Rangers' training camp highlights Othmann and Perreault on roster bubble

Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault stood on the bubble Saturday, moving into the Rangers' main training camp group at the MSG Training Center after the rookies skated with the Hartford group the day prior. The shifts signaled one step closer to determining the opening-night roster for the 2025-26 season, with Perreault and Othmann projected to flank the team's third line in early exhibition setups.

Perreault lined up on the left wing of Noah Laba and Jonny Brodzinski, while Othmann played on the left side of Juuso Parssinen and Taylor Raddysh, as the camp lines began to take shape. "Whenever I’m in, I’ll be ready to go," Perreault said after the first exhibition game. The rest of the lineup also started to take form: Will Cuylle has skated on the left wing of J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad, and the all-too-familiar Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière unit has been back together. The Rangers also reunited their recurring fourth-line from last season, Adam Edstrom, Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe.

Defensively, Vladislav Gavrikov continued to skate with Adam Fox, a pairing that has become a fixture in camp. Connor Mackey replaced Matthew Robertson on the left side of Scott Morrow, while the back end was rounded out by Carson Soucy-Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen-Braden Schneider. Nathan Aspinall, the Rangers’ 159th overall pick in 2024, was assigned to the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds while he nurses a lower-body injury.

Among the returning stars, Artemi Panarin continued to skate in a red non-contact jersey as a precaution for a lower-body issue. The Rangers were off Sunday and were set to return to preseason action Monday against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, a game that will help further clarify the roster picture ahead of the regular season.

With camp entering a decisive phase, the club will weigh the upside of the rookies against the experience of a more battle-tested group as they prepare for Game 1 of the 2025-26 season.