Alexis Lafreniere, K'Andre Miller head Rangers' youth group brimming with potential

It’s been two long years since the Rangers blew up what they had in the hopes of creating a better future. In that time, they acquired Artemi Panarin and drafted Alexis Lafreniere with the first overall pick. They even snuck into the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2020.

So, though there’s still plenty of work to do as their season begins against the Islanders on Thursday night, the sense of optimism was palpable after their final practice Wednesday. Lafreniere was getting set for his debut, K’Andre Miller, their top-tier prospect, looks formidable skating alongside defenseman Jacob Trouba, and Mika Zibanejad, back from COVID-19, seems likely to play on Thursday.

The pieces — which have come together slowly after months of culling some of the best (very) young talent the NHL has to offer — are finally starting to fall into place. And while no one is guaranteeing playoffs, it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. Now, as they stare down this shortened season, coach David Quinn hopes that his players, young and old, can continue to grow into the team they need to be.

"Whether you’re 19 or 29, you can continue to get better and that’s kind of how an organization goes," Quinn said. "We’ve got guys who have been here for six or seven years and are in their mid-20s that have to continue to get better, as much as the [Kaapo] Kakkos and Lafrenieres and the [Adam] Foxes and things like that. They have to continue to get better, too."

It starts against Mathew Barzal and the Islanders, who made it to the Eastern Conference Final before being ousted by the Lightning. Quinn said Igor Shesterkin will be in nets, a nod to his rapid rise and irrefutable results last year. Quinn believes his team is as ready as it can be, despite no preseason games and only eight practices.

"The bottom line is that our sport is an effort-driven sport unlike any other because it’s such a small space," he said. "Effort is going to be the deciding factor on a lot of nights."

Added Chris Kreider: "I think the exciting thing about having such a young group is how much potential this group has, how much potential each individual has for growth day by day . . . I know it’s something I’ve said before, but it’s a very exciting time to be a Ranger."

As for the other question marks, Quinn said he’d need to speak to his training staff before committing to playing Zibanejad, but "it certainly looks like he was ready to go." He also won’t say whether Miller will skate with Trouba in that first defensive pairing.

On Zibanejad, Quinn said that "as far as his minutes goes, that’s just going to be monitoring during the game. He’s had COVID and everybody reacts differently to it, so that certainly is going to be a shift-by-shift decision."

Miller, he said, has impressed him, but he’s still so young for anything to be certain.

"They complement each other well," Quinn said of Miller and the veteran Trouba. "They’re two guys that are big and strong so it gives us an opportunity maybe, if they continue to go in the direction they’re going, they can be in position to shut down some top lines and play heavy minutes. Obviously, we’re talking about a 19-year-old kid, so we’ve got to be careful . . . For me, it’s a real day-to-day evaluation process with these guys because we just haven’t seen them play together long enough."

Trouba, at least, gave his vote of confidence.

"He doesn’t get flustered by anything," Trouba said. "The moment doesn’t seem too big for him ever and if he makes a mistake, he doesn’t really beat up himself. He moves on to the next play. I think that’s a big thing, especially for a defenseman, a young defenseman, is being able to flip the switch, turn the page when something bad happens."

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.