12/31/20 | ESPN.com ranked the Rangers prospect pool second overall, LA was first, and ranked their prospects as:
- Alexis Lafreniere
- Igor Shesterkin
- Nils Lundkvist
- Vitali Kravtsov
- K’Andre Miller
- Braden Schneider
- Morgan Barron
- Zac Jones
- Karl Henriksson
- Matt Robertson
12/25/20 | The NHL Network had four Rangers ranked in their top-50 prospects and all four residing in the top-33.
- #1 – Alexis Lafreniere
- #4 – Igor Shesterkin
- #21 – Nils Lundkvist
- #33 – Vitali Kravtsov
On the Rangers, Sam Costentino said:
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- Shesterkin: “he has that confidence and swagger about him. My experience watching him goes back to 2013 with Russia’s under-20 team. Back-to-back years he played in the Canada/Russia series, one of those years at the World Juniors and the one thing that really stuck out was the competitiveness, he never gave up on the puck. It may be unorthodox at times, but it’s highly, highly effective. He’s going to turn-25 at the end of the month, you talk about goaltenders coming into their own, usually it’s around 25, he is primed to do well in New York.”
- Lafreniere: “multi-faceted game, and it’s why I think he can live up to [high expectations], he can play the physical brand of hockey, that is no problem, he can go to the net, his shot is extremely underrated, skating is an an issue whatsoever. The thing that I like about him, he has center impact on the wing, that means he has the ability to make those around him better, but do it from the wing, which is often talked about with centers. He can do just about everything that the game has to offer, defensively responsible player and it speaks volumes to me that the Rangers and Lafreniere decided not to go back to the World Juniors, we want to get you a full camp because we think you can be an impact guy for us right away.”
The Rangers tied with LA for the most prospects on the list.
Chris Peters of ESPN+ listed six Rangers in his top-100: #1: Lafreniere, #10: Igor Shesterkin, #30 – Nils Lundkvist, #40 – Vitali Kravtsov, #62 – K’Andre Miller, #65 – Braden Schneider.
The Hockey News’ 2020-21 Yearbook has the Rangers Top 10 Prospects listed as:
- Alexis Lafreniere, “elite-level creativity, vision and anticipation. Work ethic, poise and competitiveness also top-notch.”
- Igor Shesterkin, “his record-setting KHL performance translated seamlessly to the NHL. His era begins now.”
- Vitali Kravtsov, “scoring dynamo with speed to spare still searching for consistency. Plays multiple positions.”
- Braden Schneider, “strength, physical style, mature work ethic key trains for stay-at-home D-man. Cannonading shot.”
- Nils Lundkvist, “dynamic offensive threat on back end. Skilled distributor whose speed conceals defensive lapses.”
- K’Andre Miller, “ex-forward brought his skills and elite skating to the blue line. Still honing his defensive game.”
- Zac Jones, “USHL rookie of the year in 2018-19 led UMass in blueline scoring as a freshman. Agile and smart.”
- Matthew Robertson, “Strong, mobile shutdown defender stepped up offensively. Improved scoring and leadership skills.”
- Will Cuylle, “Big-bodies power forward skates well, has heavy wrist shot and plays with bite. Consistency issues.”
- Julien Gauthier, “Sizable sniper with a quick release and top-six upside who excels on the PP.”
McKeen’s Hockey ranked the Rangers prospects as:
- LW – Alexis Lafreniere
- G – Igor Shesterkin
- D – Nils Lundkvist
- RW – Vitali Kravtsov
- D – K’Andre Miller
- D – Braden Schneider
- D – Matthew Robertson
- D – Zac Jones
- RW – Julien Gauthier
- C – Morgan Barron
- LW – Brett Berard
- D – Tarmo Reunanen
- RW – Lauri Pajuniemi
- D – Hunter Skinner
- LW – Will Cuylle
- C – Evan Vierling
- C – Patrick Khodorenko
- G – Tyler Wall
- C – Karl Henriksson
- C – Austin Rusechoff