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Draft day is finally here: hopefully Jeff Gorton is ready for his close-up

June 22, 2018, 8:05 AM ET [1173 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers, with five picks in the first 48 selections overall, seven picks in the the first three rounds and 10 overall, have a chance to remake the organization. Regardless of your view on what type of rebuild New York is in - either short- or long-term - the entry draft affords the team a chance to stamp the path for the future. With all the rumors surrounding the first eight picks, or really beyond the first two, trying to pick who the Rangers will take is an exercise in futility.

A topic of interest has been will New York draft for need or go for the best player available. Rewind the clock one year and the Rangers went in both directions on the first round. Cognizant that a center was needed and hoping that he would be ready from Day 1, New York selected Lias Andersson, passing on Casey Middlestadt, who was thought to be two years away, and Gabe Vilardi etc. This is not a knock on Andersson, as I think he will wear an A or C on his chest and be a solid 2/3 line center. But if drafting for talent and not need, Middlestadt was the clear pick.

With the second pick of the first round, New York swung for the fences, connecting with Filip Chytil. Just barely meeting the age requirement for last year’s draft, the Rangers went for who they thought was the best player available and not the safe pick. With Klim Kostin and Eeli Tolvanen also available, New York had their pick of talent from whom to choose. Any one of the three would have made sense and it’s hard not to be with Chytil, who might have been a top-five and most certainly would have been a top-10 pick in this year’s draft.

Updated composite ranking of the top-100 as put together by @loserpoints:




Here are the 10 picks New York has overall: 9th overall, 26th overall, 28th overall, 39th overall, 48th overall, 70th overall, 88th overall, 101st overall, 132nd overall, 163rd overall. GM Jeff Gorton said that as of now the team plans on using all 10 picks but they also are in play. In addition, Darren Dreger stated that he does’t see New York chasing the big names (Tavares, Panarin, Kovalchuk, Karlsson). Looking for younger assets and plan on staying course. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period somewhat augmented this view, tweeting that the chatter around Awards week on Rangers has club exploring deals on Zuccarello, and teams been calling on Skjei. If Zucc is dealt, it could be to move up in the draft or add another younger asset. My view on Skjei is well-known; in short, I would extend him on a long-term deal as opposed to moving the player.

Here is Gorton:



Dreger on TSN:



New York could go in both directions. Early on it should be best player available. In the past few seasons, the Rangers have taken a weakness in goalie depth and made it a relative strength. Last year’s lack of options at center has been mostly remediated with who was added in the draft and before the trade deadline in Andersson, Chytil, Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, etc. But if a top quality/elite C drops or is available even at nine; by all means grab that player, even though it might not be the primary focus.

Despite adding Libor Hajek, Ryan Lindgren and Yegor Rykov in trade deadline moves, New York still requires depth in the blue line, especially in adding an elite back liner. Focusing on the right side, Evan Bouchard or Adam Boqvist, despite what Larry Brooks wrote Thursday, is likely the primary concern, but if Quinn Hughes by some miracle slipped to nine, then by all means grab him and work out the depth on the port side in the future. I do expect the Rangers to take at least one defenseman and possibly even up to three if they retain all seven picks they current have in the first three rounds Friday.

To me, though, the primary focus needs to at wing, with the main target a sniper. Acquiring a player that can create his own shot would be wonderful. However if the winger added needs a solid winger to put him in prime scoring position but he can convert on those opportunities due to a elite shot, then grab that player. That’s one reason why I want Oliver Wahlstrom, due to his ability to snipe. My first target would be Zadina, due to his capacity for making his own shot and sniper ability. Jesperi Kotkaniemi is another main target, though he is projected to slot into the center spot, but I think he could might be able to play the pivot or on the wing.

Brady Tkachuk’s history with new coach David Quinn and his Boston connections add to the intrigue of possibly selecting him if he is available at nine. Tkachuk projects to possibly be a prototypical power forward. But New York has to be sold on him as a player, not just Quinn, but the organization as a whole, especially if Wahlstrom or one of the elite bluelners, depending on how New York ranked them, is available.

Following pick #9, where in the past 11 years, selections have included Logan Couture, Josh Bailey, Mikael Granlund, Dougie Hamilton, Jacob Trouba, Bo Horvat, Nikolaj Ehlers, Timo Meier and Mikhail Segachev, a pretty good track record, New York could go with a player that has the most upside, as they did last year, with one selection and then a safer pick with the second. As you saw from the mock draft we just did, the Rangers could be patient and allow the draft to come to them, seeing the talent that could slide.

At least a few of the below list will be there at 26 and 28, if one pans out at 26, like Evgeni Kuznetsov, Kyle Palmieri or David Perron, or at 28 like Charlie Coyle or Skjei, New York would be very happy. Akil Thomas, Nils Lundqvist, Serron Noel, Jonathan Berggen, Bode Wilde, Ty Dellandrea (who brings character, a focus of the Rangers at the deadline). Dominic Bokk, Martin Kaut, Liam Foudy, Mattias Samuelsson, Jared McIsaac, Ryan McLeod, Ryan Merkley, Rasmus Sandin and Filip Hallander are some of the possible options with the last two picks the Rangers have in the first round, presuming they stand pat or retain those selections. I would ecstatic with Thomas or Lundqvist or Noel or Bokk but especially Berggen and Dellandrea. Any of the two in the list above would be solid fits with the Rangers, but I could see Merkley as a target due to the risk/reward.

I do expect deals. Look for Gorton to explore moving up from nine to the top-five but likely remain where the Rangers currently are due to the cost to acquire the earlier selection. A move from 26 and/or 28 higher in the draft to grab a targeted player is a pretty strong likelihood. Same with a veteran going as part of a package to slide up or for a younger asset.

Settle in. This should be a wild 36 hours. If something breaks before the draft, I will post it in the comments or via a new blog if warranted. As a heads up, hopefully the ninth pick, presuming New York stays there, will be made before the Sabbath. If that happens, I will get a very quick blog up. Whatever moves New York makes after that will get posted late Saturday night but more likely Sunday morning. I am quite curious to see how our mock draft ends up comparing to the actual draft, so I will track that as well.

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