Rangers’ top prospect gave fans glimpse of greatness after late season NHL debut…
19-year-old Gabe Perreault was selected by the New York Rangers with the No. 23 pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He is considered their top prospect. Here’s a look at how he faired during his first year in the league.
19-year-old Gabe Perreault was selected by the New York Rangers with the No. 23 pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He is considered their top prospect. Here’s a look at how he faired during his first year in the league.
By
Jennifer Streeter
|
2 hours ago
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Tampa Bay Lightning v New York Rangers | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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One of the biggest storylines towards the end of the New York Rangers 2024-25 season was the opinions on the questionable decisions that resulted in young talent Gabe Perreault continuously being a healthy scratch while the Rangers were on the brink of elimination.
Perreault draws a lot of similarities to the Blueshirts’ longest tenured veteran on the roster — Chris Kreider. The pair of them both played for Boston College and were both selected by the Rangers in the first round. Focusing on Perreault, here’s an in-depth look at his first stint as a Ranger.
Expectations
“It’s been pretty awesome,” Perreault said of the start to his first week. “Obviously, a tough ending at school, but super exciting to be here. It’s been a crazy couple of days, but super excited to help these guys.”
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The New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced on Monday, March 31 that the Rangers had officially agreed to terms with forward Perreault on a three-year, entry-level contract.
Perreault was originally selected by the Blueshirts in the first round, 23rd overall, of the 2023 NHLEntry Draft. The 19-year-old recorded 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points in 37 games for Boston College in his sophomore season. He ranked tied for fourth among NCAA skaters in assists, eighth in points per-game (1.30) and tied for 11th in points. BC concluded their season at the Manchester Regional on March 30th when they fell to No. 3-seed Denver in a 3-1 fashion.
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The Sherbrooke, Quebec native was also named a Hockey East First-Team All-Star and named a nominee for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given to NCAA’s top men’s ice hockey player. In two seasons with the Eagles, the 5’11”, 178 pound forward collected 108 points (35G-73A) in 73 games. Among all NCAA skaters over the last two seasons, Perreault ranked tied for second in assists and third in points.
Internationally, Perreault won gold medals at the 2024 World Junior Champions with the United States and most recently helping the USA win back-to-back gold in 2025. Additionally, he also earned another gold medal at the 2023 U-18 World Championship.
Prior to playing collegiately, Perreault played two seasons for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program where he registered 185 points (71G-114A) in 121 games. His assist and point total both put him at No. 4 all-time in program history.
So by the time Perreault was finally taking his rookie laps, expectations were high from Blueshirt fans for him.
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Performance
Rookies sacrificing the first year of their ELC is always a risky maneuver, but the Rangers forged right ahead.
Though, it’s hard to truly analyze the performance of Perreault for the 2024-25 season because he only played in five games. However, this was in-part due to some genuinely questionable decision making from their former Head Coach Peter Laviolette.
In his five games Perreault didn’t get on the scoresheet but he registered five shots on net and averaged over 14 minutes of ice time. There were moments from him that showed why he was a top prospect. These include but are not limited to some textbook NHL passes demonstrating Perreault’s hockey IQ.
