GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Gabe Perreault was a college student in the spring, going back to Boston College to complete some courses and earn some credits after the season ended.
Perreault might be a college student again at some point to finish his degree, but his days of being a college hockey player are well behind him now.
Today, Perreault, the New York Rangers’ 20-year-old forward, is a pro with five games of NHL experience on his resume and regularly skating with NHL veterans in Chicago, including Patrick Kane, arguably the greatest American-born player in League history.
"He was my favorite player growing up so I'm just trying to watch him every day, the little things he does, how smart he is, the way he picks up the puck and makes plays," Perreault said. "I mean, obviously he's the best stickhandler in the world, so I'm trying to just look at him and take anything I can from him."
Perreault will have a chance in training camp approximately two months from now to show the Rangers all he's learned, and even stolen from Kane's game, and to prove how well it really has been going for him since he turned pro out of Boston College on March 31.
The good news for him and the Rangers is that their first-round pick (No. 23) in the 2023 NHL Draft already has enough baseline knowledge to understand what it will take for him to become an NHL regular.
He got that in five games last season, all against teams that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I'm going to go with the mentality that I'm going to make the team," Perreault said. "Coming into camp that's what everyone's mentality should be. I'm going to do everything this summer; train hard, work on the little things I need to and come here and make the team."
Said Rangers general manager Chris Drury, "I like that mindset. I want players to have goals of coming in here and making the team. That's why we have training camp."
The Rangers created room for Perreault to earn his way into their top-nine forward group when they traded left wing Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks on June 12.
They still have a top-six group that seems fairly set with Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle.
Perreault, Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann will all be getting long looks in training camp to be in the lineup when the Rangers open the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 7.
"I played against five playoff teams, so I played against some good players," Perreault said. "Like (Nikita) Kucherov, you kind of see why those guys are special, how talented they are and just how fast and how smart they are. Those guys have played 500-plus games so they've seen it happen, they know exactly what's going to happen. It was good in that situation to learn and see how it is."
Perreault started to get a fresh look in front of the new coaching staff led by Mike Sullivan in New York's three-day development camp from June 30-July 2.
But from their homework on him, it's likely that they already know what he is capable of, and that they saw what Boston College coach Greg Brown saw in Perreault's five-game NHL stint at the end of last season.
He didn't look out of place. He wasn't overwhelmed.
"I think one of the biggest things going from college to pro is the adjustment to the speed of the game, and it looked at least on TV (last season) that Gabe was processing at that speed, which is the hardest thing to adjust to," Brown told NHL.com. "He was a brilliant high IQ player here (at BC) and you just wonder how long it will take to adjust, but he looked comfortable out there. It wasn't too fast for him mentally. That's a great sign for him going forward."
To make it, though, Perreault has to show the Rangers he is physically ready too.
"The stuff that he has is the stuff that is hard to find, and really hard to teach," Brown said. "If the Rangers felt he wasn't ready it would just be those things, trying to get a little stronger and a little faster so you can be ready for the wear and tear of an NHL season."
To that end, Perreault said his focus this summer has been on adding some weight to his 5-foot-11, 178-pound frame along with improving his skating. He realized the importance of physical strength and skating in his five-game run with the Rangers at the end of last season.
"You hear about it, but you don't really know until you're in it," Perreault said. "I wouldn't say it's more than I expected, but you don't really know until you're part of it and you experience it."
Provided Perreault can withstand the physical rigors, David Carle, the head coach at Denver University, explained why he would be able to excel quickly as a point-producer in the NHL.
Carle knows Perreault from coaching him in the past two IIHF World Junior Championships. Together, they helped the United States win gold both times.
"Gabe is very cerebral," Carle told NHL.com. "His knack for being able to find open ice himself, get the puck to his teammates in open ice, anticipate and read offense with a great defensive stick as well, it's really uncanny. He hasn't been the biggest player coming up, so he's had to do it in different ways and I think his sense is outstanding and really gives him a chance to be a difference maker at any level."
The Rangers expect that from Perreault eventually.
It's also reasonable to expect his experience at the end of last season, and the summer skates with Kane and others, are enough to put Perreault on a fast track to the NHL, giving him an advantage going into training camp, potentially enough to turn him into an NHL player by Oct. 7.
"Now he can understand what the expectations are and what the League demands," New York director of player development Jed Ortmeyer said. "I think it adds a little extra motivation and working harder. He's definitely doing that."
