The players in the Rangers’ organization who know Dan Muse best have been around for barely a full week.
Muse, hired as part of new head coach Peter Laviolette’s staff of assistants, along with Phil Housley and Michael Peca, most recently ran the U.S. National Team Development Program for the last three seasons.
As a result, he had a front-row seat to watch the players who became the Rangers’ first draft picks last week in Nashville: Gabriel Perreault and Drew Fortescue.
“I think he was great for me,” Perreault told The Post after the Rangers wrapped up development camp with an intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday. “Kinda taught me a lot of things. That was the guy I needed at the program. Having him was pretty cool.”
As an assistant with the Rangers, Muse will have less influence over things than he did in Plymouth, Mich., with Team USA.
Still, Perreault was quick to highlight Muse’s ability to communicate with players.
“He’s a really good coach,” Perreault said. “He knows a lot of structure. He’s great. But at the same time, he lets guys play and he’s a player’s coach. I think that’s what he’ll bring.”
Muse has NHL experience from three years on Laviolette’s staff with the Predators.
Prior to that, he was the head coach of the USHL’s Chicago Steel and had assistant coaching jobs at Yale, Sacred Heart and Williams.
He also had a two-year stint as the video coach at Team USA’s U20 program.
With Team USA, Muse won the gold medal in the IIHF U18 World Championships just a few months ago.
“He’s a great coach,” Fortescue told The Post. “He’s a great leader. He’s someone that helped me with my game. I think he’s someone that can bring a lot to the table for the Rangers and help all their players develop and keep getting better throughout the year.”
Development is not stressed in the same way for a veteran-laden NHL team as it would be with a group of youngsters.
But it’s no secret that one of the mandates of the Rangers’ newly installed coaching staff is to get Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko to play more in line with what’s expected of players selected No. 1 and No. 2 overall in their respective draft classes.
“You certainly would like to see them take the next step: more minutes, maybe a little higher up in the lineup, maybe more power-play time,” Laviolette said at his introductory press conference. “With that, there has to be opportunity. These conversations will take place. I certainly would like that. Those opportunities will be there for them to grab that ice time and to push.”
Muse figures to be a part of that equation, and Fortescue spoke positively about his impact on the USNTDP.
“We did a lot of D stuff and I think as a coach, he’s just kind of there for his players,” Fortescue said. “He’s a great leader and someone who’s a great coach to have.”
Fortescue, who will join Perreault as a freshman at Boston College this fall, said Muse’s impact was not just limited to his game on the ice, but to helping adjust to the environment at the USNTDP.
“I think defensively and my daily habits, just learning to be a pro from him, cause he coached in Nashville before coming to the program,” the third-round pick said. “So learning how to act and how you gotta bring it every day and be at your best is what I got from him.”
Defenseman Brandon Scanlin was the only Ranger to file for arbitration ahead of the 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline.
Scanlin’s qualifying offer came in at $874,125 as a two-way deal.
The defenseman, a restricted free agent, has yet to make his NHL debut
