The New York Rangers don’t play NHL games until September, but a collection of players will be in action at the Shoulder Check Showcase charity game Thursday in Fairfield, Conn. Adam Fox, Matt Rempe, J.T. Miller, Pavel Dorofeyev, Drew Fortescue and Gabe Perreault will all play in the game, which aims to raise mental health awareness.Other than the charity game, the hockey front is relatively quiet. That makes now a good time for a mailbag. I’ll take Part 1 today, and colleague Vincent Z. Mercogliano will handle the second part later in the week.Let’s dig in.(Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.)Can Gabe Perreault get to Nikita Kucherov’s level?Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman and moreWe all know the floor, but what’s a pie-in-the-sky but also realistic ceiling for the 2026-27 team as currently rostered? — Kit Y. The Metropolitan Division is weaker than the Atlantic and guaranteed at least three playoff teams, so postseason hockey feels possible for the Rangers after their offseason additions. If Igor Shesterkin plays out of his mind or the Rangers get a favorable matchup (think Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh last year), New York could perhaps win a round. That feels like the realistic best-case scenario. The Rangers would need to add to their forward group before a deeper run becomes feasible.Is there a scenario where Alberts Šmits has such an outstanding camp that he not only makes the opening day roster but also bumps Marcus Pettersson down to the third pair? — Howard L. Even if Šmits was regarded by some evaluators as the most pro-ready defenseman in the 2026 draft class, getting second-pair minutes from him seems ambitious. Since the 2020 draft, only seven defensemen have played games the season immediately following their selection. Of those, only two — Matthew Schaefer with the Islanders in 2025-26 and J.J. Moser with the Coyotes in 2021-22 — played more than half their team’s games. Schaefer, a unicorn who receives praise from Hall of Famers and current stars alike, appeared in all 82 games and averaged 24:41 a night. Moser logged 43 games, averaging 18:42. In short, recent history doesn’t include many examples of a freshly drafted rookie slotting in on a second pair, and New York presumably didn’t give up a first-round pick for Pettersson, a player coach Mike Sullivan knows well from his time in Pittsburgh, to move to the third pair.If Šmits performs really well in camp, what’s the highest realistic spot he might take? — Keith N. As discussed in my response to Howard’s question, the third-pair left defense spot is probably the highest Šmits would get with a fully healthy defensive corps. That would bump Matthew Robertson to the extra defenseman. But even if Šmits is on the third pair, Sullivan could find ways to get him extra ice time, whether that’s by giving him special teams minutes or throwing him on the ice for occasional shifts with defensemen higher in the lineup.The Rangers have the option of playing Šmits in the AHL and allowing him to log big minutes and further round out his game. New York could also do a combination of the two approaches and reward him with some NHL games while still keeping him in the AHL for long stretches. That will come down to how he plays in camp and what the development staff believes is best for his game long term. That must remain the priority with a prospect of this caliber.