For the second straight year, the Rangers will start the preseason with a prospect camp that will precede the full roster reporting on September 21st.  As with last season, this year’s edition will feature two scrimmages against the Flyers prospects on Friday and Saturday, against their counterparts from the Flyers organization.  Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:05pm ET, whilst Saturday’s will be held at 5:05pm.

This year’s edition will feature 23 players (13 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goaltenders), with 21 of the 23 already in the Rangers system.  The two invitees comprise of a couple of defensemen in Louka Henault and Luke Martin.  With the Rangers bringing only 5 of their own defensemen, it’s not surprising they’ve added a couple of additional players to fill out the roster.

The 21 year old Henault likely is somewhat known to the Rangers’ scouting staff, having played on Will Cuylle’s Windsor team, putting up 65 points in 63 games as a 20 year old.  Henault might be hoping to earn an AHL contract with Nils Lundkvist‘s future with the team now looking doubtful.

Fellow invitee Luke Martin is also a bit of a known quantity, having played for Michigan at the same time as former Ranger draft pick Eric Ciccolini.  The 24 year old was a 2017 second round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, and has played most of his last two seasons in the ECHL, with just 12 AHL games to his name.

Overall 17 of the 23 are Rangers draft picks, 3 were signed as free agents and 1 was acquired by trade 0 with the remaining two being the aforementioned invitees  Just three of this year’s draft class will be in attendance, with Adam Sykora, Maxim Barbashev and Bryce McConnell-Barker all worth a look at as they continue their journey with the team.

It’ll be the first chance to look at Ty Emberson as well, the defenseman was acquired in the trade that sent the remaining two years of Patrik Nemeth‘s contract to Arizona.  The 22 year old is entering his second full pro season, and has a chance to reset after a modest performance for Tucscon last season.

The gold winning trio of Cuylle, Brennan Othmann and Dylan Garand will all be closely watched, though the latter two would likely only get looks only if they have outstanding Training Camps and/or there are significant injuries.  Garand looks to start the year in Hartford, whilst Othmann will almost certainly return to the OHL.

Of the remainder, Bobby Trivigno will be looking to push-on from his impressive performance at Development Camp, while Zac Jones and Matthew Robertson will want to put their names forward for possible inclusion as the sixth defender on the Rangers roster.

Of the European born players:
Maxim Barbashev – expected to return to QMJHL
Adam Edstrom – expected to return to Sweden
Karl Henriksson – will join Hartford for his first year in North America
Olof Lindbom – will likely join Jacksonvill for his first year in North America
Lauri Pajuniemi – will join Hartford for his second year
Adam Sykora – expected to return to Slovakia

One other final name to keep an eye out for is Talyn Boyko.  The towering netminder has been steadily improving since being drafted, and will return to the WHL this year, but another strong year in the league could see his stocks continue to improve.

It would not surprise to see the majority of these players invited to Training Camp, with perhaps the two invitees most at risk of not making it.  We should know early next week.