The Rangers have traded pick #127 and a 2026 7th-rounder to move up to #119 and draft center Raoil Boilard.
During the draft, Jason Bukkala said “he’s an interesting prospect, a good offensive talent, sneaky off the rush, he’s got decent size. On the defensive size, I keep preaching this, but it’s a choice to learn how to defend better to become an NHL player, but he’s skilled, creative, escapes small areas. He’s always in motion, he doesn’t stop on pucks a lot, he’s always one of those guys lurking and in motion all the time. I like the skill set, I think the compete is mostly in place, the rest of it is going to have to be a buy-in as he continues to mature here, but an interesting pick at this stage of the draft.
He was ranked 57th by McKeens who wrote:
- If all you knew about him were his stats from this season you might be surprised to learn that he’s a center whose size, mobility, puck skill, playmaking and shooting ability are all above average for his age.
- That’s a very valuable and hard-to-find collection of traits, and in the shifts where he blends some or all of them, he can be a significant difference-maker.
- In particular, he makes everything look easy when he’s handling or moving the puck, or when he gets a good shooting lane.
- The problem, unfortunately, is that those kinds of shifts don’t happen frequently. Even worse, the cause isn’t usually execution, it’s a total lack of application.
- Sometimes entire games come and go where he’s content to just blend into the scenery, hanging back to let others drive the play.
- That habit might not get him into too much trouble at the QMJHL level, because the Drakkar were great this season and are on course to stay great for a couple more, but it’s not sustainable.
- More specifically, he needs to get better at using his size to his advantage, add more power and longer extension to his skating strides, and show more willingness and commitment for playing inside the circles.
The Hockey News ranked him 64th, called his “best case” JT Compher and said Scouts see a player who relies too much on his natural gifts without showing enough willingness to enter the fray. “He showed at the Prospects Game how good he can be,’ one scout said. ‘The problem is, he doesn’t bring it enough. He often plays down to his competition, and his competitive level is below average. We don’t have his intangibles rated very high.’ Added another scout: ‘He’s got talent, but no high-end compete. I’d be concerned going forward if he’s going to bring enough of a battle level to be able to make it.”
He was ranked 51st on Central Scoutings Final list of North American Skaters after being 34th on the Mid-Term list.
At 159, the Rangers select LW Nathan Aspinall.
He is 6-6, 185.
On NHL Network they said, “some net-front presence there with his 18 goals
Future Considerations ranked him at 240 and wrote:
- Aspinall is a big, North/South winger who finds success driving the net.
- He flashes upside as a goal scorer with a heavy shot.
- The rest of his game is extremely raw.
- Consistency is an issue. A lot of that has to do with the fact that he’s still pretty slight.
- He needs to bulk up to help him get the best out of his frame. When he eventually becomes more physically dominant, what will his game look like? Additionally, can the quickness and overall skating profile improve?
He was ranked 102 on Central Scoutings Final List of North American Skaters after being 126 on the Mid-Term list.
At 191 the Rangers chose Rico Gredig.
He is 6-1 ,180 and played for Davos in the Swiss league.
He was the 123rd player ranked on Central Scoutings list of European Players.