Grading the New York Rangers’ three first round picks

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: K'Andre Miller poses after being selected twenty-second overall by the New York Rangers during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: K'Andre Miller poses after being selected twenty-second overall by the New York Rangers during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: General Manager Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers looks on from the draft table during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: General Manager Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers looks on from the draft table during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The New York Rangers ended up making three picks in the NHL Draft’s first round. How did the team make out?

The New York Rangers had a very interesting draft.

They seemed to zig when others expected them to zag, especially with their first two picks, but overall, they acquired some solid prospects for their system.

As this is being written, the first round of the draft just ended about 20 minutes ago, so these takes and grades in this post are going to be coming-out-of-the-oven hot. When things simmer down by the end of next week, we’ll do this exercise again, but I think it will be interesting to look back on how we felt immediately afterwards in a few years from now.

The Rangers currently have six picks to make on Saturday morning, three of which are in the top two rounds. There is still plenty of work to be done, but let’s evaluate how the Rangers did on the draft’s first day.