While we’ve only been in camp for a handful of days, and there are more questions than answers at the moment, even for a team as talented as the NY Rangers, it doesn’t mean there haven’t been some surprises.
Now, remember that we’re talking about nominal surprises at this point, but there has been some news circulating about the Rangers first few days of camp that have jumped out at me. One involves a skater we thought would end up as a role player, while another involves a former first-round pick.
The final surprise was something I didn’t think we’d see so much of early, given how much chemistry the trio (spoiler alert) in question had last year.
Matt Rempe
If you’ve followed hockey over the past calendar year, Matt Rempe is someone who had become a familiar name. But, he looked like a throwback player, someone who could have been destined to play strictly an enforcer role, which isn’t in such high demand these days.
But if you’ve been following the early stages of camp, Rempe has shown progress, mainly with his speed. And he’s been skating so well that even some of the best of the Blueshirts have needed to shift their speed into a higher gear just to keep up.
Should Rempe translate that speed into a real game, even one in the preseason, fans can get optimistic that he’ll be more than just a fighter in 2024-25.
Kaapo Kakko
Seriously, if I were Kaapo Kakko, I would’ve wanted a change of scenery in what’s been a rather disastrous time so far in Manhattan. But it seemed like Kakko never wanted to leave Manhattan to begin with, so that was his first step in enjoying a fine camp with the Blueshirts.
The second step? Finding a rhythm, and it looks like Kakko is doing just that alongside Filip Chytil. If there’s one way to set the stage for a rebound season, it’s to find a player on the same line who you have forged a solid one-two combo with in the past and carry it over to the present.
Kakko has done that, so now, the biggest question is if he’s going to translate what he’s done so far into a game. That said, Step Three will be a solid preseason, which will allow him to further show he can become similar to the player he was in 2022-23.
The Artemi Panarin Line
Our first two players on this list were pleasant surprises so far, outplaying early camp expectations, but the final one is rather surprising for another reason. We know the trio of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere is one of the best in the league, which is why it’s so surprising to know they’re lining up alongside one another often.
While continuity is great, and I fully endorse it, I’d rather hear about more mixing and matching in camp as opposed to already knowing what we know about specific trios. Listen, we know these three can dominate, but it’s a long season, and injuries occur, so I’d like to see them better utilized on different lines throughout most of camp.