Welcome to our second annual Top 25 New York Rangers Prospect Rankings!
Last year we took a page out of the playbook of Adam Herman and Blueshirt Banter and dropped individual articles covering five players at a time in a countdown of our top-25 prospects. This year however we decided to go more the route of our draft prospect rankings, and offer you a one-stop consolidated list with our tiered prospect rankings. In addition to the list, each of our prospect analysts, Drew Way, George Obremski and Rich Coyle, took turns summarizing our views on each player and why they slot in where they do.
Each of our analysts tracks and analyzes pre-draft and post-draft hockey prospects throughout the year. Our process for creating the New York Rangers top-25 rankings was simple: each analyst individually and independently created their own list ranking at least 25 prospects in the New York Rangers pipeline, and then we combined each list into an Excel spreadsheet and averaged them out to create the website ranks.
An important note about the methodology—we use Calder eligibility rules as our definition of whether a player is deemed a prospect. For those unfamiliar with the eligibility rules, this is what they are listed as on the NHL website: “To be eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. Beginning in 1990-91, a player must not have attained his 26th birthday by Sept. 15 of the season in which he is eligible.” So, by this definition, Kaapo Kakko for example is not a prospect, as he played 66 games with the Rangers in the NHL last year, and therefor will not be included in our ranks. However, Igor Shesterkin has only played 12 games in the NHL at this point in his career, and therefor maintains his Calder eligibility entering this season and is included in our ranks. One additional note—all player profile information is courtesy of eliteprospects, unless otherwise noted.
Honorable Mentions
Before we get to the top-25, we feel it is worth mentioning that six players not included in our top-25 received at least one top-25 ranking from at least one of our analysts. These players make up our Honorable Mentions, and are as follows:
- Calle Själin – Ranked 25 by both Drew and Rich
- Tim Gettinger – Ranked 24 by Drew
- Olof Lindbom – Ranked 25 by George
- Justin Richards – Ranked 24 by Rich
- Jakob Ragnarsson – Ranked 22 by Rich
NEW YORK RANGERS PROSPECT RANKINGS
25. Adam Huska
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Goalie
- Drafted: 2015, Round 7, #184
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Hartford (AHL)
- Nation: Slovakia
- Birth Date: May 12, 1997
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 3’’, 198 lbs
The question of how good of a prospect is Adam Huska can be boiled down to this: do you believe Adam Huska is the above .910 goaltender that carried UConn on his back to relevance in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons, or is he the sub-.900 goaltender we saw struggle in his last season at UConn and continue those struggles in Hartford. If you know anything about me, you know that I think raw save percentage is a lazy way to assess goaltenders, and I think there is a lot of context missing from the equation I outlined above. Long story short, I think Huska has the raw athleticism and tools to one day become an NHL goaltender, but as a prospect turning 24 this season the time is starting to run out to turn those raw tools into polished play.
-Drew
24. Yegor Rykov
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2016, Round 5, #132
- Projected 2021 Team (league): CSKA (KHL)
- Nation: Russia
- Birth Date: April 14, 1997
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 2’’, 212 lbs
Rangers fans were excited to see Yegor Rykov cross the pond and get some North American experience under his belt last season. Unfortunately for him, an injury right at the start of last season caused him to miss some time and he never really settled in with the Hartford Wolfpack. Now back in Russia, Rykov will get some additional KHL time under his belt until presumably coming back over to North America some time this year. Rykov still projects as a #5/#6 defenseman for the Rangers in the future.
-Rich
23. Eric Ciccolini
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Right Wing
- Drafted: 2019, Round 7, #205
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Michigan (NCAA)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: January 14, 2001
- Handedness: Right
- Height & Weight: 6’ 0’’, 170 lbs
A good offensive prospect, Ciccolini had a bit of an up and down Freshman season with the Wolverines. In his Freshman year, he had 11 points in 26 games—decent overall numbers for a Freshman that was drafted in the 7th round of the NHL draft, but only one goal among those 11 points was certainly disappointing. In his sophomore season, he might get pushed down the lineup due to high end prospects on the team, including Matty Beniers (yes, he is literally listed as “Matty” on Michigan’s roster) and Kent Johnson, both of whom may go in the top-10 of the 2021 draft. Given the potential for being pushed down the lineup, this season he may have to find a way to be effective and this new challenge could allow him to work more on his all-around game
Even though his first season in college was a bit of a disappointment from a production standpoint, I think he still has the potential to develop into a good bottom-six forward at the NHL level, but he will need more development in the college ranks and will most likely stay with Michigan all four years.
