The New York Rangers made their final roster cuts Sunday ahead of Tuesday night’s season opening game against the Boston Bruins. Below is a list of the four newest faces that made the opening night roster.
Alberts Smits
Among the 23 players who made the opening night roster was Alberts Smits, whom the Rangers and general manager Chris Drury drafted fifth overall in last summer’s National Hockey League (NHL) draft. Smits played in the Blueshirts’ last three preseason games and earned an assist while averaging 19 minutes per game.
The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reported that Smits could become the second Ranger defenseman to make their debut as an 18-year-old in the last 52 years. Current TV color announcer and former New York Rangers captain Dave Maloney was the most recent.
While Smits will likely go through an adjustment period, he looked like he belongs at the NHL level throughout the preseason. Prior to his first NHL training camp, the Latvian had played 52 games across two seasons in the top Finnish and German hockey leagues.
On Smits, Head coach Mike Sullivan was quoted as saying: “He’s a man as an 18-year-old…I thought his gaps were really good, he’s a mobile guy, he’s got a long reach, he’s got a long stick. So he’s hard to play against.”
Smits has been business-like during training camp and the preseason and Sullivan is hoping that that approach translates into winning hockey.
In addition to Smits, Matthew Robertson made the Rangers opening night roster and as of now is the team’s seventh defenseman. Robertson was a -1 in 72 games last season on a team that finished 30th in the overall NHL standings. He had a solid rookie season at the age of 24, but has fallen behind the Rangers top draft choice from 2026 on the depth chart as of the end of training camp.
Scott Morrow
The Rangers have opted to go with eight defenseman on the NHL roster to start the season. The eighth defenseman on the depth chart to start the year will be 23-year-old Scott Morrow.
Morrow was acquired by the Rangers on July 1, 2025 , along with a second and first round draft pick in 2026, in the trade that sent K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Morrow is a puck-moving, right-handed defenseman, which is highly coveted across the league. His deception at the blue line and rush-driving ability draws comparisons to star right-handed defensemen Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes, but like these players, there are concerns about the defensive side of his game. Morrow is yet to play a full season in the NHL. He played in 16 games for Carolina form 2023-2025 and scored six points including his first NHL goal. He then played in 29 games last season for the Rangers from November to January and scored six points (all assists).
The positives for Morrow is that the work he did this offseason on his skating has been noticed by Mike Sullivan. Mercogliano writes in his article “Rangers finalize opening-night roster…” that Sullivan noticed “his improved speed and power.” He showed good speed when he scored his only goal of the preseason by eluding an opposing skater and sliding a backhand pass across the crease that deflected off a player and in. However, like Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, I feel there is no path for Morrow to make it into the Rangers starting lineup unless injuries occur.
Joonas Korpisalo
Following one preseason start where he earned the win in a shootout, the Rangers have chosen the 11-year NHL veteran as their back-up over Dylan Garand. Garand also made one preseason start and lost in regulation. Last year with Boston, Korpisalo put up a 14-9-6 record with a .894 save percentage (SV %). His save percentage ranked 39th out of 72 goalies who played in at least 10 games last season.
As of Sept. 28, the two players whom the Rangers placed on waivers Garand and Taylor Raddysh have cleared waivers and been assigned to the Wolfpack.
The best case scenario occurred for the Rangers as they were able to keep Garand in their organization and keep Korpisalo who they will pay $3 million this year. The Rangers had the cap space to keep both goalies on their roster but only one of the back-ups can dress for each game, so the one who doesn’t dress would be watching the game from the press box, which doesn’t benefit Garand’s development.
Joe Veleno
This 26-year-old center who was born and raised in the suburbs of Montreal, Quebec, comes to the Big Apple looking to bring the hard-working game, that he became known for with the Canadiens, to the Rangers.
Veleno may have only had five points in 61 regular season games and one assist in nine playoff games with Montreal last season, but he has some skills the Rangers can use on their fourth line. First of all, Veleno has good size at 6-foot-1, 201 pounds. Secondly, Veleno’s max skating speed ranked in the 90th percentile league wide last season, according to NHL Edge.
Right now, Veleno looks like a downgrade from Sam Carrick who provided more toughness in terms of earning fighting majors last season for the Rangers (Carrick had seven and Veleno just one in 2025-26). But Veleno skates faster and gets around the rink better than most fourth liners as evidenced by his 90th percentile max skating speed. Veleno also had 166 hits last season, which ranked 54th in the league.
The Rangers could use a forward who skates fast and checks on their fourth line and it looks like they got a serviceable fourth line center here.
An Even Split Between Youth and Experience
The Rangers used their last four opening night roster spots on two young players (Smits and Morrow) and two NHL veterans (Veleno and Korpisalo). It appears that general manager Chris Drury has made the right moves, as the Rangers lacked significant NHL experience on their fourth line and at back-up goalie. While Garand played well for the Rangers last year, he made just three starts, which evidently, made Drury go out and get a proven veteran goalie, in Korpisalo.
The pieces of a better hockey team are in place. Now, the Rangers have to play like a playoff team again.
