Colin Stephenson: Rangers' Tye Kartye playing with a chip on his shoulder in training camp
Rangers' Tye Kartye skates during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on Apr. 2, 2026. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH — There have been a few players who have looked especially good in the first three days of Rangers training camp, and fourth-line winger Tye Kartye has definitely been one.
Kartye, 25, scored two goals in Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage, and he had one in Thursday’s scrimmage, giving him a team high three goals in the three scrimmages the team has had since players reported Wednesday.
“I think everyone's going out there, giving it their best effort, and that's just what I was doing,” Kartye said Saturday. “And things went well for me.’’
“He’s a great kid,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said. “He loves hockey, brings great energy to the rink. [And] he's an enthusiastic learner. I think all those things are important. I think that stuff's contagious . . . And for me, you can't have enough of those guys that love hockey, that love to be here, that want to play, that want to get better. And Tye's all of those things.’’
Not bad for a player the Rangers picked up off the scrap heap, claiming him off waivers from Seattle in February. A 5-11, 202-pound bundle of energy, Kartye was a great pickup for the Blueshirts. He had five goals and 14 points in 24 games, playing mostly on the third line, and quickly became one of the team’s most relied-upon penalty-killing forwards. Based on the start he’s had to training camp, he looks poised to pick up where he left off.
So far, Kartye — a Kingston, Ontario, native who was undrafted coming out of junior hockey — has been slotted in as the fourth-line left wing, playing with center Joe Veleno, and either Jaroslav Chmelar or Matt Rempe, who are battling for the fourth line right wing spot. Kartye said he isn’t insulted at the prospect of playing on the fourth line.
“Wherever they need me to play, whatever role they're going to ask me to fill, I'm going to try and do the best job that I can, and be the best player that I can be,’’ he said.
Kartye was asked if his inspired play with the Rangers has been the result of having a chip on his shoulder after getting put on waivers by the Kraken.
“I feel like I've always had a little one on my shoulder,” he said.
He was an eighth-round pick in the 2017 OHL draft by the Soo Greyhounds, and his first year playing for them was 2018-19, which was his NHL draft year. He scored just four goals that season, and went undrafted as an 18-year-old.
He scored 25 goals as a 19-year-old, but didn’t get drafted, either, and then because of COVID-19, the OHL didn’t play the following year. He scored 45 goals in 2021-22 as a 21-year-old and the Kraken signed him as a free agent. After spending the entire ‘22-23 season with their Coachella Valley AHL farm team, he was called up to play 10 playoff games for Seattle. He had three goals and five points in those games.
Kartye said while he was greatly disappointed the Kraken waived him last season, it all ended up working out for him.
“I don't hold a hold a grudge or anything,’’ he said. “The Rangers claimed me. I'm super happy about that, and I think it’s more of, I’m trying to prove them right.’’
Condensed game week
The Rangers are off Sunday and then open the preseason Monday, with a game in Newark against the Devils. They will play their four preseason games over five nights, with games at Madison Square Garden Tuesday and Thursday against the Islanders and Devils, respectively, before the final one Friday at UBS Arena against the Isles. They open the regular season Sept. 29 in Boston.
Sullivan said so far, camp has gone smoothly.
“We're happy with where we're at,’’ he said. “The first three days went as planned. We're happy with what we're seeing on the ice, the execution, the players' intentions. I think there's great energy around the team. That's been real encouraging for us.’’
With only 48 players in camp, and with four games in five nights, cuts aren’t likely to come soon, as the Rangers are going to need virtually two full squads for their four games. Sullivan said no one will play in all four games.
“No, it wouldn't be fair,’’ he said. “I always try to think in terms of trying to set a player up for success, and I'm not sure if we did that, we would be.’’
Fortescue staying focused
The team has been practicing in two groups, with the A group featuring most of the players who are expected to be on the opening night roster and the B group filled with players likely to start the season in Hartford.
Among those in the B group is defenseman Drew Fortescue, who is from Pearl River, in Rockland County, just on the other side of the Mario Cuomo Bridge from the Rangers’ practice facility in Westchester County. Fortescue, a rookie, played nine games with the Rangers at the end of last season after coming out of Boston College.
While he is trying to make the opening night roster, it is obvious to Fortescue that, right now, he’s not in the NHL group.
“It's not in your control, and you just go out there and kind of showcase what you can do,’’ he said. “And then that's really all you can do. You try not to look into it and just go out there and work your hardest and see what happens.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
