What did we learn about Gabe Perreault through his three-game stint with the New York Rangers?
There was a lot of excitement around Perreault after his strong start to the season playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, as he recorded five goals, five assists, and 10 points in nine games.
The Rangers felt it was time to give Perreault a chance to showcase his offensive skill sets at the NHL level, so the team called him up on Nov. 9.
Not only did the Blueshirts call up Perreault, but Mike Sullivan immediately elevated him into a top-six role on a line alongside Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller.
However, he only averaged 13:09 minutes per game because Sullivan had a tendency to demote the 20-year-old forward to the team’s third line with Noah Laba and Conor Sheary, showing a lack of confidence in his overall two-way game.
Perreault also struggled to create space for himself and generate offensive opportunities, something he’s ordinarily known for doing at a high rate.
The pace of play seemed to be a lot for Perreault to handle.
The Rangers coaching staff felt uncomfortable playing Perreault in a prominent position, which is why they felt it was best for him to continue developing in the AHL, where he can play a significant amount of minutes and get more opportunities to grow as a player.
“He’s got an awful lot of talent and he’s got a bright future in this league, but this is a man’s league,” David Quinn said. “Gabe did some good things when he was up here, but when Gabe is here, he plays on the top two lines, and when you play against the top two lines, you play against everybody's top D pairings, and you play against everybody's best players, and that can get a little overwhelming for you, physically and with the pace.
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“We just felt like this was part of the growing process and the development process for him, give him an opportunity to come here, play meaningful games. Now, he’s going back down and I’m sure this experience will be beneficial to his development.”
The Rangers don’t want to throw Perreault right into the fire if he’s not fully prepared to take on a full-time NHL role.
We could see Perreault play the majority, if not the rest of the season, in Hartford with the Rangers taking a patient approach regarding his development.