2024-2025 Carson Soucy report card

When the Rangers flipped the first pick in the third round of the 2025 draft–acquired for Reilly Smith–to Vancouver for Carson Soucy, there was a collective groan across most Rangers fans. It was an odd message to send, as the Rangers sold off expiring assets yet also bought on Carson Soucy as a potential 1LD next to Adam Fox. The results were a mixed bag, not nearly as bad as many (including myself) thought but nowhere near the impact move the Rangers needed on the blue line.

After arriving from Vancouver, Soucy played just four games before sitting as a healthy scratch, ironically as Adam Fox returned from injury. But Soucy was exceptionally bad in those four games, looking like he was skating in mud and becoming yet another punch line about Chris Drury’s moves on defense. The criticism was fair.

Soucy’s numbers, along with the rest of the Rangers, weren’t good. He put up 1-2-3 in 16 games, but he’s not a guy you rely on for offense. His numbers are a bit skewed, since they are mostly with Vancouver and not the Rangers, but it’s worth noting one particular skillset: Defending zone entries.

That’s an important piece to the puzzle, as Soucy’s defensive numbers in a vacuum are mediocre at best. But when you factor in that defensive zone entry skill (see: forcing dump ins), he can be a nice complement to a defense partner who is adept at retrieving the puck and moving it up the ice. This is why Soucy worked quite well with Fox despite the obvious deficiencies in his game.

This is where we see Carson Soucy at his best. The Soucy-Fox pair was a force and extremely dominant in their 146 minutes together. The duo put up a 60% shot share, 63% xG share, and 72% high danger shot share. You might default to Fox’s offensive abilities, but the duo was ridiculously good at limiting chances against, both quantity and quality. They were simply very good together.

Soucy can be a good enough defenseman in the right situation. I don’t think he should be alongside Fox all season, especially with Vlad Gavrikov in the picture, but if the Rangers have another defenseman who excels in retrievals and exits (perhaps Braden Schneider?), then Soucy may have a decent impact lower in the lineup.

2024-2025 Carson Soucy report card grade: C-