The New York Rangers training camp is set to have a pitched battle between depth defenseman this season. For Urho Vaakanainen, he'll have to convince Head Coach Mike Sullivan that he'll be a better option than defenseman Carson Soucy in the bottom pair(s) in the lineup.
The New York Rangers have a gap in the blueline, and could look to defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to reinforce the ranks.
Vaakanainen found a way to make the team under Peter Laviolette in 2024-25, and would score a career-high 15 points (2-13) in 46 games with the Rangers.
Urho Vaakanainen's Outlook for 2025-26
Despite being a healthy scratch in four games, Vaakanainen proved to be a useful tool in the lineup, playing an ATOI of 16:43, and helped the Rangers control play on the ice:
The Rangers outscored opponents 32-27 with Vaakanainen on the ice 5v5. But his expected goals share was 43.68 percent, per Natural Stat Trick, and the Rangers were out-chanced 343-271 with him playing 5v5.
The defenseman had the benefit of starting a percentage (28.23) of his shifts in the offensive zone for the Rangers.
But we can't discount what he's done, and neither did the Rangers, who rewarded him with a new contract paying him an AAV of $3.1 million.
The 18th overall pick will have to compete with defenseman Carson Soucy for a spot in the bottom pairing. Despite his fits and starts, he'd find a way to make the Anaheim Ducks regular lineup in 2023-24, starting 68 games for the West Coast team.
But a string of injuries slowed Vaakanainen's progress. He had a concussion his first pro season and several other injuries thereafter, including hip surgery. Only four other players selected in the first round in 2017 have played fewer games in the NHL than Vaakanainen (187). One of them is Lias Andersson (110 games), selected No. 7 overall by the Rangers.
At 27, there's hope for the Rangers that the young defenseman will turn into a player who's a late bloomer. His affordable contract $1.55 million AAV, will take him to UFA.
Though he'll have to compete with Soucy for a spot in the top-pair, it seems likely he'll find a home in the bottom-pairing with Braden Schneider, given Soucy and Will Borgen's history and chemistry in Seattle. It only makes sense they stay together, at least un Vaakananien outplays Soucy.
This is the assumed starting position for the season by Jim Cerny of ForeverBlueshirts:
Assuming Gavrikov and Fox form the top pairing, the Rangers have several options with the bottom four. Soucy could help form a shutdown second pair with Borgen, especially since they have a history as partners with the Seattle Kraken. That'd likely leave Vaakainen on the third pair with Schneider.
Variables to consider:
If Vaakanainen outplays Soucy in the preseason, those two could switch spots. But if Morrow proves ready for full-time duty on the right side of the third pair, Sullivan could move Schneider to his off (left) side on the second pair. That would leave Vaakanainen and Soucy in a battle for the final spot in the starting six, alongside Morrow.
Either way, the battles for a home on the blueline are going to get really interesting in October.
