A new NHL season is nearly upon us. Teams across the league are preparing to open training camp, with the New York Rangers’ rookies scheduled to take the MSG Training Center ice for the first time Friday, followed by scrimmages against the Philadelphia Flyers’ rookies Saturday and Sunday at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. Veteran players will report for main camp next week.Several new faces will report to camp after a busy offseason for team president Chris Drury, who notably traded for scoring winger Pavel Dorofeyev and defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson and signed depth forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand, Eeli Tolvanen and Joe Veleno. All six are expected to make the opening night lineup, with specific roles to be revealed in the coming weeks. Young players such as Jaroslav Chmelař, Adam Sýkora and top prospect Alberts Šmits will compete to show they’re ready for opportunities in New York.A maximum of 23 players can make the final roster, but more will be required over a season that’s bumping up to 84 games. That has us thinking not only about the leading candidates to make the NHL cut, but also the immediate depth behind them.Over the next two days, we’ll examine the Rangers’ depth chart at every position, starting with the forwards, followed by defensemen and goalies. The first four players listed are the favorites to crack the lineup, but we’ve also included the next four to go eight deep at each spot. This isn’t the same as our recent prospect ranking series, which attempted to evaluate development trajectories and project long-term upside. This exercise is based on each player’s likelihood of making the roster and/or receiving the first call in the event of injury.The resulting depth charts are fluid, with certain depth veterans ahead of prospects who are expected to open with AHL Hartford. That could change during camp and especially during the season, but consider this the starting point.* denotes rookie statusLeft wingNHL-bound