Noah Laba didn’t exactly expect to spend his entire first full professional season in the NHL.
Capping his collegiate career before an 11-game taste of the AHL with the Wolf Pack last year, Laba reported to his first Rangers training camp this past fall and forced his way into the Opening Night lineup.
He put on a master class on how to do so, leading the Blueshirts with six preseason points.
What really mattered, however, was Laba’s ability to maintain his third-line center role and earn the Rangers coaching staff’s trust to expand it.
“Did I necessarily expect that? No,” Laba said of being a full-time NHLer on breakup day. “But if you were to have told me it would happen, I’d say that’s what I was working for. That’s what I believed in myself for … it’s not easy, especially coming from college. I think I only played 29 college games last year. So coming and kind of playing more than double, you learn a lot.
“You learn how to manage the game, manage your body, as well as kind of what it takes to produce and be a responsible player in this league.”
If not for a couple of injury stints, Laba would’ve been an 82-game player in his first season in the league.
He missed three games in January with an upper-body injury before a lower-body issue sidelined him for five games in March.
Each time he recovered, there was a spot waiting for him in the lineup, which wasn’t always the case for other young players around the team this season.
At 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, the 22-year-old Laba played a fast and physical game this season.
His max skating speed of 23.04 mph ranked higher than 86 percent of the NHL, according to NHL Edge, which also had his 14 bursts of 22 mph or higher in the 94th percentile.
He wins a lot of foot races while consistently finishing his checks, which was evident in his 110 hits (sixth most on Rangers).
Head coach Mike Sullivan also worked Laba into special teams.
Laba saw a bit of time on the second power-play unit (0:32 per game), while also joining the penalty-kill rotation (1:10 per game).
Offensive instincts were the biggest knock against Laba as a prospect, and the Rangers’ fourth-round pick from 2022 is making it his focus.
“I think my first priority is just becoming a better shooter,” said Laba, who finished with nine goals and 15 assists in 74 games. “Getting the stick skills improved, and just trying to become a better offensive player. Be better in the O-zone, produce more. So I think that’s my main priority, and I’m excited to kind of get to work this summer to try to get my game there.”
Carrying a cap hit of $870,000 through next season, Laba could be a key center going forward.
If Vincent Trocheck is traded this summer, the Rangers will be down to Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller at the top of their center depth chart.
While he occupied the third-line center spot for a majority of the season, Laba — at his current offensive output — is more of a fourth-liner.
The Rangers will likely need to bring more competition in for the bottom six center spots considering Juuso Parssinen, who was extended last May and played 20 games this season, wasn’t able to make much of an impression.
Still, Laba isn’t allowing himself to get comfortable.
He plans to spend at least part of the summer in New York training for next season.
“I think I’m still hungry to compete and do whatever I can to prove my worth here, and that I deserve to be here and help the team,” he said. “Just stay with that mentality coming into camp, and hopefully with the time this summer to really improve my game.”
Rangers defenseman Will Borgen was named to the United States preliminary roster for the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland from May 15-31.