-George
22. Patrick Khodorenko
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Center
- Drafted: Undrafted
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Hartford (AHL)
- Nation: United States
- Birth Date: October 13, 1998
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 0’’, 201 lbs
In my opinion, Patrick Khodorenko is comfortably the most intriguing of the Rangers NCAA signings this year, and I do believe he has an NHL future ahead of me. A coworker of mine has a son in his young 20s who played at an elite level throughout his teenage years and had the fortune of playing with a number of players that went on to be drafted NHL teams, including Trevor Zegras (albeit, at a very young age) and Domenick Fensore. The reason I bring this up is late in 2020 he was afforded the opportunity to play a pickup game with Khodorenko, and he came away from it telling me that Khodorenko had some of the best hands of anyone he’s ever seen. Obviously this story needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but a) I think it’s a fun story and b) I do agree with the analysis and he is a player that, in my opinion, had no business going undrafted. He is a smart, hard-working player who possesses good defensive instincts, a great wrist shot and a deceptive handle, and while his skating has a lot of room for improvement, I do see a potential NHL future in him.
-Drew
21. Leevi Aaltonen
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Wing
- Drafted: 2019, Round 5, #130
- Projected 2021 Team (league): KalPa (Liiga)
- Nation: Finland
- Birth Date: January 24, 2001
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 5’ 9’’, 176 lbs
Leevi Aaltonen is a pick I loved in the 5th round in 2019. A blazing skater, but very raw otherwise. That remains the case today. Aaltonen has failed to generate any sort of notable production in Finland since draft day and was recently demoted to Mestis, the second division in Finland. Nonetheless, Aaltonen’s toolkit still makes him a tantalizing prospect who could very well slide into the Rangers’ bottom-six at some point if he can turn it around in Finland. The Michael Grabner/Carl Hagelin vibes are still very much there.
-Rich
20. Hunter Skinner
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2019, Round 4, #112
- Projected 2021 Team (league): London (OHL)
- Nation: United States
- Birth Date: April 29, 2001
- Handedness: Right
- Height & Weight: 6’ 3’’, 190 lbs
With a subpar season and a relative unknown in his draft year, I was not a fan of the pick in 2019, but he was able to greatly improve his play in the 2019-20 season with London Knights. He registered 32 points in 62 games on a stacked London team, and was able to flash some real offensive flair. Perhaps the thing that stands out the most since his draft season is his improved skating, which now allows him to jump in and join the rush offensively while still affording him the opportunity to get back and defend if play goes the other way. He consistently shows the ability to make strong, accurate passes out of his own end as well through the neutral zone, and has really improved as a transitional player.
Still unsigned, he will play in the OHL this coming season (if they actually have a season). If he can continue to improve offensively, he could earn his way to an ELC next season as he has proven to be stingy in his own zone. He will likely still take a few years to develop fully and have a realistic shot at making the Rangers, but could serve to be a valuable piece in Hartford while hopefully refining his game enough to make the jump to the big club.
-George
19. Oliver Tärnström
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Center
- Drafted: 2020, Round 3, #92
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Tyresö/Hanviken (HockeyEttan)
- Nation: Sweden
- Birth Date: August 30, 2002
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 1’’, 163 lbs
I know there was some skepticism among the fanbase when Tärnström was the pick in the third round, especially considering some of the bigger names still on the board, but overall I think it was a good selection by the Rangers, and I still feel confident in the B+ grade I gave the for the selection in our draft recap article. He’s a skilled puck handler with good vision and soft hands. He’s an able and willing defender, and has all the natural skills that could translate into being a solid two-way center in the NHL one day. He is still a long way away though and has a lot of work to do—which is understandable considering he was one of the younger players in the draft. Specifically, he needs to put on more muscle—163 pounds for an individual that is over 6 foot is incredibly slender for a hockey player—and his skating mechanics leave much room for improvement.
