It’s early days at the Rangers training camp, and what have we learned so far? The answer undoubtedly is not much. Aside from a number of reports from the various observers on how keen various players are on making the line-up, there’s very little of substance we have to go on.

With that said, there are a couple of nuggets here and there. Perhaps the most exciting for Ranger fans, is that it looks like John Tortorella and the Rangers hierarchy have been impressed with rookie Derek Stepan, who was second in scoring in the NCAA last season, and lead the Rangers at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament.

The Rangers’ Head Coach has elected to give Stepan a look between Alexander Frolov and Marian Gaborik tomorrow during the first scrimmage, as much an indication of how impressed he is with the youngster, as an indictment against the collection of mismatched forwards he has to wade through to form a roster.

He’s also shown his hand a little by openly promoting Frolov to that top line, giving the Russian somewhat of the benefit of the doubt after an off-season where he scored just 19 goals, and drew criticism from the LA Kings brain trust. Frolov, who was one of the later veterans to join the Rangers’ informal skates, is likely reveling in the opportunity, but will now have to show he’s up to the task. Not that the Rangers have very many other options on the left.

Brandon Dubinsky looks set to play out the rest of Tortorella’s (or maybe his own…) tenure as a left wing, after the Head Coach came out and said he thinks that’s the best position for the strapping forward. Dubinsky has been more than adequate in the faceoff circle, so don’t be surprised if he still gets his share of faceoffs.

There’s been almost no conversation to date about the rest of the line-up however, so the likes of Todd White and Sean Avery – who were both reportedly crisp during skating drills – as well as Chris Drury, Brian Boyle, Erik Christensen and Artem Anisimov remain cloudy.

Back on defense it seems clear, despite all the public comments to the contrary, that Wade Redden will not be on the roster opening night. While it’s still possible that the Rangers would elect to send Michal Rozsival to Hartford, it’s hard to see how Redden’s additional $1.5M of salary can be justified, especially given that he has another three seasons after this one, while Rozsival has just one.

Ryan McDonagh also now appears to have a legitimate shot at a defense spot, though veteran invitees Garnet Exelby, and in particular Alexei Semenov, may get in his way. If Redden is indeed moved as expected, then the Rangers could afford to carry seven, or maybe even eight defensemen if they decide.

No word on when the first cuts will be, but expect to see at least some sent down to Hartford before the first preseason game on Thursday. In the mean time they have enough for three entire teams, complete with goaltenders.