But in early August, some of the very same players who will be partaking in Tortorella’s grueling workouts were on the ice at the MSG Training Center in a much lighter mood. Over the span of two weeks, five current Rangers, along with former Blueshirts’ legend Adam Graves and several instructors, helped run the Rangers Youth Hockey Camp, dispensing good will and on-ice advice.
 
“We’re lucky in this sport that there are so many great guys who are so warm and open with the kids,” said Graves, who currently works for the Rangers in the club’s hockey and business operations departments. “The kids just feed off of that positive energy.”
 
Team captain Chris Drury, forwards Sean Avery, Ryan Callahan and Aaron Voros, and defenseman Matt Gilroy thrilled the children in attendance by leading on-ice drills, conducting question-and-answer sessions, and signing autographs.
 
“You see the excitement and enjoyment on their faces when you interact with them,” said Callahan, who notched a career-best 22 goals last season. “The chance to skate with an NHL player is something you do not forget. And for me, the chance to give back a little bit and to mentor these kids is an honor.”
 
This year’s camp ran in two separate weekly sessions, each with 105 children taking part. While most of the kids were from the tri-state area, there were some from other states, including Florida, and others from countries as far away as Norway and Slovakia.
 
Each week, the campers were split into three different groups, with each group gaining significant ice time at some point during the day. When not on the ice, the campers received instruction from the New York Knicks Street Team, the New York Titans, the Red Bulls of New York, and local collegiate players in basketball, lacrosse, soccer and baseball.
 
Hockey, though, was the primary sport for the campers. While the drills and on-ice instruction were an important function of the camp, perhaps more important was the casual interaction between the kids and the NHL players they watch on television or root for at Madison Square Garden.
 
“It must be a huge thrill for them, especially being at a facility like this where we practice and spend so much of our time,” Drury said. “It’s an exciting time for the kids, and it’s fun for me to meet some of the local kids and interact with them.”
 
For the players, spending time at this summer hockey camp brought back memories from their respective childhoods when these NHLers were the youngsters dreaming big.
 
“I have a real appreciation for what this means to these kids,” Graves said. “I started attending hockey schools when I was eight or nine and remember every summer looking forward to it. The novelty never got old.”
 
Like Graves, Avery was a hard-nosed boy growing up in the province of Ontario, attending hockey camps during the summer and hoping to one day play in the National Hockey League. He was more than willing to share those experiences with the youngsters at the Rangers Youth Hockey Camp.
 
“Certainly, as a player who once was a kid aspiring to be an NHL player, I understand that this is an exciting time for these kids,” Avery said. “Hopefully, there are some kids out there in Avery jerseys and I can help make their day a little bit.”
 
Drury, Voros, and Callahan each reflected on attending camps as kids where they met NHL players, the positive impact it had on them at the time, and how that motivates them now to donate their time and help out at the Rangers camp.
 
“Having the chance to meet and skate with NHL players when I was a kid had a profound effect on me,” said Voros, who grew up in British Columbia. “Now, it’s an exciting thing for me to be able to give back to the community.”
 
The memories created the past two weeks are likely to last forever for the campers. Whether it was Drury offering advice, or Avery trash-talking with a sly smile on his face, or Voros dropping to a knee to tie the lace on a youngster’s skate, or Callahan laughing with a group while twirling around the ice during warm-ups, the Rangers certainly offered a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the youngsters who took part in the camp.
 
“There is nothing better than a current player taking time out to share his time with the kids,” Graves said. “Just to share that camaraderie is something these kids will never forget.”