The Rangers own the 20th pick in this Friday’s draft as part of the trade that sent Kevin Hayes to Winnipeg.
One GM told Craig Custance that he could see the Rangers trading the 20th pick with Custance adding “everything is in play with that pick.” (The Athletic)
The 20th pick will be the Rangers seventh (Lias Andersson, Fillip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, K’Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist, #2 in 2019) first-round pick in the past three years.
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Mock Drafts have had the Rangers selecting the following players at 20:
- Phillip Tomasino – C – Niagara (The Athletic)
- Raphael Lavoie – C – Halifax (The Athletic)
- Ryan Suzuki – C – Barrie (ESPN)
- Cam York – D – USNTDP (TSN)
- Raphael Lavoie – C – Halifax (NHL.com)
- Moritz Seider – D – Mannheim (NHL.com)
- Victor Soderstrom – D – Brynas (NHL.com)
- Tobias Bjornfot – D – Djurgardens (McKeens)
It’s been suggested that the Rangers could use the 20th pick as part of a package to possibly acquire Jacob Trouba from Winnipeg.
Adam Rotter: People around the league seem split on what the Rangers will do at 20. You can find as many people who believe the Rangers are going to stay in that spot and others who believe it will be part of a package to get someone ready to play in the NHL. It’s possible that the Rangers trade 20 but it may be too move up if Russian forward Vasili Podkolzin slips into the teens. Podkolzin is considered to be one of the top talents in the draft but he is signed for another two-years in the KHL. With the Rangers penchant for drafting Europeans and Russians, and following their selection of Kravtsov last year, many expected Podkolzin would be the Rangers pick before they moved up to #2. I think that the Rangers preference would be to use #20 in a deal to acquire a young roster player but if that doesn’t materialize they will either move up for someone they like or take best player available.