Reilly Smith is not intimidated by the difficult task of working with the Rangers stars

The Rangers' training camp is in full swing, the first friendly is scheduled for Sunday evening and with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad there is a new face on the right wing.

Like clockwork, Reilly Smith was signed by the Penguins on July 1 to fill a void that had been filled by several other faces – new and old – over the past eight years.

There is no longer any need to count them or list their names. Everyone knows that this is an extensive list of players with a wide range of skills and backgrounds.

Is that intimidating for Smith as he prepares to make his debut on the Blueshirt team?

“I don't think so,” he told The Post after an intra-team scrimmage with the non-game group on Sunday. “They're obviously incredibly talented players and there are players who have had success (with them), but success comes in waves in the NHL. Sometimes it's hard to sustain that for an entire season.”

“My job here is to take it game by game and do what I can. When I play with them or anyone else, my goal is to help the team win.”

Most likely, Smith will open the 2024-25 season as RW1.

The challenge of bringing together two players who have been running together for years is to understand them quickly, he said.

The chemistry between the two won't develop overnight, but Smith said he tries to pay close attention to what Kreider and Zibanejad are doing, what they're trying to do and what they're thinking on the ice. So far, Smith said, he thinks the two are responding well to him.

“They're two incredible players,” Smith said. “I think their accomplishments throughout their careers speak for themselves. It's a joy for everyone in this locker room to be able to play with them. Whether it's those two guys or anyone else, I'm going to do my best to complement their game.”

After the Penguins failed to make the playoffs last season, Smith had a long summer in which the 33-year-old recorded 13 goals and 27 assists in 76 games. Just one season earlier, Smith had won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights as one of the organization's founding members.

On the first day of training camp, he expressed his excitement about joining a competitive team like the Rangers.

“I think my role depends on how I play and it can always expand with what I can bring to the table,” Smith said. “You try to bring your best to the ice and connect with the guys as quickly as possible. There are a lot of new guys and we're trying to bring a lot of structure to it.”

Smith is expected to join the Rangers' penalty killer from last season, ranked No. 3 in the rankings, and be a key part of the Ontario native's game.

Like several other Rangers penalty killers, Smith has spent a lot of time on the power play in his career and attributes that to his success in shorthanded situations. Over the course of 13 seasons, he has scored 13 shorthanded goals. The Rangers scored eight as a team last season.

“I love playing the extra minutes shorthanded,” he said. “I think it definitely helps me. I also like creating offense shorthanded. Last year it was tough not getting as many minutes as I was used to. Hopefully I get that opportunity here and can take advantage of it. When I played against the Rangers last year, they created as much offense – at least against us – as we did on the power play. It's exciting to be able to join that group and be part of a shorthanded game that's also offensively oriented.”

The 13-year NHL veteran is also not the first in his family to enter the halls of the MSG Training Center.

His brother Brendan Smith spent parts of five seasons in New York. Now he's starting his first season with the Dallas Stars. Naturally, the two talked about the older brother's time with the Rangers, and Reilly actually met Kreider through Brendan.

“He always said that the Rangers are a world-class organization and that you take care of not only yourself but your family and your everyday lifestyle,” Smith said. “Things that can be a little difficult when you're a professional athlete. He always had good things to say about that organization.”