Why Rangers may need to rely on Drew Fortescue, Matthew Robertson in 2026-27

New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan is encouraged by what he sees out of rookie defenseman Drew Fortescue, despite it being a small sample size from the 20-year-old who’s played only seven NHL games.

That is very good news for the Blueshirts, who desperately need Fortescue and fellow young left-side defender Matthew Robertson to continue to develop and fortify a shallow area of talent on a roster in transition.

Fortescue doesn’t look overwhelmed in his limited action. He pairs mostly with Braden Schneider and averages 14:58 of ice time as the organization uses the end of this lost season to get a look at the highly-regarded 2023 third-round draft pick out of Boston College.

Signing his three-year entry-level contract with the Rangers March 21, shortly after the Eagles’ season came to an end in the Hockey East semifinals, Fortescue debuted March 27 in a 6-1 home victory over the Chicago Blackhawks – nearly scoring his first NHL goal when he hit the post on a point shot in the first period. He has two assists in seven games, including a perfect lead pass to spring Alexis Lafreniere’s breakaway goal in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

Mike Sullivan ‘really liked’ play of Rangers rookie Drew Fortescue

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Rangers were more than happy to burn a year off Fortescue’s ELC this season rather than have him sign an amateur tryout (ATO) with Hartford of the American Hockey League, with the club eager to evaluate someone on the NHL level who could prove to be pretty important sooner rather than later.

“We’re gonna play some teams coming up that have a lot of size,” Sullivan said Wednesday about the Rangers’ final three games of the season against the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, “and I think defensively, that presents a challenge for a young player – just strength-wise, box-outs, things at the net front, things of that nature. But there’s so many things we like about Drew’s game that we’re excited about … On the defending side, we’re continuing to work with him, which is some of the nuances and the details.

“But I think the biggest challenge is – not just for Drew, but young players in general – is just the speed of the game and the size and the strength of the players. But we’ve really liked what we’ve seen from Drew so far.”

A bit ironically, perhaps, the Rangers scratched Fortescue against the big and heavy Stars on Saturday. Sullivan explained after the Rangers lost 2-0 that he thought this was a good chance for the rookie to watch from above and study more video afterward.

In an ideal world for the Blueshirts, Fortescue – who at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, boasts good size, though admittedly needs to get stronger – will be a quick study. The club wants him to join the 25-year-old Robertson, a late bloomer whose game ascended this season, as a realistic possibility to handle significant and important minutes in 2026-27 and beyond. For all the holes in the Rangers roster, one of the biggest is on the left side of the blue line, which features stout top-pair veteran Vladislav Gavrikov and little else when it comes to proven options.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The trading of former mainstays Ryan Lindgren and K’Andre Miller over the last year-plus marked a major transition for the Blueshirts defense corps. Unfortunately, the club lacked an obvious succession plan – or at least, so it appeared.

Robertson was hardly in the picture at the outset of 2025-26, a second-round pick in 2019 that looked like the latest high Rangers draft choice to not work out. Re-signed to a two-year, $1.55 million contract in June to serve presumably as a depth piece, Robertson instead found his way into the lineup as a regular. Despite some predictable rookie ups and downs, the Edmonton native is at 70 games played in 2025-26 and shows off the size, mobility and stickwork that made him a well-regarded prospect seven years ago.

He earned the trust of Sullivan, and averages 17:25 TOI in his first full NHL season. The 6-4, 210-pounder has five goals and 12 assists on the season, and his underlying metrics are good too. Robertson’s expected goal share is 50.4, and the Rangers registered 498 scoring chances for to 481 against, so far, when he’s on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. That includes a 195-178 edge in high-danger chances.

The willingness to keep working toward his dream when it looked like it might never arrive, in fact, earned Robertson the Rangers’ nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy on Wednesday. The award goes to a player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”

The Blueshirts do have some positive history on their side when it comes to young defenders. If Robertson and Fortescue become key members of the defense corps for years to come starting in 2026-27, it would not be a huge surprise. For all the well-documented trouble the Rangers have with drafting and developing youth, that actually pertains much more to forwards. They had a decent amount of success integrating young defensemen pretty seamlessly and quickly into their lineup in recent years.

Lindgren made a five-game cameo as a 20-year-old in 2018-19, played 60 games the next season and thrived as Adam Fox’s long-term partner for the next seven seasons. Speaking of Fox, he established himself as an organizational pillar in a 70-game rookie season of 2019-20 at age 21 and won the Norris Trophy the following season. Miller, a first-round pick in 2018, made the jump directly from the University of Wisconsin to the Rangers for the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season, playing 53 of 56 games at 21 and never appearing in the minors.

Schneider, a first-round selection in 2020, made his NHL debut as a 20-year-old Jan. 13, 2021 after 24 games in the AHL that season, and never went back down. So the path for youthful defensemen to have immediate impacts in Blueshirts is certainly well-traveled.

Rangers options to upgrade left side of defense appear limited

John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

It’s of course very possible, perhaps even probable, that the development of Fortescue and Roertson will be anything but linear – as is often the case for young players. Fortescue, in particular, may be in the midst of nothing more than a feeling-out period for the organization, which could want him to spend time with the Hartford Wolf Pack for more seasoning to start out in 2026-27, regardless of how he looks in a handful of NHL games. And there’s no guarantee Robertson, who seemingly came out of nowhere this season, won’t regress next year.

Even if the organization believes in both players, the Rangers could seek upgrades on the left side this summer. Though another big splash like Gavrikov, inked to a seven-year, $49 free-agent deal July 1, seems unlikely, targeting a left-shot defenseman with physical and/or speed is a definite possibility.

The problem for the Rangers, who have plenty of salary-cap space to add to their roster, is that the upcoming unrestricted free-agent class lacks solid top-four options with left-shot defensemen, outside of Mario Ferraro of the San Jose Sharks and the Buffalo Sabres’ Logan Stanley.

Ferraro and Stanley, however, come with significant question marks, and signing either of them might require an overpay, given the dearth of options on the UFA market. There are numerous veteran players that could come cheaply, such as Jamie Oleksiak, John Klingberg and Brett Kulak. Each, though, is on the wrong side of 30 and doesn’t represent a long-term solution, though could be serviceable in a 6-7 role.

The trade market might not be any better, since acquiring appealing left-shooting defenders will cost youngsters and/or draft picks – neither of which the Rangers are eager to part with as they attempt to “retool” the roster with youth. Urho Vaakanainen is under contract for next season, but Sullivan doesn’t shown much faith that the 27-year-old can be much more than a sixth or seven defenseman. The organization also lacks blue-line candidates at Hartford who are ready to make the leap to the NHL.

In short, a return to contention in short order might rely more heavily on Robertson and Fortescue than the Rangers like. Unless general manager Chris Drury can engineer a shrewd trade or hits big on another free-agent splash, Fortescue and Robertson might represent a much more immediate future for the Blueshirts than they ever anticipated.

Related Headlines

• Why Rangers captain sought ‘no-brainer’ fight with his Stars counterpart
• Rangers waste solid goaltending, good defensive effort in 2-0 loss to Stars
• Rangers prospects Greentree, Aspinall, Battaglia face off in OHL playoffs
• Rangers vs. Stars: Lineups, storylines for first road game in 17 days