Mancini signed a professional contract with the Rangers in April 2024.[3] He played seven games for the Rangers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, at the end of the 2023–24 season, collecting three assists.[7] He added three assists in 10 playoff games with Hartford.[7][8]
Mancini had a strong training camp for the Rangers in the fall of 2024.[9][10] That, along with his ability to play on the left side despite being a right-handed shot, gave Mancini an opportunity to earn a spot on the Rangers opening night roster for the 2024–25 season after an injury to Rangers' regular defenseman Ryan Lindgren.[9] Mancini was demoted to Hartford along with several other waiver-exempt players two days before the start of the regular season in a move to save salary cap space, but was recalled to the Rangers prior to their opening game.[11][12] He made his NHL debut in the Rangers' opening night game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 9, 2024.[13] He scored his first NHL goal against his home-state team, the Detroit Red Wings, on October 17.[14]
On January 31, 2025, Mancini, center Filip Chytil and a conditional 2025 first-round pick were traded to the Canucks in exchange for forward J. T. Miller, defenseman Erik Brännström and the rights to defenseman Jackson Dorrington.[15]
Playing style
Upon being drafted, Mancini's main attributes were his strength and physicality.[2] According to hockey scout Jess Rubenstein, Mancini is "the prototype stay-at-home defenseman, with excellent on-ice vision. He's more a passer than a scorer but his offense is coming around. His game is a lot like Marc Staal's when Marc was a Ranger."[16]
Mancini described his game as follows:
It’s a two-way defenseman. It starts in the defensive zone. I take pride in shutting plays down, playing a tough, physical game. But being able to win pucks and then I feel like my vision is a strong part of my game. So using my vision to break out my team and kind of starting the offense in our defensive zone, getting the puck into the forward’s hands and on the offensive side, being able to join that second layer and find open areas.[citation needed]
Early in the 2024–25 season Rangers' head coach Peter Laviolette said of why he was keeping Mancini on the team, despite Lindgren's return:
A little bit of everything to be honest, it’s his skating, it’s his size, it’s his poise with the puck. He plays a physical game inside of his own elements. He’s big and he’s hard to play against. He does the right things with the puck. He’s very coachable as well. I think he’s had a really strong start to the season.[17]
