- Pavel Dorofeyev has been skating on J.T. Miller’s left wing through the first days of Rangers camp
- Mike Sullivan says Miller’s playmaking is “probably undervalued by some”
- Read below for what Miller and Mika Zibanejad said about the Rangers’ new 37-goal scorer
The Rangers have already sketched out a top line, and it drops a 37-goal scorer next to their captain.
Pavel Dorofeyev has been on the left wing with J.T. Miller at center and fellow newcomer Oliver Bjorkstrand on the right through the opening days of camp in Greenburgh. Mike Sullivan was asked what Miller gives a pure shooter like that.
“I think (Miller’s) playmaking ability is probably undervalued by some. J.T. sees the ice pretty well. I think he has the ability to distribute the puck. J.T. brings a physical element in a down-low game, a grind game that I think he could drag his linemates into a little bit so they can create some offense in different ways.”
Watch Sullivan’s full camp availability from Saturday:
Miller put up 36 assists in 68 games last season. Going back to 2021-22, he is one of eight centers with three 50-assist seasons, a list that also has Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl on it.
Dorofeyev came over from Vegas in a June 26 trade and is signed for seven years and $77 million. He scored an NHL-high 37 goals last season, 20 of them on the power play, then added 12 more in the playoffs as the Golden Knights went to the Cup Final.
These two already knew each other. Dorofeyev has rented in Connecticut each of the past four summers to train at Prentiss Hockey in Stamford, skating there with Miller, Adam Fox, Matt Rempe and Gabe Perreault, as Dan Rosen of NHL.com laid out. Miller talked about how the winger has fit in since camp opened.
“He’s very familiar. Doesn’t feel like a stranger at all.”
Mika Zibanejad was asked what a shooter like Dorofeyev does to a power play that already finished fifth in the league at 24.7 percent.
“It adds another threat that teams maybe haven’t seen from our power play in the past.”
Here’s Dorofeyev at the podium with Igor Shesterkin earlier in the week:
Saturday was Day 3 on the ice for a group split into two squads. Take a look at the team’s photos:
New York finished last in the Metropolitan Division last season, so the margin for a slow start is thin. The Rangers open Sept. 29 at Boston and then play 10 of their first 17 games at Madison Square Garden.
