The New York Rangers have activated veteran defenseman Carson Soucy, who's been on injured reserve since crashing into the boards on in Pittsburgh against the Penguins, while in exchange sending a fellow younger defenseman prospect back to their AHL affiliate in Hartford.
Soucy's been out October 11th
The 31 year old will still be a game time decision in tonight's contest against the Minnesota Wild, but if he does suit up, he could help the team finally get their first home goal of the season and their second win in row as the Rangers fight to come out of the bottom half of the Metro Division standings. Soucy has played a total of 19 games for the Rangers in his eight year career so far, having split time with New York and Vancouver last season (59 games with 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points with the Canucks). After Soucy was traded, he'd add another 3 points for his 2024-25 season total.
Hartford defense gets a boost
Meanwhile, 22 year old Scott Morrow is gonna have to wait a bit longer before he makes his NHL debut, despite a modest 2024-25 for his previous team's AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, part of the Carolina Hurricanes organization, where he logged 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points. Morrow is still an exciting young prospect for the Rangers though, originally drafted in the second round of the 2021 draft at 40th overall by Carolina.
Heading back to Soucy, things look promising for tonight's game, as he was seen at the morning skate not wearing a no contact jersey, a significant sign of him suiting up for tonight. Soucy will most likely be placed on the Rangers' second defensive pair, alongside youngster Braden Schneider and behind the Rangers' top D-line duo of Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox. Even so, Soucy is still officially a game time decision, according to head coach Mike Sullivan, and he could still end up with a limited testing the waters role tonight. The next handful of games after tonight should get Soucy back in the primary defensive lines soon after.
Robertson's made most of his playing time
Another promising young defenseman in the Rangers' system is Matthew Robertson, another second round choice from the 2019 draft, selected by New York out of the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings. The 24 year old from Edmonton has six games with the Rangers in his NHL career, scoring his first NHL goal against the Canadiens on Saturday, a 4-3 come from behind win for New York. He's also done exceptionally well in filling in Soucy's role on defense, despite originally being a bit lower than most on the D depth chart during training camp. Based on his production to date, Elite Prospects has him on pace to reach 20 goals in his first NHL season, and playing in all but 3 regular season games, so things are looking very bright for at least a handful of Rangers defensive prospects as the team's centennial season continues. That may be a little optimistic, but in any case, Robertson has been an early bright spot for the Blueshirts.