The New York Rangers need Pavel Dorofeyev to become their go-to goal scorer. Is he ready?

As news of Pavel Dorofeyev’s draft-night trade to the New York Rangers made the rounds, his phone flooded with well wishes. One of the messages came from Ben Prentiss, a Connecticut-based strength and conditioning coach who’s spent the last five summers working with the Blueshirts’ top new weapon.

“I gave him the ‘LFG!’” Prentiss said with a chuckle, using the acronym for “let’s f—ing go,” on a recent call with The Athletic. “He gave it back to me with the smiley face (emoji).”

The June 26 trade and subsequent contract extension marked the first time that Prentiss Hockey Performance’s director, who also serves as a consultant for the Rangers, could recall New York adding a player he trains. He’s among many associated with the organization who are fired up to have the 25-year-old winger in the fold for the next seven years.

That’s the length of the contract, worth $11 million in average annual value, that Dorofeyev inked shortly after the Rangers sent three draft picks, including two first-rounders, to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for his rights as a restricted free agent. Team president Chris Drury is banking on the high-scoring Russian to jolt an attack that’s stagnated in recent years.

“His unique skill set and his production, specifically in goals, is something that we were in need of,” Drury said on a July 2 conference call with reporters. “We targeted him, and we’re thrilled to be able to pull off a trade.”

Dorofeyev established himself as a premier sniper the past two seasons by combining to score 72 goals, which is tied for 15th in the NHL during that span. He added another 12 during Vegas’ run to the Stanley Cup Final this spring, effectively pricing himself out for the cap-crunched Knights.

The Rangers were anxious to foot the bill given the team’s recent struggles, which included finishing last in the Eastern Conference last season, and desire to retool with younger players. But now the onus falls on Dorofeyev to prove he’s ready to ascend from being the third or fourth option in Vegas to the go-to guy in New York.

“The pressure is a kind of privilege,” he said during his Rangers introductory Zoom call with media members on July 3. “I’ve been dealing with pressure all my life.”

A gifted scorer

Entering his first training camp as Golden Knights coach in 2022, Bruce Cassidy was given a list of three bubble players to watch, each of whom would need to clear waivers if they didn’t make the roster. Dorofeyev wasn’t among them, but he caught Cassidy’s eye nonetheless.

“There was just something about him at the time,” Cassidy told The Athletic. “He could score NHL goals, and by that I mean his shot could beat goalies off the wing. It wasn’t all one-timers. He scores on the power play and obviously has the one-timer, but he was willing to go into traffic. He was just a little bit slight then. He was still only, I think, 21, so the physical part wasn’t there. But that’s what I noticed about him.”

The 2019 third-round pick (No. 79) stuck around until the end of camp, appearing in five of Vegas’ six preseason contests. The Knights ultimately decided to protect Paul Cotter from waivers, rather than roll the dice on the exciting prospect, but Dorofeyev would be back later that season.

He scored seven goals in 18 NHL appearances as a rookie, then another 13 in 47 games the following season. Vegas’ loaded lineup was tough to crack, but there was no denying Dorofeyev by 2024-25. He exploded for 35 goals in his first full season, then another 37 in 2025-26.

His lethal left-handed shot clearly translated to the highest level — “It’s his gift,” said one Eastern Conference scout, speaking anonymously to offer a candid evaluation — but Cassidy was equally impressed by how he went about getting into shooting positions.

“He’s not just a perimeter guy,” Cassidy said. “He could always shoot. That part of his game he’s got more confidence in by playing with the power play and playing with top-end guys, but he’s really worked on his puck recovery and second effort on pucks to be able to create a little bit one-on-one on his own.”

Cassidy’s claims are reflected in the above data, found on NHL Edge.

This past season, Dorofeyev produced 82 high-danger shots on goal (95th percentile), converting 15 into goals (90th percentile). But his elite shot, with a max speed of 93.33 mph (93rd percentile), allowed him to do damage from longer distances, as well. He placed 77 shots on goal from mid-range areas (93rd percentile), with 10 turning into goals (also 93rd percentile).

“He’s accurate and he can beat goalies clean from a certain amount of distance, so that’s the first thing you notice,” Cassidy said. “But the fact that people have started noticing him and, I won’t say targeting him, but they’ll try to be physical with him — he’s been able to handle that part of the game much better. … He’s really done a good job of getting strong enough to play that type of game.”

Adding muscle, explosiveness

Cassidy credited Prentiss for building Dorofeyev’s body up to thrive in contested areas of the ice.

The unlikely relationship between the Russian player and U.S. trainer began in summer 2022 when Dorofeyev’s agent, Rick Komarow, called Prentiss. He had previously worked with another Komarow client, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, which established a foundation and prompted the agent to entrust him with Dorofeyev.

