Top Rangers Prospect Gabe Perreault Is a Superstar in the Making

The New York Rangers may have one of the top NHL prospects heading into the 2024/25 season with the insane skill level from RW Gabe Perreault, a 2023 1st round selection by the Blueshirts in last year's draft. The 19-year-old Sherbrooke, Quebec native has been a college powerhouse in just a single season so far with Hockey East power Boston College, registering 19 goals and 41 assists for 60 points during the 2023/24 campaign that saw the Eagles win the Hockey East tournament for a record 12th time and reach the national championship in the same season, unfortunately losing to Denver.

Perreault is a star RW, a position the Rangers definitely need restacking on this offseason. Not only does Perreault have solid numbers in regular competition, but he also excels at the international level. He helped Team USA win just their 6th IIHF World Junior Championship this year, where they dominated host Sweden 6-2 in the gold medal game. In 7 games through the tournament, Perreault notched 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points, tying him with Czechia's Ondrej Becher and Sweden's Noah Ostlund for 6th best overall. Perreault also had a similar performance during the 2023 tournament in Canada, where the US would outlast Sweden 8-7 in the 3rd place game to pick up the bronze medal.

Perreault is a do-it-all playmaker who always makes the right choice with the puck and does everything from setting up the play to being able to work around normally outnumbered situations. He also has a near equally talented brother and sister, Jacob and Liliane, the former playing in the AHL with the Laval Rocket as part of the Montreal Canadiens system, while Liliane plays for the Frolunda women's team in the Sweden Women's Hockey League, the gender opposite of the men's Swedish Hockey League. You don't come across too many talented players with siblings with their own talent these days.

It's worth noting that Perreault's BC numbers also aren't ones as an upperclassman- he did that good just as a FRESHMAN. 2024/25 may see him returning for his sophomore season in Chestnut Hills, but after that, Perreault may definitely be ready to make it to the big leagues and with one of the NHL's biggest and most pressuring markets. Now, Perreault is a bit small for his position, standing at just 5'11" and 165 lbs, but keep in mind, he's still a young college superstar with a lot more to come. And it's not like the Rangers have a problem with a somewhat short player either- ask the great Marty St. Louis, who was continuously a mere 5'8" in what turned out to be a remarkable 16-year NHL career with over 1100 games played while also piling up 1000+ assists.

The future looks very bright for this young Quebecois, and he'd just be the latest French Canadian to star in a Rangers sweater, just like Alexis Lafreienere has done the past 4 seasons. Of course, Laffy plays on the left-wing side of the puck rather than the right as Perreault does, but he had insane junior-level numbers, too. Perhaps Perreault will be best suited up alongside the likes of the recently resigned Kaapo Kakko and the towering Matt Rempe, two fellow RWs who could definitely show Perreault the ropes in how well one must do in one of the NHL's premier markets.