The Rangers enter tonight’s First Round of the 2026 NHL Draft with pick #5 and pick #26 (from Dallas) that was acquired in the K’Andre Miller trade.
The Rangers are also reportedly one of two teams that may be close to acquiring Mason McTavish from Anaheim.
Vincent Trocheck remains with the Rangers and has the potential to be traded tonight.
Adam Rotter: The draft is finally here and the Rangers, at the very least, should be adding a potential core player at #5 and another important piece at #26. The focus at #5 has consistently been on defensemen with left shots Carson Carels and Alberts Smits and right shots Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff. I’ve mostly been focusing on the two left shot defensemen because the Rangers have Adam Fox and at least one of Braden Schneider or Will Borgen on the right side. Th left side behind Vlad Gavrikov is wide open.
I’ve been leaning towards Smits over Carels but it’s close. Smits is considered to be the most NHL ready player based on the fact that he has NHL size and has been competing against men in Finland. He also played for Latvia in the Olympics and has represented them in numerous tournaments. Some question is ultimate upside and how much offense he may bring but at the very least he seems like a very solid defender that the Rangers can use. Carels has drawn comparisons to players like Ryan McDonagh and the Rangers could certainly use a Ryan McDonagh-esque player again but there is some question about how Carels, a farm boy from Manitoba, may adjust to or enjoy playing in a much bigger market. I think that either player would be a big addition but I have been leaning more towards Smits because of the high level experience he already has.
Chase Reid is considered by most to be the top-defensemen available or at least the defensemen who has the highest upside if he reaches his true ceiling, but it’s hard to see him at that ceiling when the Rangers have Adam Fox as their defenseman on the right side and their undisputed PP QB. Most also don’t expect Reid to fall to 5. He was considered mostly likely to go to San Jose before they acquired a defensemen and also traded William Eklund, making it more likely they take Ivan Stenberg. Chicago was then thought to be the top candidate for Reid but they traded #4 to get Bowen Byram. Buffalo may move out of #4, either for a player that can help them now or to a team looking to get Reid and jump the Rangers by doing so.
Verhoeff was considered to be the top defensemen heading into the season and many think he still would be if he didn’t leave the WHL to join Rangers 2024 first round pick EJ Emery at North Dakota. Verhoeff was one of the younger players in all of college hockey last season and already is about 6-4, but there have been questions about some of his decision making and his overall play when he struggled a bit at times at North Dakota. If the Rangers do trade Braden Schneider before the draft then picking Verhoeff and letting him spend another year or so in college wouldn’t be a bad pick. Considering that he plays on the same team is Emery, I’m sure the Rangers have seen him a ton.
There is some thought that Vancouver may pass on Caleb Malhotra, considered by most to be the top center in the draft, and it’s possible that he slips to five, but if the Rangers acquire Mason McTavish the need for a young center lessens a bit. They still need more centers in the pipeline and Malhotra may need more than one-year in college, but there is also speculation that Buffalo could just take Malhotra if he is there or trade out of the pick.
There has also been some speculation that the Rangers may trade down. I have a hard time seeing them drop any lower than 8 or so unless someone like St. Louis decides to offer them 11, 15 and 16 for 5, but that seems unlikely. But if the Rangers are able to trade down a spot or two, pick up another asset or so and still get the guy that they want then that may make sense.
It’s likely at 26 they will take the best center available, even if they trade for McTavish, as a player at 26 may take longer to develop. With four third round picks maybe they could even use some of them to move up a bit higher.