{"id":854391,"date":"2026-09-20T14:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T14:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/854391\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T14:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T14:08:10","slug":"drew-fortescues-approach-to-rangers-blue-line-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/854391\/","title":{"rendered":"Drew Fortescue’s approach to Rangers’ blue-line crunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drew Fortescue\u2019s path to ice time with the Rangers has become complicated. <\/p>\n

As a left-handed defenseman for an organization suddenly filled with them, it\u2019ll be difficult for the top prospect \u2014 who received a nine-game taste of the NHL at the end of last season to burn the first year of his entry-level deal \u2014 to make the roster out of training camp.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean the 21-year-old former Boston College star has dwelled on his complicated reality with the Rangers after the additions of veteran Marcus Pettersson via trade and rookie Alberts Smits via the first round of the draft. Nor has his belief about returning to the NHL wavered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nothing that\u2019s in my control,\u201d Fortescue said after the Blueshirts\u2019 training camp sessions Saturday<\/a>, when asked about their additions. \u201cAll I can do is just work the hardest that I can and whoever\u2019s here or whatnot, I think that I know that I\u2019m good enough \u2014 and someday, if it\u2019s not now or in the future, that I\u2019ll be able to play here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even while skating with Group B during the first three sessions, Fortescue reiterated that he\u2019s here \u2014 at his first NHL training camp \u2014 to \u201cshow that I can be on this team.\u201d He collected a pair of assists across his nine-game cameo at the end of 2025-26, capitalizing on the lost Blueshirts season to become one of the young pieces auditioning for future roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to play at the highest level,\u201d said Fortescue, who has been going back and forth between the hotel and his home in Pearl River during training camp. \u201cIt\u2019s your dream as a kid, and kinda getting that little glimpse last year, that month I was there, it was pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DrewDrew Fortescue is looking to find a spot on the Rangers\u2019 blue line. Jason Szenes for New York Post<\/p>\n

The offseason arrived, and while Fortescue said he made strides in every area throughout the summer, the Rangers added pieces around him. AHL Hartford emerged as a likely destination to start the season. Injuries could expedite his return to the NHL at any point, but for now, it might take time for Fortescue to claw his way back to the Rangers.<\/p>\n

Tye Kartye, the fourth-liner whom the Rangers claimed off waivers last season, scored two more goals during the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, giving him three through the first three scrimmages. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead the expert take on the Blueshirts\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Rangers, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Team Blue \u2014 the group that Kartye skated for \u2014 defeated Team White 4-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves hockey,\u201d head coach Mike Sullivan said of Kartye, adding that he\u2019s an \u201ceasy guy to root for.\u201d \u201cBrings great energy to the rink. Just, he\u2019s an enthusiastic learner. I think all those things are important. I think that stuff\u2019s contagious inside the confines, and so, for me, you can\u2019t have enough of those guys that love hockey, that love to be here, that want to play, that want to get better \u2014 and Tye\u2019s all of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Rangers lines mostly remained unchanged, Matt Rempe got the first reps with the fourth line. \u2026 Matthew Robertson left the ice early in the Group A practice after getting hit in the face and returned with teeth seemingly knocked out. \u2026 Cole Beaudoin, who entered training camp day to day, wore a blue jersey and was a full participant in the scrimmage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drew Fortescue\u2019s path to ice time with the Rangers has become complicated. As a left-handed defenseman for an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[4823,385,99],"class_list":["post-854391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}