“I don’t want to say the rest is history,” Prentiss said, “because we’re still rolling here.”

So began the tradition of Dorofeyev and his wife, Valeria, spending their summers in southern Connecticut. It was there he met many NHL peers, including several future Rangers teammates, and trained in a group including Philadelphia Flyers forward Trevor Zegras and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

It’s fair to say that workout trio is having a good year.

“For Trevor to just sign (a four-year, $36.5 million contract extension), for Pavs to just sign, and then for Ghost to win the Stanley Cup, that group has had a nice time of it,” Prentiss said.

Adding muscle to Dorofeyev’s 6-foot-1 frame was part of the focus — he’s currently listed at 194 pounds — but the top priority was to make him more explosive. The results are reflected in his skating metrics.

After ranking below 50th percentile in every speed category during his first three partial NHL seasons, according to NHL Edge, Dorofeyev has largely been on the positive side. Last season was his best yet. He landed in the 54th percentile or better in every category, including in the 67th for speed bursts between 18-20 mph. (Dorofeyev had 428; the league average was 313.7.)

“Obviously, playing time matters with that, but that’s what our goal was, and that’s something that I’m proud of in his transition,” Prentiss said. “He already could rip the puck, but it’s a matter of giving him all those other things.”

Room for growth

Dorofeyev’s scoring prowess is undeniable, but some have questioned whether he’s a true top-of-the-lineup driver. A second Eastern Conference scout, who was similarly granted anonymity to speak candidly, called him “more of a complementary type of piece,” while stressing the importance of matching him up with skilled facilitators.

Cassidy acknowledged as much, to an extent, while pointing out that Dorofeyev clicked especially well with star linemate Mitch Marner this season. Ten of his 15 five-on-five goals were scored with Marner on the ice, while 20 of his 37 total goals came on the power play, where he was deployed in the faceoff circle on his one-timer side. But Cassidy pushed back on the notion that being a shooter, rather than a puck-carrying playmaker, makes Dorofeyev any less valuable.

“(Alex) Ovechkin needed someone to get him the puck,” Cassidy said. “And he’s the greatest goal scorer of all time.”

The former Golden Knights coach also believes there’s room for Dorofeyev, who’s never eclipsed 27 assists in a season, to grow as a passer due to his “hockey IQ.” Cassidy drew a comparison to David Pastrnak, whom he coached with the Boston Bruins. Pastrnak entered the league with the reputation as a goal scorer but has increased his assist numbers virtually every year.

Other aspects of Dorofeyev’s game will have to blossom for him to become the five-on-five force the Rangers need to help them rise from the ashes. His defensive role was limited under Cassidy — “The wingers, I will say, in our system probably had the least amount of responsibility,” the coach said — and required occasional reminders about “second effort on pucks on the forecheck.”

“A lot of times he would defer on that,” Cassidy added. “As a young scorer, that’s not unique to him.”

Some of those concerns showed up through sheltered late-game usage during Vegas’ playoff run. Under Cassidy’s replacement, John Tortorella, Dorofeyev sat 13th among the Knights’ regular skaters and seventh among forwards with 12:50 average ice time per game at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Can ‘Score-a-feyev’ continue?

Staying engaged on the forecheck will remain a point of emphasis in Rangers coach Mike Sullivan’s 1-2-2 system, but the bottom line is that Dorofeyev needs to live up to his “Score-a-feyev” nickname to make the trade — and contract — worthwhile.

He must also show he can navigate all that comes with his elevated perch.

“Like a lot of goal scorers, if it dries up for him a little bit, does he let it bother him?” Cassidy asked. “Making that kind of money in that market, that’ll be the question mark for him now going forward. Because it’s going to be expected. Whereas before, when you’re not a big-dollar guy, sometimes you can get away with it.”

Ego shouldn’t be an issue. In nearly four seasons together in Vegas, Cassidy found Dorofeyev to require “no maintenance” and take all of his assignments in stride. He never complained about linemates, nor did he state a preference between playing left and right wing.

“He’s not a guy that’s in the coach’s office, like, ‘Hey, I need to play with this guy,’” said Cassidy, who noted his interchangeability at both LW and RW. “It was just, ‘I’ll play wherever, coach.’”

Both Cassidy and Prentiss described Dorofeyev as reserved off the ice, with the latter labeling him as “a chill guy” who’s “unflappable.” But while he prefers to quietly go about his business, Dorofeyev may not have that luxury under the New York spotlight.

Drury and the Rangers are making a sizable bet on the winger’s ability to meet the challenge and uplift their fledgling franchise.

“He’s a good kid,” Cassidy said. “I don’t think he’s going to be able to run from it or anything. It’s just that will be the next part of his growth. You get paid like a star, then you’re going to get scrutinized a little more, like most stars do.”