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He walked into the locker room wide-eyed, did a double take at his nameplate while putting his helmet on the top shelf, and wiped the ice shavings off the blades of his skates like he has a million times before.
But when he settled in, caught his breath from his first practice, and walked in front of the throng of cameras, it was clear Chris Kreider was here, that he was with the Rangers.
“It was a pretty quick turnaround,” said the former Boston College star, who won his second national championship in three years on Saturday in Tampa, signed his professional contract on Tuesday, and skated with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference yesterday in Westchester.
“Day 1 was pretty exciting,” Kreider said. “I was just happy to get on the ice.”
With the Rangers preparing to play the first game of their opening-round playoff series against the Senators tonight at the Garden, Kreider was treated no differently than anyone else joining the meritocracy that is John Tortorella’s squad.
“They definitely sent the message that if you want to play you’re going to have to prove that you’re ready to play,” said Kreider, who admitted he hasn’t had much time to talk to Tortorella or the coaching staff. “You’re going to have to earn you ice time, which is the way it should be.”
Tortorella addressed the topic briefly, giving a blanket statement about Kreider, then saying he wouldn’t take any questions on the topic.
“We are happy he’s here, and he’s a Ranger,” Tortorella said. “From there, we go day-by-day.
“I’m not going to tell you our lineups. I’m not going to get into any of that,” the coach added. “But this is a young man that we feel has a great future, and it started with us today. He’s signed, he’s us, and we move on with our business.”
Even with his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame, it’s tough to see Kreider immediately breaking into the lineup. Yesterday, he skated as the fourth body on a line with another former Boston College star, Brian Boyle, flanked by Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Dubinsky.
Kreider said he prefers to play wing, the position he played this season with the Eagles when he tallied 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists) in 44 games. At 20 years old, Kreider was the Rangers’ first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2009 Entry Draft. By signing his entry-level contract now, he burns through the first year of his three-year deal, reported to carry an annual salary-cap hit of about $1.3 million.
“They were pretty adamant about getting started and getting down here as soon as possible,” Kreider said. “I wanted to do that. I wanted to help any way I could.”
bcyrgalis@nypost.com