-Drew
18. Will Cuylle
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Left Wing
- Drafted: 2020, Round 2, #60
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Windsor (OHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: February 5, 2002
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 3’’, 203 lbs
If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was not at all happy with the selection of Will Cuylle in the 2nd round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Cuylle is a very good shooter of the puck and an imposing physical presence, but nothing outside of that really excites me. The rest of his game is either just okay or not very good. Luckily for Cuylle, shooting the puck is how you score goals, and scoring goals is how you win games. If he can continue to refine his shot while making some improvements with his skating, passing, and defensive awareness, then maybe he has a future with the Rangers. I think his ceiling is a third line scoring winger that brings a physical element to the game.
-Rich
17. Tarmo Reunanen
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2016, Round 4, #98
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Hartford (AHL)
- Nation: Finland
- Birth Date: March 1, 1998
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 0’’, 179 lbs
After multiple injury-plagued seasons, Reunanen finally was able to stay healthy and compile a very strong 2018-19 season with Luuko of the Finish Liiga, registering 25 points in 58 games—stellar numbers for a young defenseman in that league. However, his numbers did not continue to advance in his 2019-2020 season like many hoped, posting just 19 points in 51 before it was cut short due to COVID-19. However, during the past two healthy seasons, has has proven to be a reliable two-way defenseman with some offensive upside. He is a good skater and has high end hockey sense and hands, and does not shy away from physical play.
He started this season in camp with the Rangers, and was viewed to have an outside chance to make the big club. While the final official rosters have yet to be set, he was last seen playing on what has determined to be the B team in practice, meaning he’s likely destined for Hartford or the taxi squad. Once he does officially crack the NHL, he will most likely be a bottom pairing defenseman who can chip in offensively by joining the rush or creating offense with strong outlet passes from his own zone.
-George
16. Dylan Garand
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Goalie
- Drafted: 2020, Round 4, #103
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Kamloops (WHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: June 7, 2002
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 1’’, 176 lbs
Dylan Garand earned a spot on the 2021 SILVER medal winning Canadian World Juniors team, which put him firmly on the map of many fans. He had a fantastic year in Kamloops last year, and many goalie prospect analysts had him pegged as a late second or third rounder, so the Rangers selecting him in round four represented great value. He has great technique and sound fundamentals, and he has very quick reflexes that all allow him to play a calm and controlled style. He has all the skills to become an NHL goalie one day, and perhaps the only thing holding him back in the minds of some is his relatively small stature relative to most modern-day goalies.
-Drew
15. Tyler Wall
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Goalie
- Drafted: 2016, Round 6, #174
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Hartford (AHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: January 14, 1998
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 3’’, 203 lbs
As you know from my draft analysis, I typically stay away from goalie evaluation. I don’t feel that I have enough knowledge about the position to adequately evaluate them. However, if you just look at numbers with Tyler Wall, you’ll see he’s a pretty good goalie prospect. Throughout his collegiate career at UMass-Lowell, there was only one season where he had a sub-.918 save percentage. That’s pretty damn good. I don’t know if he’ll ever start for the Rangers, but he could be a nice trade chip and should probably get a chance to start somewhere in the NHL if he continues to impress.
-Rich
14. Lauri Pajuniemi
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Right Wing
- Drafted: 2018, Round 5, #132
- Projected 2021 Team (league): TPS (Liiga)
- Nation: Finalnd
- Birth Date: September 12, 1999
- Handedness: Right
- Height & Weight: 6’ 0’’, 183 lbs
Pajuniemi has continued to develop in Finland, and looks more impressive with each year. He has taken a larger role for TPS (Kaapo Kakko leaving last season helps), and he has taken full advantage of his expanded role. Last season he scored 26 goals and had 40 points and has continued his outstanding play into this season. He has established himself as a proven scorer, with a quick release and a hard shot. However, even more excitingly, in the past year he has also shown the ability to play a complete 200 foot game, which undoubtedly increases the likelihood of a future NHL career.
Playing top minutes for TPS, Pajuniemi should continue to develop and after this season, hopefully will sign his ELC with the Rangers. Given his scoring ability in Liiga, he could jump into a 3rd or 4th line role next season. Once fully developed, he could be a solid 3rd line player that provides much needed scoring depth.
