The Rangers took things slow with Braden Schneider early on in camp.
The young defenseman showed up to breakup day at the end of last season donning a sling after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder that’s slowed him down the past two years.
Schneider donned a non-contract jersey for just one day before returning to full practice.
And on Monday night, Schneider was finally able to work his way back into game action, skating alongside Urho Vaakanainen on New York’s second defensive pairing in their preseason meeting with the Islanders.
“Going through that process was something that wasn’t enjoyable,” he said. “My shoulder feels 100 percent, no excuses I feel great. Still working back into the quick reaction and hockey decisions, but physically I feel good.”
Schneider was thrown right into the fire in what was his first action since April 12.
He saw just under 23 minutes of ice time over his 27 shifts — bringing his usual physical play with a team-leading four hits while also picking up an assist on Noah Laba’s game-winning overtime goal.
There’s still some rust to shake off, but overall it felt strong.
“My first preseason game, there are still some things that I need to be quicker and a bit sharper on,” he said. “But all in all, I was happy with how the game went, I’m working back into the quick reaction and physically feel great.”
That’s certainly an encouraging sign for the Rangers with just one week for the season opener.
After moving on from most of their defensive core at the deadline and over the offseason, the 24-year-old is expected to take on a much larger role under Mike Sullivan this year.
Where exactly he’ll slide in remains to be seen, but he’ll certainly be leaned on heavily.
“If we were to rank our defenseman top to bottom, we believe that Schneids is amongst the top four,” the veteran head coach said. “But that doesn’t mean he has to play in the top four. I think we can create balance if we spread the top four defensemen out.”
Sullivan has also indicated he is open to using Schneider on both sides of the ice.
