After not having a pick until late in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, the New York Rangers have the 23rd overall pick this year. Though they have made a few disappointing early first-round choices, including Lias Andersson (seventh overall in 2017) and Vitali Kravtsov (ninth overall in 2018), they have had success when drafting later in the first round. They will certainly look to continue that trend this year.
Forwards: Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil
Chris Kreider is the longest-tenured Ranger on the team, and they drafted him 19th overall in 2009. He possessed a rare combination of speed and size, which helped him earn a spot on the team during the playoffs in 2012. However, he struggled in 2012-13, spending a lot of the season with the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL), and getting limited ice time when he was with the Rangers.
Kreider bounced back in 2013-14, established himself as a top-six forward, and finished the season with 17 goals and 20 assists in 66 games. He also had five goals and eight assists in 15 playoff games, including a clutch game-tying goal in the final minute of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.
After some early struggles and inconsistency, Kreider became one of the Rangers’ best players and scored a career-high 52 goals in 2021-22. He is fifth in franchise history with 265 regular-season goals and first in playoff goals with 40. He was one of the few skilled homegrown players the team held on to when they started a rebuild in 2017-18.
The 2017 NHL Draft had mixed results for the Rangers as Andersson never worked out in New York and was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a late second-round pick. However, Filip Chytil, whom the team drafted 21st overall has developed into a good center.
Related: A Draft of the Rangers’ Best Picks
Chytil was one of the youngest players in the draft, but he impressed the Rangers in training camp and made his NHL debut at just 18 years old. He went through a few extended scoring slumps and bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL for a few years but broke through with seven goals and two assists in 20 games during the playoffs in 2022. He followed that up by setting career-highs in goals (22) and assists (23) this season.
Defensemen: Brady Skjei, K’Andre Miller, and Braden Schneider
The Rangers drafted Brady Skjei 28th overall in 2012, and he had a strong rookie season with five goals and 34 assists in 2016-17. The 6-foot-3 blueliner showed he had speed and was also capable of contributing offensively. He became a durable top-four defenseman after Ryan McDonagh was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017-18.
During the 2019-20 season, the Rangers traded Skjei to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a first-round pick, and he has played very well with his new team. This year he set a career-high with 18 goals and added 20 assists.
As was the case in 2017, the 2018 NHL Draft had mixed results for the Rangers. Kravtsov struggled and was traded to the Vancouver Canucks this season, in exchange for a seventh-round pick and William Lockwood. The Blueshirts drafted Nils Lundkvist 28th overall and traded him to the Dallas Stars in 2022 in exchange for a first-round pick. They also traded up and drafted K’Andre Miller 22nd overall in 2018.
Miller earned a spot as a top-four defenseman as a rookie during the 2020-21 season. He is coming off his best season, finishing with nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games. At only 23 years old, he certainly has the potential to keep improving.
In addition to Miller, the Rangers got another important blueliner when they traded up to draft Braden Schneider 19th overall in 2020. The 21-year-old is very physical and an above-average skater. Since Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba also play on the right side, Schneider has played on the team’s third pair, but he has already looked like a top-four defenseman at times. He finished this season with five goals and 13 assists in 81 games.
For the Rangers Moving Forward
All five of these players have above-average speed and size. Right now, while the Rangers have a few very fast skaters, they also have a lot of slow skaters and could use more speed in their lineup. This is a deep draft, and the Blueshirts have the chance to add another good player late in the first round on June 28.
