New York Rangers draft preview: Some possible first round picks
Unless lightning strikes twice in two years, the New York Rangers will be picking after the top ten prospects have been drafted. There are a number of players who could end up as future Blueshirts.
With two first round draft picks, the New York Rangers’ first selection is likely to be somewhere between 12th and 16th overall. In our first draft preview, we looked at the players expected to go at the top of the draft and would only be available if the Blueshirts win a lottery pick again. In our second preview we checked out players expected to go in the top ten, but who could slip within range once the draft begins. Now, it’s time to look at players expected to be picked between 10th and 20th in the first round.
When it comes to players in this range, there are lot of different opinions about where they will go in the draft. The rankings are complicated even more by the fact that there were no playoffs or international competitions or a combine where scouts would have had a chance for one last assessment of talent. That’s one reason why there is some much diversity in where players are ranked.
That means that this year more than ever, there will be teams that luck into a top pick later in the draft and some picks taken early will not turn out as well as expected. It’s really a crapshoot. The good news is all teams are in the same boat, forced to do their scouting by watching videos.
In selecting the players we are highlighting, we looked at the rankings by ten of the top hockey websites. All of the sites are listed at the end of this article with links.
Kaiden Guhle, Defense – WHL
Kaiden Guhle is a left handed shooting defenseman who has starred for the last three years for the Prince Albert Raiders. Of the experts we sampled, some had him going as high as 14th while others had him as low as 28th.
He scored 11 goals and added 29 assists for 4o points in 64 WHL games. He is 6’2″, 186 pounds and just turned 18 in January and is the brother of Anaheim Ducks defenseman Brendan Guhle.
ISS Hockey had him ranked the highest at 14th, followed by Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet who had him at 15th and listed his attributes as a “combination of size, amazing skating ability and nastiness” while calling him a “complimentary” defenseman. Corey Pronman of the Athletic described Guhle as “a very mobile defenseman with size who punishes his opponents” and had him just outside of his top tier of prospects.
While the Rangers are probably not in the market for a defenseman, Guhle has a mean streak and could develop into the kind of stay at home defenseman the team is lacking. Despite three years in the WHL, he is still young and could develop with time in the American Hockey League.
Seth Jarvis, Center – WHL
While most experts have Seth Jarvis as a late first round or early second pick he was the 11th rated prospect by EliteProspects.com and is 13th overall according the Pronman of the Athletic.
Jarvis is a center for the Portland Winter Hawks who has seen his offensive output grow each year. After going goal-less in 11 games three years ago, he scored 16 goals in 2018-19 and this season, he scored 42 goals and added 56 assists for 98 points in 58 games.
At 5’10” and 172 pounds, Jarvis lacks size and that could be one reason why he wasn’t highly ranked by some experts. Pronman said he has “a style of game that projects to the pro level..” He also complimented him as a “very hard working player who can play in the middle third of the ice and in the defensive zone.”
Steve Kournianos ranked him 26th overall and called Jarvis “A slick and cerebral forward with excellent hands…and an excellent shot and release.” Like Pronman, he said that Jarvis excels on special teams and cited his intangibles.
Jarvis is another player who lost an opportunity when the WHL season was ended. Portland was one of the better teams in the league and Jarvis would have had a chance to showcase his talent in the playoffs.
Mavrik Bourque, Center – QMJHL
Mavrik Bourque is an 18-year old center for the Shawinigan Cataractes who has had two very consistent years in the QMJHL. At 5’10” and 178 pounds, he is on the smaller size, but he projected by the experts to go in the mid to late first round.
Steve Kournianos of the Sporting News ranked Bourque 12th overall and sees him as a power play specialist with “soft hands and big-play proclivity.” He also cited his use of “a lot of trickery, such as passes of the no-look, behind-the-back, saucer, and bank variety. ”
Ryan Kennedy has Bourque at 13th overall for the Hockey News and Craig Button from TSN also placed him in the top 20. Chris Peters of ESPN ranked him 32nd citing that he “had a harder time getting through the middle of the ice due to a slight frame,” but also complimented him as “a really strong shot-pass threat in the offensive zone.”
Bourque could be around when the Ranger make their first pick and he could be an interesting choice as a highly skilled, playmaking center.
Jacob Perreault, Right wing – OHL
Jacob Perreault is a winger most experts see being drafted in the bottom third of the first round. The Illinois native just turned 18 and has had two full seasons with the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. After scoring 30 goals and 55 points as a rookie, he improved to 39 goals and 70 points in 57 games. He was the leading goal scorer for Sarnia, who finished last in the OHL’s Western Conference.
Perreault, who is 5’11” and weighs 192 pounds, has a big fan in Corey Pronman of the Athletic who had him ranked 12th overall. Pronman said that Perreault “has one of if not the best shot in this draft,” pointing to the 30 goals he scored as a 16 year old in the OHL. Pronman sees his upside as an offensive weapon and his defense may be why he was not ranked more highly by other experts. While most of the experts had him in the first round, Craig Button of TSN projects him to go 40th overall, well into the second round.
While he may be around when the Rangers draft, with Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov on the right wing, that may not be a priority position for the Blueshirts. He does have good bloodlines as he is the son of Yanic Perrault who played 14 years in the NHL.
Noel Gunler, Right wing – SHL (Sweden)
Noel Gunler is a teammate of Rangers draft pick Nils Lundkvist on the Lulea club in the Swedish Hockey League, so they should be very familiar with him. He’s the ninth ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting and is committed to return to Lulea for his second full season. As a rookie he scored four goals and totaled 13 points in 45 games.