-George
13. Evan Vierling
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Center
- Drafted: 2020, Round 5, #127
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Barrie (OHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: June 20, 2002
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 0’’, 168 lbs
Unfortunately, thanks to the global pandemic we have no had a chance to see Evan Vierling in action since the draft, so I’m not going to try and re-invent the wheel here. Here is what I said in our draft recap article back in October about Vierling, and I still stand by all of it.
“Vierling is a skilled playmaker and good two-way player, and has a motor that runs for days. While he is more known for his playmaking, he has a good and deceptive shot at well, and is a threat from all areas of the offensive zone. Further, he is a tough and gritty kid, and has no fear going to any area of the ice. Mark my words: assuming he continues to develop as he should, this is a player Ranger fans will love once he makes his way to the NHL.”
-Drew
12. Karl Henriksson
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Center
- Drafted: 2019, Round 2, #58
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Frölunda (SHL)
- Nation: Sweden
- Birth Date: February 5, 2001
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 5’ 9’’, 174 lbs
Karl Henriksson is an interesting prospect for the Rangers. His production at the junior level in Sweden has been fantastic, but hasn’t really done much in the SHL. Granted this is his first season strictly being in the SHL, but ideally we’d like to see him produce sooner rather than later. If Henriksson can make it to the NHL, he’s a very versatile player who would check a lot of the boxes for the Rangers up front. At best, I think he’s a very good third line center with a reliable two-way, possession-driving game at his peak. One to keep an eye on.
-Rich
11. Brett Berard
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Left Wing
- Drafted: 2020, Round 5, #134
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Providence (NCAA)
- Nation: United States
- Birth Date: September 9, 2002
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 5’ 9’’, 163 lbs
Aggressive in all three zones, Berard is a player that is very difficult to play against. He was extremely noticeable in the most recent World Juniors, and quickly was elevated from his initial fourth line role to playing on the third line. He is offensively skilled with a good, quick release and is an excellent skater, and he also is an effective agitator that can get under the skin of opponents without going over the line.
Playing for Providence College, Berard will likely take 2-3 years to fully develop and strengthen in the weight room. His play reminds me of Ryan Callahan where he has a non-stop motor and is in your face in all three zones. With his combination of skills ad motor, he could eventually see himself in a top-6 role, but will need to bulk up and continue to refine his game in order to reach this potential.
-George
10. Matthew Robertson
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2019, Round 2, #49
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Edmonton (WHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: March 9, 2001
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 4’’, 201 lbs
Robertson is a big, physical defenseman that can skate well for anyone, but particularly for someone of his size. The name of his game is defense and transitional play, but he can make some things happen in the offensive zone when he is afforded the space and time. He had 47 points in 60 games this past season for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL, which considering his age and the league is not nearly as impressive as it may sound to those unfamiliar with CHL statistics. It is worth noting however that a) Matthew Robertson was never profiled as or expected to be a big offensive producer and b) his team situation was a bit of a mess, leading to him being asked to do far more than should be ideally asked. The long story short is Robertson had an up and down season at best, but I still stand by my original analysis that he projects to be a defense-first, penalty killing defenseman in the NHL that likely will fall onto the second or third pairing of a team, depending on the roster makeup.
-Drew
9. Braden Schneider
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2020, Round 1, #19
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Brandon (WHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: September 20, 2001
- Handedness: Right
- Height & Weight: 6’ 2’’, 209 lbs
While I may not be the biggest fan of Braden Schneider, it’s easy to see why the Rangers took him 19th in this past October’s draft. He’s a big, tough, smart, right-handed defenseman who they believe can bring a bit of “sandpaper” to that defense in addition to the tools I just mentioned. Is he good enough offensively to generate notable production at the pro level? That remains to be seen, but I would bank on no. However, the Rangers feel that Schneider can play in a mold similar that what Dan Girard did at his peak, and is a player you can stick on the PK in the late stages of the game when you need to defend a lead. We will get a real close look at Schneider very soon as it appears he’ll be suiting up for some AHL games while waiting for the WHL season to get underway. While he’s not my type of player, I think Schneider can end up being an effective #3/#4 defenseman in the NHL, and could pair nicely alongside some of the more offensively-gifted defensive prospects in the system.
