There were Ryan Callahan, Brad Richards, Marc Staal, Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist & Co. going through serious puck-battle drills and even a stretch of semi bag-skating at the Rangers’ practice rink in what was advertised as an informal workout pending NHLPA ratification of the CBA.
But if there were familiar people engaging in familiar hard work in a session that lasted nearly 90 minutes, the coach supervising the drills was an unfamiliar face. With NHL coaching staffs barred from working with their teams until Sunday’s tentatively scheduled opening day of training camp, and with John Tortorella monitoring from the management perch up above, the whistle was worn by Chris Cosentino, coach of the NYU club hockey team.
“Being on the ice with these players is pretty surreal, to be honest with you,” Cosentino told The Post by phone last night. “To see the look in these guys’ eyes, the edge with which they skate even in these practices, beyond the obvious talent level, that’s what sets them apart.
“The focus is special. You hear all these things about this Rangers team, how they work so hard, how they work so hard for each other, and I’m telling you, I can feel that by being on the ice with them for the last couple of days.”
Cosentino is a 30-year-old native New Yorker who was Matt Gilroy’s teammate at St. Mary’s High School (Manhasset) before playing college hockey at Iona and Geneseo. His career cut short by injuries, Cosentino coached the New York Apple Corps Junior A team (Eastern Junior Hockey League) before moving to NYU three years ago.
The coach developed a relationship with Tortorella this fall after an interaction about The Tortorella Family Foundation’s work with rescue dogs. After attending the September dog walk charity event hosted by Tortorella, Cosentino invited the Rangers’ coach to address his NYU players, which he did in late October.
“It was awesome, our guys are still talking about it,” Cosentino said. “There were some X’s and O’s, he did take the grease board out, but Coach’s message was about values. It was a message about what it takes to be a winner, what it means to commit to hard work, not only on the ice or not only as an athlete, but in life, and as an individual.
“Our guys took it seriously,” said Cosentino, whose team is 10-5 competing in the Northeast Division of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. “Coach made an impression.”
As the Rangers are making an impression on Cosentino, a one-time intern in the club’s public relations department who would like nothing more than to see NYU evolve into a varsity program.
“I had admired Coach from afar for a long time, and to have developed a relationship with him is pretty special to me, personally,” Cosentino said. “To hear him speak about values and then see it translated into action on the ice is also special.
“These guys are all business. These are the kind of people you want on your team. This is an experience I can learn from. It’s certainly one I’m never going to forget.”
* Michael Del Zotto remains unsigned following three days of talks between his camp and management. The defenseman, who has been on the ice for the informal workouts, will not be permitted to participate in camp until he is under contract. … It appears Wade Redden will sit out the season at home at the Rangers’ request in order to ensure he does not get hurt and thus jeopardize the planned postseason compliance buyout of the final year of his contract.