Rangers prospects and the Hartford Wolf Pack take center stage as AHL.com’s Patrick Williams joins Jim Sernie on Rink Rap.

In this episode:
• Hartford’s new head coach Jay Leech and the early-season direction
• Which Rangers prospects are standing out in the AHL (and who still has work to do)
• The goaltending situation, including Callum Tongue and the James Reimer PTO
• How the Wolf Pack is handling an early 0-5 stretch after a 3-0 start
• Whether this Hartford group is more resilient than past Wolf Pack teams
• Quick Rangers update covering the response after the Devils loss, the Columbus game, and the Ducks win at MSG

Patrick Williams is a longtime AHL reporter who also contributes to NHL.com. He gives an honest look at development, roster decisions, and the push-and-pull between the Rangers and their AHL affiliate.

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & Rangers update
15:00 – Patrick Williams joins
20:00 – Jay Leech and the coaching staff
28:00 – Prospects spotlight
45:00 – Goaltending situation
55:00 – Closing thoughts & what’s next

Subscribe to Rink Rap from Forever Blueshirts for more New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack coverage.

Podcast number two this week. Jim Cerny breaks down the Rangers’ 7-1 loss in New Jersey, a night that looked a lot like the last two seasons after a 6-2 start. He covers the roster moves first: Taylor Raddysh is up from Hartford, Jaroslav Chmelar goes back down, and the Wolf Pack signed veteran goalie James Reimer to a PTO. Then he walks through the game: J.T. Miller’s late first-period turnover, the second-period collapse, Dylan Garand getting pulled, and why chasing games is a problem for this team without Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers visit Columbus on Saturday.

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro: a second Rink Rap this week
• 03:11 Raddysh up, Chmelar down
• 03:57 Why Sullivan doesn’t trust the fourth line
• 10:19 What Raddysh brings
• 13:53 James Reimer PTO and goalie depth
• 20:50 The Devils game: Miller’s turnover
• 24:47 Second-period collapse
• 31:00 Why one game shouldn’t cause panic
• 35:00 Wrap-up and what’s next

Igor Shesterkin is out for the season, and the New York Rangers are still 6-2-0. Jim Cerny opens with why the show missed last week and then digs into what the injury really costs this team, and why these Rangers look nothing like the soft group from two seasons ago.

He explains how Mike Sullivan has built a five-man defensive structure, how Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson stabilized the second pair, and why 18-year-old Alberts Šmits is already a real part of the third pair. He also covers Alexis Lafrenière’s league-leading seven goals and Pavel Dorofeyev’s slow start, and he makes the case for why he isn’t giving up on Dorofeyev.

Then comes the news of the day: Cole Beaudoin goes back to Hartford and Justin Dowling is recalled. Jim also lays out the goalie market with Jordan Binnington, Philipp Grubauer and Darcy Kuemper, explains why Connor Hellebuyck isn’t coming, and makes the case for letting Garand run with the job while Joonas Korpisalo recovers. The show closes with the Devils and Blue Jackets this week and a preview of live shows coming to the city.

In this episode:

• Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and what it means beyond this year
• Why the Rangers have bought in defensively under Sullivan
• Durzi, Pettersson, Schneider and Šmits on the back end
• Lafrenière’s hot streak and the Kartye-Miller line
• Dorofeyev’s struggles and the third line of Cuylle, Laba and Tolvanen
• Beaudoin, Dowling and the fourth-line center question
• Garand’s case as the starter and the goalie trade market

Subscribe to Rink Rap wherever you listen, and read more at ForeverBlueshirts.com. Follow Jim on X at @JimCerny.

#Rangers #NYR #NewYorkRangers #RinkRap #ForeverBlueshirts #IgorShesterkin #DylanGarand #NHL #RangersPodcast #LetsGoRangers

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to Rink Rap
0:52 Why there was no extra show last week
2:44 Covering the Igor news from a library
3:11 Igor Shesterkin is out for the season
4:34 The injuries are starting to add up
5:15 A wasted year for a goalie in his prime
5:51 No excuses: the Mike Sullivan Rangers
7:16 These are not the soft Rangers
9:11 So what’s actually different this year?
9:19 Durzi and Pettersson fix the second pair
11:31 6-2-0 and a total defensive buy-in
13:09 Garand’s first two starts without Igor
15:10 Tampa: Garand’s biggest test yet
16:00 Schneider and the improved third pair
16:17 Alberts Šmits is a revelation
19:12 Five-man units and fewer breakdowns
21:40 You no longer expect something bad to happen
22:41 Lafrenière leads the league with seven goals
26:00 Winning without Dorofeyev, Miller or Zibanejad scoring
27:36 Pavel Dorofeyev is frustrated and frustrating
29:51 Why Jim isn’t giving up on him
33:18 Cuylle, Laba and Tolvanen: the third line works
39:25 Carolina, Philadelphia and the Metro mush
42:57 Banking points and reclaiming the Garden
44:01 Beaudoin goes down, Dowling comes up
47:40 Do the Rangers need a fourth-line center?
49:25 Goalie depth: Korpisalo, Martin and Tung
50:12 Binnington, Grubauer, Kuemper: realistic targets?
55:29 Why Hellebuyck isn’t coming
56:15 Why Garand rises in big games
1:00:23 Devils and Blue Jackets this week
1:02:54 Live shows coming to the city