That player, rookie Jimmy Vesey, has stated throughout training camp and in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament that he's out to prove he's ready to play at the National Hockey League level this season.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault has the 23-year-old in a position to succeed, as Vesey is expected to skate on a line with Kevin Hayes and Rick Nash for tonight's matchup with the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.
"I think we all have good hockey sense and like to use our bodies down low," Vesey said earlier this week when he was first put on a line with Hayes and Nash in practice. "I think if we can hang on to pucks below the dots, we can be successful."
Vesey won the Hobey Baker Award last season for the top player in the NCAA after scoring 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points with the Crimson. The year prior, Vesey netted 32 goals and added 26 helpers to finish with 58 points in 37 games, good enough for second in Hobey Baker voting.
Newcomers Nathan Gerbe and Michael Graber will get their first look in preseason tonight, with Gerbe on the left wing of Brandon Pirri and Pavel Buchnevich. Grabner, meanwhile, will play left wing on a line with Marek Hrivik and Jesper Fast. Rounding out the fourth line will be tryout Maxim Lapierre and wingers Nicklas Jensen and Adam Tambellini.
