could be season or rangers thread but certainly sounds like gabe is sticking around:
https://theathletic.com/5300773/2024/03 ... n-college/CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Gabe Perreault is not the sort of young hockey player to be motivated by spite. That he dropped from being a projected top-10 pick last June into the Rangers’ laps at No. 23 could be the source of “prove-em-wrong” energy. But Perreault, though he doesn’t turn 19 until May, has a very mature outlook on what went down in Nashville nine months ago.
“You don’t want to think about it too much,” Perreault said after practice with his Boston College team late last month. “Maybe you can use it a little bit, but there’s lots of guys drafted ahead of me who are going to have great careers and some won’t. That’s just how it is every year no matter where you’re picked. I’m not looking to compare myself to anyone, I’m just glad I ended up with the Rangers.”
Just don’t think that will happen anytime soon. For those Ranger fans dreaming of Perreault jumping into the lineup during the postseason like Chris Kreider did a dozen years ago, there are lots of reasons why that won’t happen. But a lot of those reasons — Perreault’s size, for one, his age and the fact he hasn’t played in nearly a month as the NCAA hockey tournament looms for the No. 1 Eagles — are actually good things in the long run.
This has been a special freshman season for Perreault, who was leading all of college hockey in scoring when he was injured. His 50 points in 30 games are still among the top 10 scorers in the NCAA — fellow freshman and linemate Will Smith now leads with 58 points and Ryan Leonard, another freshman and linemate, is right there at 49 points — and the line with Smith, the fourth pick last June by the Sharks, and Leonard, the eighth pick by the Caps, has been one of the most impactful lines in college hockey this year.
The trio comprised the top line for the U.S. National Development and Training Program squad as 17-year-olds under now-Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse so it was a natural they’d fit together in college.
“We didn’t put them together at first,” BC coach Greg Brown said, “but after a couple weeks we did and they scored about 15 seconds into a drill. So it’s like, ‘OK, they do read off each other pretty well.’ And it’s not just with the puck. They really help each other defensively, which is great for me because they find ways to be defensively responsible. If you look at our analytics they’re always in the positive area as far as chances. It may not be textbook but they find a way to be very effective at both ends.”
Choosing the college route has turned out to be the right path for Perreault. His father, Yanic, was a high-end scorer in the Quebec League — 87 goals in his overage year, when he was taken 47th by the Leafs — and Jacob, Gabe’s older brother, played in the OHL before being selected 27th by the Ducks in 2020.
But Gabe Perreault never had the size to go with his skill. He’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds. The 40-ish game college schedule fits better for his development than a playing-heavy schedule in Canadian juniors. “I needed that schedule to be able to get in the gym more,” Perreault said. “It still definitely feels like the right decision.”
BC has a history of small, skilled players who matured here on their way to pro careers. The Johnny Gaudreau comparison comes up plenty — Gaudreau might have been smaller than Perreault when he arrived at college in 2011, a few months after the Flames drafted him 101st. Gaudreau had a stellar freshman year with 44 points in 44 games but no one was rushing him; he stayed two more years, went straight to Calgary and was third in Calder Trophy voting in 2014-15.
Even Kreider, whose 2012 playoff run with the Rangers was impressive coming off a national championship with BC, didn’t leave until after his junior year despite being a similar physical specimen to the one he’s been for over a decade. The game has changed for first-round picks and high achievers in amateur hockey because of the salary cap and factors like social media — it’s much easier for young players to compare themselves to their peers even if they don’t play in the same league — but Perreault, with the guidance of his family, Boston College and the Rangers, seems to understand that patience is key.
“He’s got a really good hockey IQ and he’s only 18 years old, he’s nowhere close to what he will be physically,” Yanic Perreault said. “I think the adjustment this year has gone really well. He learned a lot under Coach Muse at the program and he’s a great fit with Coach Brown and BC. There’s no rush to think about next year.”
Especially when Brown, a Rangers assistant under David Quinn for three seasons, sees the comparables to Perreault’s game right now.
“You can’t compare the way he thinks the game directly to an Artemi Panarin yet, but it’s that kind of thinking ahead where size isn’t a factor,” Brown said. “Johnny Gaudreau was another guy that could use his brain to not let the battles get turned into battles of strength. Gabe’s able to win a lot of puck battles by getting body position early because he’s outsmarted the other guy. And he sees the ice so well that the passes are off his stick before someone can close and pin him. He has an elite hockey brain to negate whatever the size disadvantage may be.”
There’s a reason that the Penguins’ first ask when the Rangers inquired about Jake Guentzel before the March 8 deadline was a high pick plus Perreault. His remarkable first post-draft season has likely vaulted him to the top of the team’s prospect list, maybe even ahead of Brennan Othmann, who is having a solid first pro season in the AHL.
But there is certainly no rush, even if the Eagles finish this season with an NCAA title. Perreault may return to action by Friday’s Hockey East semifinal against UMass; whether he does or not, this is the beginning of a process towards him becoming an everyday contributor as a pro, not the end.
“It’s been easy to focus on the task at hand,” Perreault said. “It’s great to have the Rangers check in and they’re having a great season, but you have to focus on what’s in front of you.”