Rangers’ Prospect Noah Laba Has Turned Heads and Deserves Third Center Role

Laba looks ready to embrace a bottom-six role. He’s won his share of puck battles and has shown plenty of playmaking aptitude. He seems certainly capable of lining up at 3C, though it’s possible that Juuso Parssinen could be preferred for that role to begin the 2025-26 regular season.

If we’re comparing the two centers, it’s clear that Laba has done more to impress the Rangers’ coaching staff. Parssinen is more experienced, and the Blueshirts do not want to risk exposing him to waivers.

It’s possible that the Rangers could carry both centers to open the season, though Laba might end up being sacrificed to the AHL to accommodate veterans. That would be a shame because Laba has done everything possible to make the opening night roster.

The 22-year-old pivot plays a fast game across 200 feet of ice. Laba has skated in each of the Rangers’ three preseason games and has recorded at least one assist in each of the exhibition contests. Through three preseason appearances, he’s collected four assists, registered six shots and won 18 of 32 face-offs (56 percent).

Laba was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL entry draft. Following his final season at Colorado College, he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers on Mar. 19, 2025.

The 6-foot-2, 214-pound center was productive in 11 games for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, registering three goals and two assists.

If the Rangers opt to send Laba to Hartford to open 2025-26, he’ll get a larger slice of ice time for his development and will be waiting in the wings for his chance to return to “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”