The Rangers will open the 2023-24 season in Pittsburgh and will add three rookies to the roster.
Matt Lempe, Adam Edstrom and Victor Mancini officially left training camp with the Blueshirts for the first time in their respective careers.
The three young men were officially recalled by the Wolfpack on Tuesday.
The Rangers then sent Anton Breed, Ben Harper, Jake Lechishyn, Matthew Robertson, and Adam Sikora (the five players recalled strictly as a paper deal) back to Hartford.
Will Quill was also assigned to Hartford on paper, but the second-year Ranger was recalled along with the aforementioned rookies.
Rempe and Edstrom were the frontrunners to earn the final squad spot, but Mancini was a pleasant surprise during training camp.
Not only did Mancini score two goals this preseason, the 6-foot-3 defenseman impressed head coach Peter Laviolette in varsity practice.
Mancini got some minutes alongside No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox while Ryan Lindgren was out with an injury.
Lindgren was placed on injured reserve and Jimmy Vesey was placed on long-term injured reserve, paving the way for Edstrom and Mancini to make the roster.
The rookies will now be responsible for helping the Rangers' mainstay get off to an uncertain start to the season.
“I think there's hope,” Laviolette said Monday of the Rangers' season. “Last year, and probably even before I got here, this team had some success. And at the end of the day, you've got to build that through the regular season. You've got to do that job. You have to put yourself in a position to have a good regular season. I don't think it's necessarily going to change anything. I think that's what we're expecting.
“That's what we want to accomplish here in New York. But I don't think that's changed. And it still has to keep moving forward and we've got to take the extra step. Good. There were some things going on, but we needed to take further steps. I think that's on everyone's mind.”
Brett Berard was assigned to Hartford on Monday, and the 22-year-old will certainly remain on the minds of Rangers management this season.
“He left an impression on everyone,” Laviolette said of Berard. “That's the way he works, that's the way he competes. Seeing him here mixed in with a full NHL team, he looks really good. It's his speed, it's the way he competes. His tenacity. I think it's not easy for a first-year player to go there and lead the team and score 25 points.
“He had a good year, a good summer after that and came into camp feeling good. He made a really good impression. Whenever he's here, he's at a different pace and a different speed and he's one of the top players. I think I benefit from practicing against competitors.
“He was great, Mancini was the same. I think he looked really good when all the players were on the ice. They still look like they belong.”
