The New York Rangers and the fanbase expect big things from Braden Schneider.
Since playing his first games with the Rangers in 2021, we’ve seen Schneider grow and continue to develop every year.
Going into the 2025-26 season, there was an expectation among many that Schneider could take his biggest leap yet and blossom into a surefire top-four defenseman.
However, Mike Sullivan opted to keep Schneider on the bottom pairing in order to balance out his defensive core.
Schneider is averaging 18:16 minutes per game, which is fourth among Rangers’ defenseman, so Sullivan found a way to give Schneider top-four minutes while also keeping a balanced attack.
When it comes to his defensive game, Schneider likes where he’s at, but also knows there’s more he can unlock.
“I think it has had its ups and downs,” Schneider said of his game. “I’m feeling that I’m doing a lot of good things. I think when I’m playing at my best, I really like my game. I think it’s been going in the right direction. I really like my start. I think (there have been) a couple of hiccups, where you feel like you weren’t at your best. Overall, I think it’s been a pretty good start…
“I think I got to make sure that I’m steadily being physical. You got to make sure you’re doing the little details right. Boxing guys out, having good gaps, good stick details, making good outlet passes, and making sure you’re staying ready at all times.”
Sullivan has given Schneider an opportunity to expand his offensive game by awarding him a role on the second power-play unit.
The 24-year-old defenseman believes that this new opportunity has helped build up his offensive confidence.
“When you get those touches on the power play, there’s a little bit more swag, a little bit more bounce in your game,” Schneider said. “You want to try to create and produce in that way. It has helped my confidence and my game for sure.”
When watching Schneider play, it’s easy to see he has all of the tools and talent to blossom into an impactful top-four blueliner.
Now, it’s about putting everything together. When talking about Schneider, Sullivan used the word consistency.
Sullivan loves what Schneider brings to the table, but he wants to see him play at a more consistent level.
“Schneids has the ability, very similar to Will Borgen, to bring a certain hardness to our defense core, both physically, but also with his mobility and his stick and just being hard to play against… I think Schneids can bring that dimension to our team. I think he can do it a little bit more consistently than he has to this point. That’s a conversation that we’ve had,” Sullivan said.
“I think he’s had moments in games where he’s noticeable with how well he defends, how physical he is, he’s strong, he has good size, he has got real good mobility, he doesn’t get beat wide hardly at all because of his mobility. The challenge is bringing that consistently game in and game out.”
There’s even more to Schneider’s game that we have yet to see.
Sullivan fully believes in Schneider’s potential. It’s the consistency aspect that Sullivan wants to see Schneider figure out, and we’ll see if he’s able to take those critical steps, which will help him reach his ultimate potential.
With The Walking Dead being about a zombie apocalypse, deaths were inevitable. However, the show knew just how to crush you with them. You had watched characters grow from strangers into family, laugh with them, fight with them, cry with them, and just when you thought you understood this brutal world, the show would yank them away.
It didn’t matter how strong they were, how smart, how brave, or how clever. You could never predict who would survive, and that uncertainty was part of the torment. Some deaths were sudden, while others unfolded with agonizing slowness. But each hurt just the same, especially if it was one of your favorites.
And then came that episode… The one that broke everyone. The one that didn’t just kill one beloved character, but two. A double heartbreak that felt cruel, almost sadistic, like the show was testing how much pain you could take before you shattered completely. Remember the fourth episode of
I had a rewatch session of this particular episode recently, and honestly, it still hit like the first time. Maybe even harder. I thought I was prepared for it because I already knew what was coming, but nothing, and I mean nothing, can truly prepare you for reliving that kind of heartbreak.
Titled “Killer Within,” the fourth episode starts off deceptively calm, almost serene. The group has settled into the prison, doing their best to carve out a sense of normalcy. But that peace is fragile, and the show wastes no time reminding viewers that in this world, safety is an illusion. Suddenly, the prison is overrun with walkers. We find out later in the episode that a surviving prisoner that Rick had left behind had cut the locks on a gate, intentionally letting the undead inside.
In the middle of the mayhem, T-Dog, one of the original Atlanta survivors, is bitten while desperately trying to secure the prison. Instead of fleeing, he throws himself into the fray to protect Carol, holding off the walkers long enough for her to escape. His sacrifice is both heroic and soul-crushing. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the prison, another tragedy unfolds. Lori goes into labor with no medical supplies and walkers closing in from all sides.
She, Maggie, and Carl retreat to a boiler room, where it quickly becomes clear that Lori will not survive. In a scene that has haunted fans for years, Lori instructs Maggie to perform a C-section to save the baby, fully aware it will cost her life. Her final moments with Carl are heartrending. She tells him that he is smart, he is strong, and that she loves him. Carl stays by her side until the end, and after the baby is delivered, he makes the tough decision to shoot his own mother, ensuring she will not turn.
But the heartbreak doesn’t stop there. Oh no. The Walking Dead has to deliver that one last gut-punch to really send you over. Rick finally reunites with the others and sees Maggie walk out of the prison with Judith in her arms and Carl by her side. However, Rick quickly notices that Lori is missing. He asks Maggie where she is, and all Maggie can do is stare at him with pain in her eyes.
And then it finally hits Rick. Lori didn’t make it, and he immediately breaks down. He collapses to the ground, and all that can be heard is his loud sobbing while the others stand around in silence. That’s how