of NHL action gave the Rangers hopefuls some hope in a dreadful season.
Robertson, who just signed a two-year deal to stay on with the Rangers, made his NHL debut on April 14 in a 5-3 win against the Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. He then played the final game of the season in a 4-0 shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Both games were meaningless for the opposition as the Rangers were already eliminated.
Perreault has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and when it finally came, Rangers fans were ecstatic. In the final five games of last season, he did not register a point but did show some positivity in that short sample size. We all wondered how he would look at the NHL level, and we should expect him to be a regular for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
Who can make their debut next season?
Now, looking at next season, there are a few more highly-touted prospects that could make the jump at some point. These players are not going to be ready to go on opening night, but somewhere along the way, depending on injuries and the Rangers' placement in the playoff hunt.
Nathan Aspinall and newly acquired Carey Terrance jump off the page for next season's debut watch. It is not a guarantee that these two will be skating around Madison Square Garden next season, but there is a better chance that they will than won't.
Aspinall has spent the last three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Flint Firebirds and also spent some time with the American Hockey League affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack. Last season, he had five games at the AHL level and did not register a point in those affairs. In the OHL, Aspinall appeared in 62 games with 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points.
Terrance, who was acquired in the heart-wrenching trade sending Chris Kreider to Anaheim, is a great pickup for next season. There is a great chance that we will all see the Erie Otters' captain make his jump to Hartford to start the season, and then transition to the NHL level at some point.
Overall state?
Overall, the Rangers are going to have a weird season in 2025-26. There is a chance that it could be successful, and this franchise returns to the playoffs and is successful. But, there is also a feeling that the damage done from this past season cannot be fixed with a single season of play.
Either way, there are a number of prospects that are at the point of being ready for NHL action or soon will be. It is only a matter of time to see when and if that will actually happen, but the Rangers have a solid foundation in the prospect pool. The emphasis is to win now with the great players on this roster, but there is a safety net in the minors, should they grow to be what they are expected to be.
The new coaching staff, headed by Mike Sullivan, will be a different regime than the one led by ex-head coach Peter Laviolette. Assistant coach David Quinn is the highlight here, as he was the former head coach of this franchise that was at the brunt of the rebuild. The Presidents' Trophy team from 2023-24 had its foundation from the teachings of Quinn and then later on with Gerard Gallant.