Colin Stephenson: Are new-look Rangers ready to win now after GM Chris Drury upgraded the roster?

Hockey is back, with the new-and-improved Rangers holding rookie camp on Friday, and playing back-to-back rookie games against the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday and Sunday in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Veterans report Wednesday for training camp, the preseason opener will be Sept. 21 in Newark against the Devils, and the regular season opens Sept. 29 in Boston against the Bruins.

The Rangers, who have missed the playoffs the last two seasons, and pretty much deconstructed their roster in that time, had a good summer, with general manager Chris Drury using the salary cap space the Rangers had to make some much needed upgrades. Drury, who has taken a lot of heat from fans on social media, pulled off a stealth trade for sniper Pavel Dorofeyev on draft day, then drafted NHL-ready defenseman Alberts Smits, who figures to challenge for an opening night roster spot, and got back a nice return for Vincent Trocheck when he traded him to Utah, netting 27-year-old defenseman Sean Durzi and 20-year-old prospect Cole Beaudoin.

Drury also improved the defense when he traded for defenseman Marcus Pettersson, added backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo to replace the retired Jonathan Quick, and just recently signed winger Eeli Tolvanen for a bargain-bin, one year, $1.5 million.

Whether the offseason makeover will be enough to get the Rangers into the playoffs will be played out over the new, 84-game season, but the addition of Dorofeyev, Durzi and Pettersson (who will partner on the second defense pair), along with free agent signee Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen, should make them a player in the Metropolitan Division. Of course, that’s assuming captain J.T. Miller stays healthy and has a bounce-back season, second-year forward Gabe Perreault builds on the strong finish he had to his rookie campaign, and Alexis Lafreniere, who stepped up his game after Artemi Panarin was traded last season, finally becomes a consistent offensive threat.

Beaudoin, Greentree bring excitement

There was an air of excitement at rookie camp Friday that went a little beyond the signaling of the start of a new season. Besides the presence of Smits, the No. 5 overall pick in the draft, there was also the addition of a pair of 20-year-old prospects acquired in high-profile trades who are expected to deepen the organization’s prospect pool.

Liam Greentree, acquired from L.A. in the Panarin trade, had been at the summer development camp, but Beaudoin was actually at Utah’s development camp on July 1, when he found out he’d been traded to the Rangers as part of the Trocheck deal.

“I was just with all the guys, and then … the news kind of broke,’’ he recalled. “I wasn't expecting it, but I'm excited now.’’

Beaudoin immediately becomes the top prospect in the organization at center, a position where the Rangers had been painfully thin. He is a big body (6-2, 209) who led his junior team, the OHL Barrie Colts, in scoring, putting up 33 goals and 55 assists (88 points) in 54 games. He also played for Canada at the World Junior Championships, posting three goals and four assists (seven points) in seven games. But he prides himself on being a two-way player, good in both the offensive and defensive zones.

“It's a 200-foot centerman that is super reliable in the ‘D’ zone,’’ he said when asked to describe his game. “Making sure that I have my guy, making sure I block shots, box out if that's on the PK. But then also, I feel like my offensive game's progressed a lot.’’

“Our staff has seen him a lot in the course of three years since his draft year,’’ said John Lilley, the Rangers’ director of player personnel and amateur scouting, of Beaudoin. “Myself personally, I've had tons of views, and just always valued what he brings to the table. He's a big, strong kid. He's skilled, but I think his determination, his willingness to play a hard, direct game, is really something we value.’’

Presumably, Beaudoin will begin the season as the No. 1 center on the Rangers’ AHL Hartford affiliate (perhaps with Greentree on one of his wings). But he’s hoping to find a way to play his way onto the Rangers’ opening night roster.

“Everyone's goal is to make the NHL, and that's my goal,’’ Beaudoin said. “I want to make that team... And I'm gonna push.’’

Realistically, with just 13 days and four preseason games between the start of camp and the start of the season, there won’t be much time for young hopefuls like Beaudoin to force their way onto the roster. The weekend’s rookie games in Allentown figured to be huge.

“It's important for these kids to make a good impression because there's less exhibition games and maybe less opportunity for them to get in,’’ said Lilley. “Every practice, and obviously the two games in Lehigh (Valley), it's very important for these young men to make a good impression.’’