LI's Adam Fox receives an 'A' for his leadership effort

GREENBURGH — Adam Fox never got the chance to wear a letter on the front of his jersey when he was in college. At Harvard, they don’t stitch an “A” on the jerseys of alternate captains, and while Fox was supposed to have gotten the captain’s “C” in his senior year, he didn’t go back for that year, signing with the Rangers instead.

But Fox, the Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2021 and the runner-up last season, will get to wear an “A” this season. The Rangers announced Sunday that he’s been added to the leadership group as a fifth alternate captain.

“It’s obviously a pretty big honor,’’ said Fox, a Jericho native. “It’s nice to have that trust and responsibility.’’

“I think that this is a natural progression for a person and a player like Adam,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “Certainly well-deserved and earned.’’

Fox, 25, said it was a little bit of a surprise to hear he’d been added to the leadership group, which features captain Jacob Trouba and alternates Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Barclay Goodrow.

“We have a great leadership group, and nothing’s changing with that,’’ he said. “I think you want to be a leader, letter or not .  .  . But it really doesn’t change how I’m going to approach anything.’’

Trouba said: “How he handles himself, how he carries himself at the rink . . . obviously, the way he plays, he’s a big, big piece of our team, a big leader on our team.

“Over the last couple of years, he’s gotten more comfortable around the rink, around the locker room, and more vocal. And I think it’s just a natural progression for him to step into that role and continue to grow as a leader.’’

Laffy back on left side

After missing Saturday’s practice with what the team called an upper-body injury, Alexis Lafreniere was back Sunday, wearing a red no-contact jersey. But he skated on left wing, rather than on the right side, where he has been for most of camp and the preseason.

Laviolette insisted he isn’t necessarily moving Lafreniere back to his natural left side.

“I think that it’ll depend on how things shake out here in the next couple of days,’’ the coach said, referring to making sure everyone is healthy and available for Thursday’s regular-season opener in Buffalo. “I think on the left or the right, he’ll be fine. I think there’s guys that can play either side, and we’re just trying to give reps to players to show what they can do on different sides of the ice.’’

One of those is rookie Will Cuylle, a lifelong left wing who played right wing on a line with Panarin and Filip Chytil the last two practices.

“It is something that I’m considering,’’ Laviolette said of Cuylle on the right. “You need to fill holes and put things together, and so he’s gotten an opportunity on the right. And he’s looked good in practice.’’

Cuylle was named the winner of the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, given to the best rookie in training camp.

Chytil taking it slow

Chytil (upper-body injury) remained in a non-contact jersey for the second straight day.

“I know I missed a lot of practices, a lot of games, that would [have] helped me to be ready for the season, but what can I do about that?’’ he said. “It just happened, and it’s better to be healthy and play healthy from the first game.’’

He said he did not suffer the injury in practice.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.