The New York Rangers have been one of the NHL’s most successful teams in recent seasons, winning the 2024 Presidents’ Trophy and now sitting atop the standings to begin the 2024-25 season. The fanbase’s focus has been on the NHL team’s performance, causing many prospects’ success to fly under the radar. One of these prospects is Noah Laba, a 21-year-old who has quietly emerged as one of the top players in college hockey.
Laba was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft by the Rangers as a member of the Lincoln Stars in the United States Hockey League (USHL). He is a 6-foot-2 center with a smart, physical, and professional-style game. After his USHL career, he joined Colorado College and quickly became one of the program’s most impactful players.
Two years after being drafted, Laba has earned honors as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (NCHC) Defensive Forward of the Year, the NCHC Three Stars Award, a spot on the NCHC First All-Star Team, and a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award. The Minnesota native recently spoke with Michael Ostrower of The Hockey Writers about his journey through the USHL, his decision to join Colorado, and what his future could hold in New York City.
Laba’s Gamble Paid Off
The USHL has developed many of the United States’ top stars, including Kyle Connor, Macklin Celebrini, Owen Power, and others. Laba went undrafted in the 2020 USHL Draft—a significant setback in his hockey career—but an invitation to training camp from one of the Lincoln Stars’ assistant coaches inspired him to keep pursuing a roster spot. Four years later, he couldn’t be more pleased with how everything has turned out.
“Obviously, Lincoln is really special to me,” Laba said. “I didn’t get drafted in the USHL and [Lincoln’s] assistant coach, Nick Peruzzi, invited me to camp. I wasn’t going to go but he strongly suggested I did. The camp went well and I made the team. Ever since then, it has been great. Even with the two different coaching staffs I had while with the program, the development was great. Both coaching staffs helped me on and off the ice, just understanding what it takes to play in the USHL and college. The opportunity the program gave me was huge and the organization’s focus on development helped me a lot.”
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After two strong seasons with the Stars, Laba had options on what was next. He had the ability to join a premier collegiate program, but he chose Colorado College — a program coming off of a 9-24-3 record. The decision may have seemed questionable, but the reasoning was sound.
“The number one reason I joined [Colorado College] was the coaching staff… I wanted to help turn the struggling program around and build something. I didn’t want to just join an already successful program. I wanted to come here to be able to get a lot of opportunities and try to build this program with my teammates. I also had a few lifelong friends come here like Kaidan Mbereko and Ethan Straky, so to be able to build up a program with them was something I could not pass up.”
Alongside Straky, Laba was elected assistant captain ahead of the 2024-25 season. Following the announcement, head coach Kris Mayotte said “We are fortunate to have a phenomenal locker room, filled with leaders. For these three to be voted into these roles by their peers speaks to the impact they have had at [Colorado College] as players and as people.”
Colorado went 13-22-3 in Laba’s freshman season, but that record did not last long. In his sophomore season, the team went 21-13-3, and now in 2024-25, they are nationally ranked.
When asked about the program’s sudden improvement, Laba said, “I think culture is a big thing. When we first came in [in 2022], it was almost frowned upon to put in extra work. It wasn’t the norm. Nobody was held to a very high standard. We now have the leaders going out and getting extra time on the ice. We are doing a lot more of the little things. We also have the swagger and confidence as a team to go into games no longer being scared of the teams we were [scared of] freshman year. We are a lot more confident and believe we should win each game, especially when we play our game.”
Individually, Laba also took massive strides during his sophomore season. He finished the year with 20 goals and 37 points in 36 games and was widely recognized as one of the best two-way players in college hockey.
21 seconds into OT, that's all it took to remind us how special Noah Laba is😆#CCTigers pic.twitter.com/JxdLhlKGVw
— CC Hockey (@CCTigerHKY) October 12, 2024
Discussing his growth, Laba stated it “comes with time and experience. It also comes with team success. With us winning more games, the individual is more successful and I took advantage of that. I have also gotten more comfortable with my teammates and grown chemistry with them. I trained a lot in the summer and continue working on my game, focusing on getting bigger and stronger. Just taking those steps year-to-year.”
Laba’s Path to the Rangers
While Laba’s focus remains on the college season, he knows the next step in his hockey career is approaching. As a member of the Rangers organization, he is well aware of the franchise’s investment in his development. Over his two years with the organization, he has stayed in regular contact with the development coaches, who see a lot of promise in his game.
“[The Rangers] have a really great development staff. Tanner Glass has been my primary point of contact. He is such a great resource. He cares so much and is so knowledgeable. He really understands my game and is helping me translate into an NHL style of player.”
With professional hockey knocking on the doorstep, Laba had to make the tough decision to return to Colorado for another season, despite having the option to turn professional and fight for an NHL roster spot.
“Last season the Rangers pushed hard to sign me,” Laba revealed. “It was definitely a tough decision but I decided to come back to college. But now I hope to earn a contract at the end of this season and start my pro career.”
Laba’s focus is currently developing and winning with Colorado. Even with how far he has come in the past few years, he knows there is a lot of room for improvement and work left to achieve his dreams.
“Obviously, there are a ton of areas [in my game] I need to improve. The work never ends, especially if you want to play pro hockey. But I think my game should translate well to the pro level. I am fast and physical, both are important in the NHL. My game now feels pretty translatable but I am going to keep putting in the work and getting better in all aspects of the game.”
Laba still has room to grow, but his recent progress is an encouraging sign for the Rangers. He’s an exciting young center with a professional playing style, giving fans plenty to look forward to when he signs an entry-level contract and eventually makes his NHL debut.
