New York Rangers: Draft a forward or defenseman in 2019?

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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Vitali Kravtsov pose after being selected ninth 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) /

The New York Rangers will likely have a top 10 pick in the 2019 draft. Should they take a forward or a defenseman with that pick?

The New York Rangers currently sit tenth from the bottom of the NHL standings. Detroit is in ninth place with same point total, but have played more games. The Blueshirts are only two points better than the fifth worst team in the league.

This is important to note because this means the Rangers have a good chance of landing a top 10 pick in the 2019 draft.

A lot of speculation went into who the Rangers would take in the 2018 draft. Should they take a defenseman? Should they take a forward? What is the best pick for the rebuild going forward?

The same issues are in discussion this year.

When discussing the draft, it would be foolish to neglect the Rangers’ current prospect pool. Based on the 2018 draft and the Rangers trades last season, defense was the focus.

During the 2018-19 season, the Rangers acquired three defense prospects through trades. Libor Hajek was a part of the Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller deal with Tampa Bay. Yegor Rykov came in the Michael Grabner deal with New Jersey and Ryan Lindgren in the Rick Nash trade with Boston.

In addition to those three prospects, six of the Rangers’ 10 2018 draft picks were defensemen. Those picks included K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist in the first round. Joey Keane and Nico Gross have also been highly touted.

In fact, Miller, Lundkvist and Gross will all represent their home countries (USA, Sweden and Switzerland respectively) at the 2019 World Junior Championships. Keane was also a Team USA invitee.

So let’s keep this in mind when looking at the 2019 draft. This year’s draft which is not considered as deep defensively as years past.

There is also speculation surrounding many members of the Rangers current forward core. Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes are likely to be gone at the trade deadline. Chris Kreider and other forwards could possibly end up in a trade before next season.

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While defense seems like the area in more need of a boost at the moment, I genuinely think the focus for this draft should be getting a top forward talent.

Drafting Vitali Kravstov in 2018 was a great start for the Rangers and obviously Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil are in the NHL from the 2017 draft, but another top 10 forward piece could really make an impact.

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