2025 Rangers Report Cards: The Cup of Coffee Crew

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Report Cards, grading the performance of each member of the 2024-24 New York Rangers. To view more report cards in this series, go here.

The Rangers had a total of five players that enjoyed cups of coffee with the Rangers this season and not a ton else. 

Louis Domingue 

The former “spicy pork” foe-turned-friend of the New York Rangers got his yearly game at the NHL-level during a stretch where Igor Shesterkin was banged up. Stopping all but two of 25 shots on goal, Domingue helped the Rangers pull off a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Showing up for that one annual start and being a capable “1B” option in Hartford was pretty much the expectation for Domingue and the fact that he walked out of that one start with a win was certainly a win in itself. 

In 28 games played in Hartford, Domingue registered a goals against average of .896 with a brutal record of 7-20. Whether that’s a testament to his capabilities, the struggles Hartford faced this season, or perhaps a mix of both, it appears that his time with the organization is nearing its end. According to some reports going around, it’s sounding like there’s an agreement in place for Domingue to sign with SKA of the KHL.

That's likely for the best, because as much as Domingue is a solid third string goalie, it’s time for Dylan Garand to take on a bigger role. With a full season as Hartford’s number one and the opportunity to suit up for one-off starts with the Rangers when the opportunities arise, Garand will be in a better position to potentially take over as a full time backup once Jonathan Quick retires. Last season, we gave him an A- for his one-game efforts. This season, he let up one extra goal and had a significant drop in his AHL save percentage, so he gets a B+ this time around.

Connor Mackey

Bet you forgot Connor Mackey played hockey games for the Rangers this season. In two games played, Mackey had one shot on goal and one fight in an average of roughly eight minutes of ice time a night. Both the shot on goal and fight came in one of the early depressing losses of the season in which the Rangers were boo’d off the ice in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at MSG. While his spirited scrap was enough to spark the Rangers out of a slump last season, they had no such luck the second time around, and that was all we saw of Mackey this season.

With one more year remaining on the contract extension he signed last spring, it's safe to assume Mackey will continue to be a veteran presence on Hartford's blue line next season as well as a depth call-up option for the Rangers. Despite actually doubling his NHL games played total this season, Mackey didn't really do much in either game and the Rangers lost both of them. B for effort?

Chad Ruhwedel

I’m not going to lie to you all, when I started writing these report cards, I had to remind myself that Chad Ruhwedel was still a member of the New York Rangers organization. That’s likely a result of the fact that in just over a full calendar year he’s been traded to the Rangers, was allowed to walk as a free agent, ended up resigning, and only played five games in each of the two campaigns. This year, he helped the Rangers win two games and actually picked up an assist on the only goal they scored in a 3-1 loss to Carolina back in December.

Averaging about fourteen minutes of ice time across his five games, Ruhwedel did his job which is being a fringe veteran defenseman. In 48 games with the Wolf Pack, he collected 15 points. With no points in 5 games last season, Ruhwedel was given a B-, so this year we'll bump him up to a B.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel

Acquired in a trade where the Rangers flipped Erik Brannstrom in a trade with Buffalo, Aubé-Kubel is no stranger to playing under Peter Laviolette and can be a useful depth forward on a playoff team—something the Rangers were still hoping they'd be at the time of the trade. Playing in just three games during the Rangers' California road trip in late March, Aubé-Kubel didn't have much to show for except for being a -1 and sitting in the penalty box for two minutes.

Did the Rangers really need to make this trade? Who knows, although it sure is nice to do business with Buffalo for once. Nonetheless, Aubé-Kubel will be an unrestricted free agent in a couple of months so, thanks for stopping by, I guess? He'll be a fun name to throw out in a game of "Name Random Rangers" or Puckdoku, and he gets a C for his three games.

Matthew Robertson

Drafted back in 2019, Matthew Robertston finally made his NHL debut in game 81 of 82 this season. On paper, this is a player that checks off a lot of boxes for what the Rangers could be looking for, so it's great to finally see them giving him a proper chance to show what he's got. Offensively, he looked great on his opening shift that nearly resulted in a goal. Defensively, he got beat pretty badly by Sam Reinhart and had a few other mishaps, but that's what throwaway games like these are for: making mistakes and learning.

He got a second opportunity in the season finale where was a +2 in nearly twenty minutes of ice time. It's unclear if there's a role for him with the Rangers, or the NHL in general down the road. But from what we saw in those two games, it's fair to say the Rangers should give him another year or two to be a top guy in Hartford and a call-up option as needs. Robertson gets an A- for his two games.