As a rebuilding organization, the New York Rangers have stockpiled a small army of prospects in hopes of once again competing for a Stanley Cup. This fourth and final region covers those players who have yet to truly breakout at the NHL level.
Whenever an organization in sports opts to slowly build through the draft and unloading veteran talent, it can draw pause. The road to a never-ending abyss and Stanley Cup glory both start down the same path, an executive with some idea for what their team should look like. Midway through last season, New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton made the tough call to blow it all up.
The Rangers are about 14 months removed from the letter that stated the team’s goal of getting younger and moving on from some familiar faces. Since that fateful decision was made, New York has sent key pieces from the team’s playoff runs on to greener pastures in favor of a potentially better future.
When it comes to building through the draft, it’s always a crapshoot. Human development is a series of random events compounding on top of each other through both the environment of the player and how they are molded. There’s a reason no two players have the exact same career arc, everyone is different.
These 16 players are the hopes and dreams of the Rangers franchise going forward. Each and every one of them will require development to become the player they could be.