It would’ve been understandable if he wanted to prove the Kraken wrong, and publicly stated as such, after the organization who inked him to an entry-level deal as an undrafted forward — and then watched him get named the AHL’s top rookie and climb his way to the NHL — dumped him on waivers in February.
asserted
him → want → February
tRY IT NOWBut, Kartye said that night during the intermission interview, he wanted to prove the Rangers right for taking a chance on him instead of proving Seattle wrong.
asserted
Seattle → try → him
And after a strong training camp bled into the opening five games of the regular season, where the 25-year-old has already been promoted from the fourth line to the second line, Kartye has started to validate their decision to claim him.
uncertain
Kartye → bleed → him
Head coach Mike Sullivan called him a “dog on a bone on the puck,” and Kartye’s ability to win possession — something shaping his game since juniors — has allowed him to seamlessly mesh with Pavel Dorofeyev, their $77 million offseason splash, and J.T. Miller.
asserted
him → call → Dorofeyev
“When it happened,” Kartye told The Post on Monday of getting waived, “I kinda move from the last team that I was on and I focus on the team that I’m on now — and doing everything that I can to be successful here and help the team win here.
asserted
team → happen → everything
Kartye skated in 24 games with the Rangers last season after arriving, building some initial chemistry with Miller while collecting five goals and 14 points.
asserted
Kartye → skate → goals
He opened training camp last month on the fourth line, producing a goal in multiple training camp scrimmages and flashing his offensive instincts again in the final exhibition — when he sent a shot past the Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov.
asserted
he → open → Varlamov
Then, during the win in Detroit last week, Sullivan swapped Kartye and Oliver Bjorkstrand, attempting to ignite his second line with the speed and tenacity of Kartye.
asserted
Sullivan → swap → Kartye
They’ve become the Rangers’ top forward combination in terms of expected goals for percentage (69.79), according to Evolving-Hockey, and sit 10th leaguewide among forward lines with at least 20 minutes together.
uncertain
They → become → minutes
Kartye doesn’t want to change his identity, either.
asserted
Kartye → want → identity
He’s relied on it since his first year in juniors with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, when he went from not making the team to trying to carve out a role — with his goal totals climbing from four to 25 and then 45 in his three seasons there.
asserted
totals → rely → seasons
The Greyhounds worked to enhance his shot, Jamie Tardif, a former Greyhounds assistant and an assistant with AHL Hartford from 2022 through last season, told The Post.
asserted
Tardif → work → Post
They helped it become one that could thrive in tight and high-danger areas of the ice.
uncertain
that → help → ice
And along the way, Kartye developed the type of game that “can move up and down your lineup,” Tardif said.
asserted
Tardif → develop → lineup
“Whether Tye’s on a top line or a fourth line, his role and his identity as a player does not change,” Tardif said.
asserted
Tardif → ’ → player
To me, it’s no secret why he’s in that role, he’s in the top six, because he’s predictable, he’s dependable and guys want to play with him.
asserted
guys → ’ → him
Across three years with the Kraken, Kartye skated in 180 games and collected 20 goals and 41 points while also getting his first taste of postseason hockey during the 2023 playoffs.
asserted
Kartye → skate → playoffs
He went from undrafted to one of the sport’s biggest stages before, less than three years after those playoff games, hitting waivers in the middle of February with his hockey career again uncertain.
asserted
career → go → February
Then the Rangers gave him a fresh start.
asserted
Rangers → give → start
As a restricted free agent in the offseason, Kartye’s opportunity to be in the top six also doubles as an audition to play his way into the future of the organization.
asserted
opportunity → double → organization
Kartye likely won’t recapture the 40-goal output from his final year of juniors.
asserted
Kartye → recapture → juniors
He might not score with the same consistency as he did in those scrimmages and exhibitions, either.
uncertain
he → score → scrimmages
But the Blueshirts don’t need that from him.
asserted
Blueshirts → need → him
They just need the version of Kartye that prompted Sullivan’s first tweak of the top six this season in the first place.
asserted
that → need → place
The under-the-radar variables that, in turn, can help unlock the rest of the line.
asserted
that → help → line
“Without a doubt, we always have conversations with players like that that get moved up the lineup,” Sullivan said Monday. “ ‘Don’t change your game just because you moved up the lineup.
asserted
you → have → lineup
You got moved up the lineup because of the game that you’re playing.
asserted
you → move → that
Bring that element to the line, and everything will work.’ ”
asserted
everything → bring → line
The Aporia