-Rich
8. Morgan Barron
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Center
- Drafted: 2017, Round 6, #174
- Projected 2021 Team (league): New York Rangers (NHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: December 2, 1998
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 2’’, 209 lbs
There was a lot of hype surrounding Barron given his Hobey Baker-type 2019-20 season, which was cut short due to the Pandemic. This stoppage also cut Cornell University’s and Barron’s chances of leading the team to a Frozen Four bid. He led the team in scoring with 14 goals and 18 assists in 29 games. After the stoppage, he decided to forego his senior season and signed his ELC with the Rangers.
Given his 6’2” frame, he has NHL size and could compete for a bottom 6 spot immediately. Word from the Rangers this week is that Morgan Barron will be on the taxi squad to start the season, and it’s possible that once the AHL season starts up he could find himself back in Hartford to get more playing time. If that happens however, I’d expect that he plays himself into a position where he is one of the first callups if a situation arises where a forward callup is needed.
-George
7. Julien Gauthier
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Right Wing
- Drafted: 2016, Round 1, #21
- Projected 2021 Team (league): New York Rangers (NHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: October 15, 1997
- Handedness: Right
- Height & Weight: 6’ 4’’, 227 lbs
Gauthier was tricky for me to rank, because he’s pretty much already an established NHL player, yet he technically still has Calder eligibility, thus warrants inclusion in this article. He is an absolute physical specimen and has the appearance of someone who won the genetic lottery—standing at 6’ 4’’ and weighing in at 227 pounds, all of which is pure, lean muscle. He is a proven goal-scorer at the AHL level and has all the physical attributes to compete in the NHL, although he has not quite lived up to his draft hype that led to him being a first-round pick that drew comparisons to Rick Nash on draft day. At the end of the day, I think he should be able to slot in on the Rangers third line this year and have a productive season, and he has the raw physical attributes, skating ability and puck skills that still provides decent upside in his game.
-Drew
6. Zac Jones
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2019, Round 3, #68
- Projected 2021 Team (league): UMass Amherst (NCAA)
- Nation: United States
- Birth Date: October 18, 2000
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 5’ 10’’, 172 lbs
He’s not the best player in the Rangers system, but he’s my favorite player in the Rangers system. I think Zac Jones is criminally underrated by everyone in the prospect world. He has looked fantastic at the collegiate level and played an important role for the United States at last year’s World Juniors. He’s gotten stronger and made necessary adjustments to his defensive game since then. From a production standpoint, Jones has been great. He is currently playing at 1 P/GP pace this season. He thinks the game incredibly well and will be an analytical darling when he makes the jump to the NHL in the near future. I think he will be a mainstay on one of the power play units in the future for the Rangers. It’s only a matter of time until we enter Zac Jones’ world. He’s got all the makings of a very good #3 defenseman in the future.
-Rich
5. K’Andre Miller
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2018, Round 1, #22
- Projected 2021 Team (league): New York Rangers (NHL)
- Nation: United States
- Birth Date: January 21, 2000
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 4’’, 207 lbs
After having a tough sophomore season with Wisconsin, K’Andre signed his ELC shortly after the pause in March of 2020. He was able to participate in the return to play camp and looked very impressive and I think he would have played in the 3 games vs. Carolina if he was allowed. He continued to advance his game in the offseason, and trained just as hard as anyone by all reports, and that hard work seems to have paid off. Just this week as we publish this article the Rangers announced he officially made the roster, and it appears he will be starting the season anchoring the top defensive pairing alongside Jacob Trouba.
Despite making the team, he is still a raw talent, and he will need time to fully develop his game. He will make mistakes, and hopefully will be afforded the opportunity to make these mistakes and learn from them. However, despite still being relatively raw, his skating, power and ability to join the rush should help him stay in the line-up all season, and I look forward to watching his game develop throughout.
