Speaking yesterday at the opening of the Prospect Camp, Chris Drury talked about the need to play in all three zones, and the need to play that way throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. It echoes the comments made by incoming head coach Peter Laviolette over the Summer.
Drury further elaborated that he sees many of the additions as being in that mold, specifically highlighting Blake Wheeler, Tyler Pitlick and Nick Bonino, along with existing players such as Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren. He hopes that these players will set an example for the star players.
To be honest, so do I.
Or perhaps it’ll be Laviolette who finds a way through to them, bringing a much more structured approach to the game than the previous administration under Gerard Gallant. The core of the Rangers will need to figure it out somehow, and I don’t really care how that happens.
Aside from that, the thing that caught the most attention for me were his comments around the incoming staff avoiding being beholden to how players had been grouped, or used before. He expects a coaching roster, that includes relative neophytes in Michael Peca and Dan Muse, to bring a fresh perspective, and new ideas.
It’ll be interesting to see how Laviolette will work with the inexperienced duo, as well as integrating the feedback from the third member of his staff in Phil Housley. It’ll be different from Gallant for sure, but just how quickly he can get his staff aligned, and then the team as a whole, remains to be seen.
As for Drury’s roster, he certainly expressed the almost mandatory confidence that comes with the associated preseason optimism. After being one of the younger teams in the league for a few years, the Rangers enter this season with a decidedly veteran feel to them, at least amongst the 12 skaters up front.
Are they fast enough, can they stay healthy, will the veterans “figure it out”, is this a Stanley Cup contending line-up? There’s a realm of possible answers to those questions, almost as many as there is to whether how the lines will be constructed, and yesterday marked a small step towards answering them.
PIT