There’s been a lot of hype around Gabriel Perreault over the past couple of years – and maybe unfairly so – that expectations are sky-high on the 20-year-old immediately out of the gate.
The New York Rangers’ No. 1 prospect since being drafted by the organization has won two gold medals with Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship, posted an impressive 108 points in 73 NCAA games with Boston College and has already made his NHL debut. Additionally, Perreault is sixth all-time in the United States National Team Development Program in scoring and fifth in assists.
Needs Time to Adjust to Pros
No doubt, Perreault has built himself an impressive resume and is probably the best forward prospect the Rangers have had since taking Alexis Lafrenière at first overall in 2020. That said, it doesn’t mean he should make the opening night 2025-26 roster by default – and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Perreault, in five NHL games, has yet to register a point.
For many, making the jump from college to the NHL right away is an ambitious task. Former Ranger Brady Skjei needed time to adjust, as did Chris Kreider and Ryan McDonagh. All spent time in the American Hockey League (AHL). The stints didn’t hurt their development – it only helped them adjust to pro hockey and put them in better positions to succeed when called on for an NHL opportunity.
The AHL offers tougher competition when compared to the NCAA – let alone the NHL. The AHL often consists of a higher age bracket and players that have NHL experience. It’s quite rare that you’ll see a player north of 30 years old playing in the NCAA. This would be an adjustment for Perreault.
Needing Minutes
And here’s another thing to consider for Perreault – he’s at the age where he needs to play. There’s a good chance that at the end of training camp, the former Boston College Eagle is one of the Rangers’ best 12 forwards. However, if he’s not at least deemed good enough to play inside the top nine by incoming head coach Mike Sullivan, then it’s a no-brainer to let the youngster develop in the AHL.
The goal is to turn Perreault into a top-six scorer – not a fourth liner. He’ll be way better off playing first-line minutes with veteran AHLers and power play time than five minutes a night in the NHL. The top priority for Perreault this season should be to play as much pro hockey as possible. That’ll be the best path forward for his development.
With Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Lafrenière and Vincent Trocheck all virtual locks – there will likely only be one spot available in the top six. Plus, Will Cuylle and Taylor Raddysh are almost guaranteed to make the roster in some capacity. So if others outperform Perreault in camp, it makes sense to let him get top minutes with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Proving Himself Without Stars
Nobody can take away Perreault’s accomplishments so far. It’s filled with a ton of winning and impressive stats. But at some point, Perreault will need to prove that he can play without star players.
At Boston College and in international hockey, Perreault spent a lot of time playing with other high-end NHL-owned prospects, including Ryan Leonard and Will Smith. This isn’t to say that Perreault was a product of the two fellow Americans, but we have yet to see him play a lot of minutes without Leonard in particular. That will change.
While it would make some sense to ease Perreault’s transition to pro hockey by starting him on the opposite wing of likely future Hall of Famer, Artemi Panarin, it might be a good idea to challenge him early on. Putting Perreault on an AHL line with players like Dylan Roobroeck, Noah Laba, or Anton Blidh would give the top prospect different skill sets to work with. This buys the organization some time to evaluate and see how he handles it. If Perreault tears it up in the AHL, he will be an option to come up mid-season. If not, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to allow the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault to play the entire season with the Wolf Pack and put him in a good spot for 2026-27.
Understandably, fans want to see Perreault play games for the Rangers right away. The upside is exciting. However, the clock isn’t ticking yet on his career. The question becomes, how far away is he from becoming an impact top-nine winger in the NHL, and would he benefit more to start this season getting first-line responsibility in the AHL? If Perreault makes the team out of camp, great – if not, he likely has a long NHL career ahead of him, and some patience will be needed to put him in the best position to succeed.