-George
4. Vitali Kravtsov
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Right Wing
- Drafted: 2018, Round 1, #9
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Traktor (KHL)
- Nation: Russia
- Birth Date: December 23, 1999
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 2’’, 187 lbs
Somehow, despite only being two years out of his draft year and just barely of legal drinking age in the U.S., Kravtsov has already become a polarizing playing among a portion of the New York Rangers fanbase. I think what is at least partially to blame for this was that terrible prospect rankings that TSN put out a year or so ago where they ranked prospects in NHL pipelines, and put Kravtsov at the very top. Yes, Kravtsov is a fantastic prospect who has put up some very impressive runs in the KHL, but he NEVER warranted that ranking, but unfortunately a bunch of Ranger fans didn’t listen to me, bought into the hype, and then were disappointed when he didn’t live up to in the following season. Couple that with some frustrating circumstances surrounding his placement in the AHL and then wanting to go back to Russia last year and him truly having a poor year on the ice, and you have a recipe for severe discontent among a certain segment of the fanbase.
All of that aside, Kravtsov is still very much a skilled and high-end winger prospect, and would slot into the top-5 in just about every single NHL team’s prospect rankings, except for maybe the Kings. He will play out the entire KHL season with Traktor—which is all things considered going well so far and in my opinion is good for his development—and then hopefully we will see him under the bright lights of Broadway next year. He still possesses dazzling puck skills, strong skating and a deceptive shot, and while inconsistent, shows the ability to play a responsible game in his own zone. He has some work to do still, but I project him as a second line winger at the NHL that possesses first-line upside.
-Drew
3. Nils Lundkvist
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Defense
- Drafted: 2018, Round 1, #28
- Projected 2021 Team (league): Luleå (SHL)
- Nation: Sweden
- Birth Date: June 27, 2000
- Handedness: Right
- Height & Weight: 5’ 11’’, 174 lbs
Our boy Nils. Pretty much everyone has loved this kid since the day he was drafted, and if they didn’t they soon after joined the bandwagon. The mobile, puck-moving defenseman has just looked fantastic in the SHL since the Rangers have drafted him. Last season, he broke the record for points by an U20 defenseman in the SHL. This season, he’s on pace to roughly match that same point total. It’s very hard to find a deficiency in Lundkvist’s game. It’s only a matter of time until he is donning the blue on Broadway. If all goes to plan, he should undoubtedly be competing for a spot on the right side of the Rangers defense next fall. I think we could have a top pairing defenseman in the future here with Nils Lundkvist.
-Rich
2. Igor Shesterkin
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Goalie
- Drafted: 2014, Round 4, #118
- Projected 2021 Team (league): New York Rangers (NHL)
- Nation: Russia
- Birth Date: December 30, 1995
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 1’’, 183 lbs
The future starter of the Rangers, Igor has shown he has the potential to be a legit number 1 goalie. Since being drafted in the 4th round of the 2014 draft, Shesterkin has done nothing but win. In the summer of 2019, he signed his ELC and went 17-4-3 in the AHL with a .934 SV% and 1.90 GAA before getting called up in January. He almost instantly took over the starter position after being called up posting a 10-2 record with a .932 SV% and 2.53 GAA.
With Hank getting bought out in September, Igor has become the permanent starter for the Rangers. Given his strong performance across the number of games he played last season, he will be one of the favorites to win the Calder Trophy this season.
-George
1. Alexis Lafrenière
Prospect Profile:
- Position: Left Wing
- Drafted: 2020, Round 1, #1
- Projected 2021 Team (league): New York Rangers (NHL)
- Nation: Canada
- Birth Date: October 11, 2001
- Handedness: Left
- Height & Weight: 6’ 1’’, 192 lbs
What is there to say about Alexis Lafrenière that hasn’t already been said? The kid is a incredible prospect, perhaps the best prospect the Rangers have had in my adult lifetime (for context, I was born in 1988). He is getting rave reviews from his teammates, the coaching staff, management and the media out of camp. By all accounts he is both a great player and a great person, and has a work ethic that will drive him to constantly look for way to refine and improve his game. It appears he will start the season on the third line with Filip Chytil and Julien Gauthier—I think that line will absolutely fly and I cannot wait to see them in action together. In my opinion, Lafrenière does not have a single real flaw in his game, and assuming health and barring any crazy unforeseen circumstances, is a sure-fire top line winger that has the ability to become a perennial all star and a true franchise player.
-Drew
