Playing in his NHL debut, Don Bosco Prep alumni Drew Fortescue tallied an assist for the New York Rangers in a 6-1 Friday beatdown against the Chicago Blackhawks. The hometown kid was part of a trio of rookies who made their presence known on the ice.
“Ever since I was a little kid it’s a dream to play in the NHL and kind of having that opportunity tonight is something I’m really grateful for and kind of all the work I’ve put in and all the support I have from people in my family and kind of just knowing that it’s coming tonight is something that I’m really looking forward to.” Fortescue said pregame.
While his origin may be just over the border in Pearl River, New York, the 20-year-old defenseman spent his high school years on the Jersey side in Ramsey, playing for the Don Bosco Prep Ironmen. Being so local to the garden, he knew he’d have a huge fanbase in his corner for his debut.
“It’ll be a lot of people I got all my cousins and stuff and then the texts I’ve gotten from friends and all these people that are saying like ‘hey we’ll be there’ and it’s pretty special and it just goes to show the support and the people that I have in my corner which means the world to me.”
This was by far not the typical Original Six matchup hockey fans are used to. With both teams being part of three NHL teams yet to reach 30 wins this season, The Rangers season is already over as they’ve been eliminated and the Blackhawks are waiting for the thin string they’re holding on to to snap.
Chicago broke the score late in the first period when Nick Lardis received a quick pass at the crease. With Tyler Bertuzzi and Alex Vlasic credited for the assists, it was Lardis’ eighth goal of the year.
The Blueshirts responded less than a minute later when JT Miller tied it back up after it hit off his skate in front of the net. Scrambling for the puck, Conor Sheary took a shot out of desperation and essentially used Miller as a backboard to get it in.
Scoring continued in the second after defensemen Matthew Robertson, who was all alone, took a free shot at the net. Both teams were scrambling at the crease when the puck just popped out and came right to Robertson.
New York kept the ball rolling when rookie Adam Sykora got his first NHL goal on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush pass from Will Cuylle. Hailing from Slovakia, the 21-year-old took a wrist shot that went in the top left corner and right over goalie Arvid Soderblom‘s shoulder.
It didn’t end there. With roughly four minutes to go in the period, Jonny Brodzinski, who was waiting at the left point, received the puck and hit a one-timer for the 4-1 lead. After tying a franchise record of least amount of shots on net earlier in the week, the Rangers were playing like the polar opposite.
While the game was over at this point, New York was only adding fuel to the fire. Alexis Lafreniere put himself on the stat sheet when he scored on a tip in. Adam Fox took the shot from the blue line and Lafreniere was in the right place at the right time.
It’s always a sweet feeling to see a rookie play their first career game; It’s even sweeter when they score. While Drew Fortescue may not have gotten one past the goalie, he was the architect for the Rangers sixth and final goal of the night. The defenseman got the puck in the neutral zone, passed it off to Taylor Raddysh, who found Brodzinski on a fast break to the net for his second goal of the game.
“It’s something you always dream about and for it to finally come true I couldn’t have wanted it any other way so it was awesome and a day I’ll always remember,” Fortescue said postgame. “Just the support I have and all these people coming here for me and when I got on the ice and you hear them kind of erupt it means the world to me and all those people are so important in my life and I couldn’t be here without them so for all of them to come and support me on this day for sure means a lot.”
Though the Rangers’ season may be over and are by many considered to be playing meaningless hockey, everyone can agree Friday night was special. While Fortescue was the talk of the town coming into this game, the spectators in the arena and the fans watching at home caught a small glimpse of the potential future of this franchise as Adam Sykora, and goalie Dylan Garand, who were playing in their second career games, made impacts that didn’t go unnoticed. Along with Fortescue getting an assist and Sykora scoring his first goal, Garand put on a clinic for his second career game, making 27 saves and only allowing one past him. In his first two NHL starts between the pipes, he’s made 62 saves and only allowed three goals.
“You can see the enthusiasm that the young kids bring to the lineup. I think it’s contagious, I think it’s infectious with our veteran guys,” Head coach Mike Sullivan said post game. “Obviously excited for them. There were some milestones Sykie [Adam Sykora] gets his first NHL goal, Drew Fortescue gets his first NHL point in his first NHL game, Dylan Garand gets his first win as a goalie. It’s fun, I’m happy for the players to see the positive energy around the group was great to see.”
