NY Rangers training camp takeaways: Will Cuylle earns opportunity

TARRYTOWN – Peter Laviolette didn’t leave any room for gray area.

When it comes to Will Cuylle, expect to see the rookie wearing a classic white Rangers’ road jersey in Buffalo for Thursday’s season-opener in Buffalo.

“He’s earned himself a position to be in the lineup,” the head coach announced following Saturday’s practice at the MSG Training Center.

Who that leaves as the odd-man out remains to be seen, but the 21-year-old forward is here to play.

He found out in a meeting with team president Chris Drury, who informed the 2020 second-round draft pick Friday that he survived the final roster cut.

“I accomplished my goal to make the team, so I’m happy,” said Cuylle, who flashed a smile that he mostly kept under wraps in recent weeks. “I knew I had a shot. I knew I had to come here and play hard and play my game, and I think I did that. I think I showed what I can do. It was an opportunity to make a first impression with the new coaching staff, so that was a focus for me.”

The preseason was not particularly kind to the 1-5 Rangers, but Cuylle stood out as a bright spot.

He tied for the team lead with two goals and 12 shots while sitting alone at the top with 12 hits. He also ranked in the top three among players who appeared in multiple games for both xGF (72.91%) and shot share (66.67%), according to Natural Stat Trick.

His impact ran deeper than the stats, too. Laviolette wants to transform these Blueshirts into a grittier bunch, with the 6-foot-3, 212-pounder sure to infuse the lineup with size, strength and a bit of a mean streak.

“He was noticeable all the time,” the coach said. “He was noticeable in practice. He was noticeable in the games. I like his speed. I like his physicality. He generated a lot of offense. He scored goals. He put pucks to the net, and he could have scored a few more. He’s a big presence out there, and so, he did a lot of things and he did it consistently through camp and earned himself this opportunity.”

Will Cuylle: How the rookie fits on the Rangers’ roster

Cuylle skated at right wing on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Filip Chytil for Saturday’s practice, but that was likely due to Alexis Lafrenière absence with an upper-body injury.

There’s at least a decent chance the rookie will end up at his natural left-wing position, playing on the third line with Vincent Trocheck and Blake Wheeler. That trio was effective in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Boston Bruins and made a strong case to begin the season together.

That could leave a veteran like Tyler Pitlick or Jimmy Vesey out of the lineup, but Cuylle knows he’ll need to continue his evolution to make it stick.

“The hard work is just starting,” he said. “I’ve got to elevate my game more and keep getting better every day and just try to learn from other guys in here. Obviously, it’s a pretty veteran team. I just have to learn as much as I can and put my work boots on every day and try to show up and be the best I can be.”

Assessing Alexis Lafrenière’s camp

Lafrenière’s absence came as a surprise, but the undisclosed injury doesn’t sound like any cause for alarm.

“He was out there this morning,” said Laviolette, noting that the 21-year-old forward skated on his own prior to practice. “I’m thinking that he’ll return to us (Sunday), and from there we’ll see how he does.”

How he was doing prior to the injury has become a hot topic during this camp.

Lafrenière posted one assist and three shots on goal in four preseason games with a minus-four rating and 37.22% xGF. He was given the first crack at playing RW on the top line and failed to lock it down, with a few glaring mistakes and general lack of explosiveness hurting his cause.

“I think that his camp – and a lot of people’s camp – have gotten better as camp’s gone on,” Laviolette said. “I still think that there’s a pause offensively. Defensively, it’s been good. I’m sure that there’s a lot of guys that would like to have more of an offensive impact in the game. Laf is probably one of them, and I think that that will come through time and come with repetition and just understanding the pace and the speed and the identity in which we want to play with. I thought everybody worked hard. I thought he worked hard. He didn’t get off offensively probably as much as you’d like, but I think that he and the rest of the group are working at that.”

Laviolette was careful with his responses about the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, who has become a lightning rod for criticism from fans − some of it warranted, some of it over the top.

The coach sees plenty of blame to go around for a team that scored just 12 goals in six preseason games, with that 2.0 goals per game average registering as the second-lowest total in the NHL.

“We talk about him, but everybody, from an offensive standpoint, I’m looking for more from,” Laviolette said. “I don’t want to isolate him when everybody needs to find a way to dial in a little bit more offensively – bear down a little bit more. A little bit more speed, a little bit more attitude, a little bit more directness at their net. And, so, I think that everybody will get up to speed.”

Filip Chytil, Tyler Pitlick return to practice

While Lafrenière was missing from action Saturday, the 21 remaining players the roster all practiced.

That included Chytil, who had been out since suffering an upper-body injury on Sept. 26. The 24-year-old center donned a red non-contact jersey, but appears on pace for opening night.

“He looked good to me,” Laviolette said. “He was in no contact, but you wouldn’t have known anything had been wrong with him.”

Pitlick was a full participant after missing Thursday’s game with his own upper-body injury. He skated at RW on the fourth line with Barclay Goodrow and Nick Bonino.

The decision to keep Cuylle didn’t cost the Rangers any of their remaining depth.

Forward Jonny Brodzinski and defenseman Ben Harpur were among the final cuts, but both cleared waivers and were assigned to AHL Hartford, the team announced Saturday.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers training camp takeaways: Will Cuylle earns opportunity