First-hand look at Rangers defenseman prospect Drew Fortescue of Boston College
STORRS, CT — Two of the New York Rangers top prospects, forward Gabe Perreault and defenseman Drew Fortescue, not only were selected in the same 2023 NHL Draft, but they are teammates at Boston College and with the United States for the World Junior Championship.
Perreault gets more of the publicity since he was a first-round draft pick (No. 23 overall) and is an exciting, highly-skilled forward. Fortescue, taken in the third round, is less flashy as a solid stay-at-home defenseman.
Each was in the starting lineup for BC in a game against UConn this past Friday when Forever Blueshirts was in person to witness their play and development.
Since, we’ve spent a lot of time discussing Perreault on these pages, our focus was more aimed at Fortescue in the game against UConn. And surprisingly, it was Fortescue, not Perreault, who landed on the score sheet in a 5-4 loss.
Early in the third period, playing 4-on-4 and with the Eagles down by a score of 3-1, Fortescue collected a loose puck along the boards in the offensive zone, and passed it to forward Ryan Leonard at the top of the left circle. Leonard’s shot beat UConn goaltender Thomas Heaney to make it a one-goal game.
Despite the goal, BC, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, lost and dropped to 7-2-0 this season, 2-1-0 in Hockey East. Fortescue finished the night with one assist, one shot on goal and a plus-1 rating. With the assist, Fortescue now has two points in nine games played on the season.
Perreault was held without a point, but still leads Boston College with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in nine games.
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Rangers defenseman prospect Drew Fortescue has size and ‘some real toughness’
Drew Fortescue — photo courtesy Alan Selavka
In his freshman season, Fortescue skated in 40 games, posted a plus- 13 rating and blocked 31 shots. He was often tasked with shutting down the opposition’s top forwards, skating on the top defense pairing for Boston College. Because of his defensive responsibilities, Fortescue was not relied upon to produce offensively, though he did manage to finish the season with four goals and four assists for eight points.
Internationally, Fortescue helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors Championship, when he scored one goal and had three assists in seven games played with a plus-6 rating. He is expected to be named to the 2025 roster for the U.S. which can return 10 players from last year’s gold medal winning team, including Perreault.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Fortescue has decent size for a defenseman, and good skating and mobility to shut down top offensive forwards. When speaking with The Rink Live, one NHL scout said of Fortescue: “He’s a bigger defensemen. Even though he’s not necessarily a guy that’s gonna run you over, he’s physical and he has some real toughness to him. He’s not a super offensive guy but he moves pucks well, he starts plays in his own zone and he can skate. He defends well, he’s got the reach and he’s got a lot of the things that you want out of a defenseman.”
Current Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse played a big role in Fortescue’s development, coaching the defenseman while at the United States National Team Development Program. This firsthand knowledge and experience influenced the Rangers decision to select Fortescue in the third round of the 2023 draft.
“He made really big improvements from year one to year two, Muse said. “He became a guy that you could play against anybody’s top line and he ate a lot of minutes for us. He moves pucks really well, he transitions well and I just thought everything took a step this season. His first pass, his gaps, his defensive detail – everything. He’s the type of guy that can play a lot of minutes and in a lot of different situations and he’s the type of player that probably doesn’t get as much appreciation from the outside as he does from the guys in the locker room and around the team.”
Fortescue said Muse’s impact was not limited to his game on the ice, but to helping adjust to the environment at the USNTDP.
“I think defensively and my daily habits, just learning to be a pro from him, cause he coached in Nashville before coming to the program,” he explained. “So learning how to act and how you’ve got to bring it every day and be at your best is what I got from him. We did a lot of D stuff and I think as a coach, he’s just kind of there for his players. He’s a great leader and someone who’s a great coach to have.”
Defense is first with Fortescue, which was apparent in the game against UConn. But there is more to his offensive game, which was also obvious Friday. Outside of Victor Mancini, and possibly Matthew Robertson, there aren’t many defensemen in the Rangers pipeline ahead of Fortescue.
2024 top pick EJ Emery, who’s also a steady defense-first d-man, is a freshman at North Dakota. So, he lines up with Fortescue as the next wave of homegrown talent among defensemen in the Rangers organization, likely several years from now.
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