In NHL debuts, top prospects Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard buoyed by Boston College teammates

NEW YORK As Gabe Perreault took his first warmup lap of his professional hockey career Wednesday, the Rangers top prospect shot a grin to the left corner of the ice.

Seven screaming college students stood there, banging on the glass as hard as they could.

After attending Ryan Leonards hyped debut with the Washington Capitals in Boston some 24 hours earlier, the Boston College crew was back at an NHL rink to support another former member of their ranks.

That morning, they had piled into two cars on campus for the 3 12 hour drive to New York.

Five minutes before warmups began, a Madison Square Garden security guard led them to the corner of the glass, closer than where fans with normal-access tickets can usually go.

Advertisement I wasnt expecting them to be that close, said Perreault, who skated without a helmet for the customary solo lap ahead of his debut.

It was sick.

Three of his college friends wore Perreaults old Boston College jerseys one maroon, one gold, one white that they flipped around to show his name and college No.

34 on the front.

We wanted to make it special for him, said sophomore Aram Minnetian, a defenseman and 2023 Dallas Stars draft pick who lived with Perreault at Boston College and wore the gold jersey against the glass.

The Eagles players, whose season ended Sunday in the NCAA regionals, also sported backwards Boston College jerseys while standing at the glass for Leonards debut.

Sophomore Nolan Joyce said theyd seen other college teams do it, so they thought it was a good idea.

I wasnt shocked, Boston College coach Greg Brown said.

You know how much fun those guys have being teammates and how happy they are for Gabe to have that opportunity to play in his first NHL game.

...

To get down there and to wear the Perreault jerseys was just a testament to all of them and how close a group they are.

Perreault wasnt wearing his Boston College number Wednesday, since forward Arthur Kaliyev, out for the season with an upper-body injury, has No.

34 for the Rangers.

Instead he took the ice in No.

94 the number that his father, Yanic, wore for much of a 14-year NHL career in the 1990s and 2000s.

It was very special that he picked that number, Yanic said.

I think it looks good on him.

And the old jerseys looked good on his friends.

Perreault, who called his Boston College teammates brothers for life after signing his entry-level contract earlier this week , knew they were coming to the game, having received a heads-up text.

Sophomore Will Vote said they even tried persuading Perreault to ask for the Eagles players to read the starting lineup in the Rangers dressing room before the game.

That was a no-go, Vote said with a laugh.

Since the Bruins-Capitals game was in Boston, the entire Eagles team went.

During the game, Brown heard several of his players plotting to get to New York.

Seven Boston College players ended up making the trip: Minnetian, Vote, Joyce, Timmy Delay, Jacob Fowler, Will Traeger and Rangers prospect Drew Fortescue.

Fortescue is from the New York area, so the group made a quick pregame stop at his familys house en route to the city.

Advertisement Brady Berard, whose older brother, Brett, plays for the Rangers, was a notable omission from the crew.

The younger Berard was at Leonards debut and really wanted to come to Perreaults, Minnetian said, but he had two academic tests on Thursday.

Brady at least got to visit Madison Square Garden earlier in the year for Bretts debut, catching a last-minute flight from Boston and arriving shortly after puck drop.

Alas, a second spontaneous trip wasnt in the cards this season.

On the ice, Perreault showed off his vision and playmaking ability early in the Rangers 5-4 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild.

He deked Mats Zuccarello in the slot on his second shift, then tried to feed Alexis Lafreniere with a backdoor pass.

A Wild defender managed to graze the puck with their stick, so Lafreniere couldnt get a shot off and fell to the ice reaching for it.

Even if the play didnt result in a goal, Perreault said it helped him get more comfortable in the flow of the game.

He nearly picked up his first point by feeding Jonny Brodzinski on a power play, but Brodzinskis shot hit the post.

You can see his game and the way he thinks the game out there, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.

Im sure the next one and the one after that theyll be a little more natural for him as opposed to the first one, but I thought he played really well.

It wasnt a seamless debut; Perreault accidentally deflected a Brock Faber shot past Igor Shesterkin for a Wild goal.

But, all in all, it was a good one, especially since the Rangers picked up two much-needed points in the wild-card race.

One NHL scout who watched the game remarked that Perreault, who had three shots in 13:38 of ice time, makes offensive plays you cant teach.

The 19-year-olds new teammates agreed.

That caliber of player, theres not that many of them, linemate Lafreniere said.

Advertisement Perreaults buddies got to take in the game from the lower bowl, sitting in the row behind Perreaults family: father Yanic, mother July, siblings Lily and Jeremy.

Yanic got a kick out of them yelling at Perreault to shoot the puck whenever he had possession.

Many of the Boston College players had never been to Madison Square Garden before, so that added to the experience.

Its pretty unreal, said Delay as he looked around at the dining options on the concourse.

You dont really see a TAO Sushi place at TD Garden, so its a little bit different.

(Conte Forum at Boston College doesnt have sushi options either, though Vote chimed in that the school boasts the best hot dogs in college hockey.) Brown thought his players making such an effort to support both Leonard and Perreault speaks volumes to the character of the now-NHLers.

Before the Rangers-Wild game, the beaming Boston College players pulled their phones out to film Perreaults solo rookie lap.

The in-arena camera put them on the video board.

Perreault smiled and nudged the glass multiple times during warmups, and flipped his friends a puck as a souvenir.

Well keep it in our (dorm) room next year for sure, Minnetian said.

Perreault wont be there anymore.

The symbol of a shared memory will have to do.

(Top photo of Perreault with his pals: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images).

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