Gabe Perreault’s NHL readiness, Laviolette on Ovechkin, more: Rangers observations

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Top prospect Gabe Perreault’s point production went down in his sophomore year at Boston College (48 points this season compared to 60 as a freshman), but that was likely at least partly due to star linemate Will Smith turning pro ahead of the 2024-25 season. The Eagles also lost Cutter Gauthier, who played with Perreault on the power play, to the pros.

Boston College coach Greg Brown wasn’t too concerned about the dip in production, saying Perreault “took some strides to affect the games in other ways.”

“He was much more of a 200-foot player this year,” the coach said.

Perreault also got physically bigger as a sophomore. Boston College listed him at 178 pounds this season, up from 165 last year. Brown said he was better at protecting pucks in 2024-25, a key element in his ability to extend plays.

Brown watched Perreault’s debut on TV. Past teammates have raved about the rookie’s vision and playmaking, and Brown saw it instantly despite the jump in level.

“It’s always hard to say how quickly they will be able to impact the game,” Brown said. “But from the first game, it looked like it won’t be long for Gabe.”

Brown’s insights lead off this week’s observations column. I have 14 observations this week, the same number as Braden Schneider’s assist total this season.

1. When Perreault signed with the Rangers, he didn’t only have familiar faces among the Rangers’ young players, many of whom he played with at development camp. He also had one in assistant coach Dan Muse, formerly the head coach at the U.S. National Team Development Program.

“Those connections definitely make the transition easier,” the 19-year-old said. “It’s been great. He’s been talking to me quite a bit.”

Indeed, the two often interact throughout team skates. Perreault also came to the Rangers knowing skills coach Christian Hmura, who coached at the Chicago Mission youth team while Perreault was there. Hmura wasn’t Perreault’s direct coach — he was leading a different age group — but the two still got to know each other.

Muse, meanwhile, was Perreault’s head coach in both of his years at the development program.

“He was great to all of us,” the rookie said. “That transition from our 17 to 18 year was huge. We had an unbelievable second year. Credit to him.”

2. A large chunk of Sunday’s practice was dedicated to fixing the floundering power play. Coach Peter Laviolette liked the looks his group got during the session, though none managed to go in the net. That’s perhaps fitting, given New York has scored only twice in its past 43 power play attempts. The Rangers have converted only 17.2 percent of their power plays this year, which ranks 27th league-wide.

At practice, New York went with a top unit of Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. With K’Andre Miller out sick, Zac Jones quarterbacked the second unit. Alexis Lafrenière, Jonny Brodzinski, Perreault and Chris Kreider took reps, and Brennan Othmann swapped in for Perreault at times. Instead of starting drills in the offensive zone, they did full ice work to practice zone entries.

3. For a team that relied heavily on special teams in 2023-24, the power play’s downturn has been a huge reason this season has gone off the rails. Colleague Dom Luszczyszyn put the Rangers’ playoff odds at 9 percent Sunday morning, the lowest they’ve been this season.

4. Will Cuylle is one of only a few Rangers players whose numbers have taken a jump this year. Fans also voted him the winner of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, given to the player who “goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

“He exemplifies how you want your team to play,” Laviolette said.

Cuylle is only four hits away from tying Ryan Callahan for most by a Rangers player in a single season since the league started tracking the stat in 2006-07.

Will Cuylle is one of the few Rangers with positive numbers this season. (Elsa / Getty Images)

5. After K’Andre Miller wired a shot past Filip Gustavsson in the Wild game, he celebrated with a nonchalant shrug. Schneider took note and mimicked the celebration after a nice one-timer during practice Friday, raising and dropping his shoulders just like Miller did after his goal.

“I thought that was a great goal and an awesome celly,” Schneider said. “We were just having fun.”

6. Chris Kreider has had a difficult year, but he’s still managed to reach the 20-goal mark. He was working on one of his game’s signature elements at practice Friday: tipping pucks in front of the net. He did so by flipping his stick upside down, presumably to work on re-directing the puck with the shaft of the stick rather than the blade.

7. Even when Matt Rempe is out with injury, he brings a presence to practice. On the ice late after the optional morning skate Wednesday, he and Juuso Pärssinen practiced fighting grips. Then, while going through drills practice Friday, he laid multiple hits on J.T. Miller.

Laviolette said Rempe is progressing — he’s skated in a normal sweater the past two practices — but would not disclose if he will be an option for Monday’s game against Tampa Bay.

8. Adam Edström still has not resumed skating on his own, Laviolette said Friday. The coach said he’s working out and “looking great” during his recovery. Edström suffered a lower-body injury on Feb. 1, and the Rangers ruled him out for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 months at the time.

9. Minnesota forward Mats Zuccarello, who was with the Rangers from 2010-2019, put together a strong tribute for retiring broadcaster Sam Rosen on Wednesday. First, he gave Rosen one of his signed jerseys. Then during warm-ups, he wore a No. 40 Rosen jersey signifying the broadcaster’s 40 years as lead play-by-play voice for the Rangers. The Wild players quickly signed the jersey after getting off the ice, and Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin brought it to Rosen in his booth.

“It’s about respect,” Zuccarello said. “He’s been in the game 40 years. He’s a legend in the game, especially in New York.”

Rosen was touched by the gesture, just as he was by former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba giving him a painting when the team was in Anaheim for their game on March 28. Teams have had coaches and management present Rosen with gifts. Now players are joining in, too.

10. Speaking of Rosen, he will reunite in the booth with longtime broadcast partner John Davidson on Wednesday. They’ll call the Rangers-Flyers game for TNT. Davidson, now an executive with the Blue Jackets, said over the summer that Rosen “took me under his wing, and we just soared.”

11. EJ Emery, the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2024, does not plan to transfer from North Dakota despite the hockey program firing coach Brad Berry. Emery had only one assist in 31 games his freshman season, but he had a plus-three rating.

12. Jonathan Quick has never played with Marc-Andre Fleury, but the two have been premier goalies in the NHL long enough to get to know each other a bit.

“Sometimes we chit-chat in warm-up,” said Fleury, who congratulated Quick on signing another deal with the Rangers. “I’ve always had a ton of respect for him: the way he handles himself, the way he worked, the way he won, the way he played. He was always fun to watch.”

13. The young Rangers players — Perreault, Othmann and Brett Berard — are all living out of a hotel, as is typical for players who might only be up for a limited amount of time. That’s led to them spending plenty of time together away from the rink.

“It’s nice to hang in one room and watch whatever’s on TV, laugh a little bit,” Berard said. “We’re all coming in at the same time, too, and getting used to it together. It’s pretty cool to share the experiences with them.”

The trio watched the NCAA Tournament Final Four games together at the hotel Saturday evening. Berard was still shocked after Sunday’s practice that Duke blew its late lead.

14. Laviolette coached Alex Ovechkin for three seasons in Washington. He remembers watching the Capitals captain chase down Gordie Howe for the No. 2 all-time goals mark in 2022 and realized then that breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record was “more and more on the table” for his star player.

“It’s a massive record,” Laviolette said. “It’s the biggest record. It’s a home run-type record. For that reason, everybody’s watching.”

Not long after Laviolette sung Ovechkin’s praises, the winger ripped a shot past Ilya Sorokin to take sole possession of the goals record.

“He’s an incredible goal scorer,” Laviolette said. “If he puts the puck at the net, it’s got a chance of going in. He puts it there often.”

(Top photo of Gabe Perreault in his NHL debut: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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