Cole Beaudoin wasted no time making an impression in his first professional season. The former OHL superstar made his professional debut with the Barrie Colts, posting a goal and two assists in the Hartford Wolf Pack’s 5-2 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the season opener.
Beaudoin followed that up with a pair of assists against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He didn’t exactly look like a rookie in his first two games. In fact, he looked like he might be ready for more.
The New York Rangers agreed, recalling the 20-year-old acquired from the Utah Mammoths in the Vincent Trocheck trade. The club had progress due to an injury to Joe Veleno and made the decision to move up one of their top prospects.
UPDATE: #NYR: recalled Cole Beaudoin from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Additionally, defenseman Matthew Robertson was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack. pic.twitter.com/gaoexGNZUY
— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) October 6, 2026
Beaudoin was selected in the first round, 24th overall in 2024 by Utah. He went to the Rangers along with Sean Durzi and was selected in the third round with US Olympian Vincent Trocheck going the other way. Losing Bowdoin was a bit of a price to pay for Utah, but they got some needed veteran help and have some depth at center in their prospect system.
As a result, the Rangers were able to acquire a player with a number of NHL attributes, showing almost all of them in his first weekend in the AHL.
Five points in his first two games, both on the road, was a particularly impressive display. Head coach Jay Leach came away impressed, according to Inside AHL’s Tony Androkitis. Here is Baudouin’s own assessment of his game.
“That’s my game to a T. It predicts, catches drums and plays.”
After five points in his first five seasons of professional hockey (1G-4A), Cole Beaudoin has made an impressive first impression. @HWPHockey this weekend.
The full interview @InsideAHLHockey ⤵️ https://t.co/2I6M9GQ35q pic.twitter.com/7Drqohbzw1
— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) October 5, 2026
What stood out to me in the games, both of which I watched over the weekend, was that Baudouin plays such a mature, heady game. We already knew that from how well he played in Barrie last season. But there is always the question of a player doing it against the under-20s and how they will fare against the pros.
Beaudoin was ahead of the pace, making plays, and he was a ton of distractions. There is very little that stands out about Baudouin’s game. He is efficient. It’s always been obvious, but to see it work against the pros was validation based on his rapid growth as a young player.
Now another big step is looming as Bodon will have a chance to enter the NHL ranks. The only question at this point is if we’ll ever see him in the AHL.
A solid 6-foot-2, 212-pound center who doesn’t push his feet, has enough touch to create offensively and has the know-how to be a strong two-way player, he will quickly impress NHL coaches.
I figured Beaudoin would make the NHL roster at some point this season. I didn’t expect that after just two AHL games. Just goes to show how compelling those two games were.
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