Gunler was an outstanding goal scorer in 2018-19 for the Lulea junior team, with 27 goals and 46 points in 31 games. McKeen’s Hockey ranked him the highest, at 14th overall with ISS Hockey ranking him 18th and 19th by EliteProspects.com. He dropped to 45th on Craig Button’s rankings for TSN.
Steve Kournianos or the Sporting News ranked him 30th overall and called him the biggest boom or bust prospect for 2020″ labeling him “engimatic.” While he said that Gunler can be an “unstoppable force” offensively and his promotion to the SHL has helped round out his game, he wasn’t named to the Swedish national junior team, a cause for concern.
This all points to Gunler being a risky first round pick, in other words, a classic Rangers choice.
John-Jason Peterka, Left wing – DEL (Germany)
The Rangers had the first German born player in NHL history in Walt Tkaczuk (though he was raised in Canada) and they haven’t had one since Randy Gilhen in 1993, so the time is ripe for them to select a German native. John-Jason Peterka could be the pick.
Peterka just turned 18 and played his first season for Munich in the German pro league, the DEL. In 42 games he scored seven goals and added four assists for 11 points. He did open some eyes at the WJC where Germany played in the relegation tournament. He was a linemate of Tim Stutzle who is projected to be a top five pick in the draft. Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News said that the line of Stutzle, Peterka and Lukas Reichel “made a collective statement.”
Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet has Peterka ranked 18th calling him a safer bet that linemate Reichel who is also draft eligible. One reason Peterka could move up is the relative shortage of left wingers in the draft class.
Justin Barron, Defense – QMJHL
You’ve heard Justin Barron’s name few times, specifically because he is the younger brother of Rangers prospect Morgan Barron. Justin Barron is one of the top blueliners in the draft and is a sure fire first round pick. Although he missed about three months of this season with a blood clot, he still put up good numbers for the Halifax Mooseheads. In 34 games he scored four goals and added 15 assists.
The 18-year old is 6’2″ and is 195 pounds and is a right handed shot. Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News has Barron going at 12th overall and NHL Central Scouting ranks him as the fifth best North American defenseman in the draft. Corey Pronman of the Athletic also ranks him highly at 19th overall. Pronman says Barron is “a fantastic skater who can lead a rush, close a gap very well and projects to be able to handle the NHL speed easily.” Some scouts are down on Barron, questioning his skill and offensive IQ, but Pronman discounts those concerns.
That’s the reason that ESPN and The Sporting News has Barron dropping into the second round. We recently raised the concern that Morgan Barron may play his senior year at Cornell and could then test the free agency waters (like Jimmy Vesey and Kevin Hayes).
Related Story. Could the Rangers lose Morgan Barron. light
He may want to sign with the team that draft his younger brother and if the Rangers think that Morgan Barron has a big NHL future, it may be a reason for them to take a look at Justin. If that’s the case, they may want to wait until their second pick (from Carolina) if it is low enough. With Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox , Tony DeAngelo and Nils Lundkvist, the Rangers seem set with righthanded shooting defensemen, a reason Justin Barron may not be on their radar.
Braden Schneider, Defense – WHL
If the New York Rangers decide to go with the best available player philosophy, they may consider Braden Schneider, though he is another righthanded shooting defenseman, an asset the Blueshirts don’t need.
Schneider is a big (6’2″, 202 pounds) defenseman for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL. He has played three full seasons and boasts solid offensive numbers. This season he finished with seven goals and 42 points in 60 games.
Chris Peters of ESPN has Schneider ranked 16th overall calling him a “physical presence with good two-way skills” who “has the size and strength to make things difficult for forwards along the walls.” Peters called Schneider one of the better all-around defensemen in the draft. Corey Pronman has him at 20th and while he doesn’t see him as a big offensive threat, he “could take a reliable shift on a second pair, kill penalties and plug onto a second power play if needed.”
Yaroslav Askarov, Goalie – VHL (Russia)
One player we haven’t mentioned at all is Yaroslav Aksarov who is clearly the top ranked goaltender in the draft. Considering the Rangers depth and strength at this position, it is highly unlikely that they would draft a goalie, but if he is still around when the Rangers pick, they would have to consider taking him.
NHL Central Scouting sees him as the top rated European goaltender and six of our ten experts see him going in the top ten. In fact, the lowest anyone has him is at 12th overall. Corey Pronman has him ranked as the fifth best prospect in the draft and declared that “he will become a top goaltender in the NHL.”
He dazzled at the Hlinka-Gretkzy Cup with a 1.25 goals against average and a .960 save percentage and was a top performer at several WJC tournaments.
With Igor Shesterkin in net for the foreseeable future, it’s tough to see the Blueshirts picking Askarov, but if he is still around, you never know. He is still only 17 years old and could be NHL ready in five or six years.
What about the Rangers?
Picking around 13th or 14th, the Blueshirts will have a chance to luck into a top rated pick that falls into their laps, or one of the players listed above. The Rangers are still thin at forward so look for them to bolster their depth there by taking a center or wing. Seth Jarvis, Jacob Perrault or Mavrik Bourque could all be decent choices as the team builds for the future.
light. Related Story. Top ten picks who could still be around for the Blueshirts
Here is the list of 10 draft ranking websites we used. Click on the website name to see their full rankings.
Elite Prospects.com – The top 31 prospects ranked in April.
ESPN, Chris Peters – Top 50 players in the draft, ranked on January 29
The Hockey News, Ryan Kennedy – The top 31 players in the draft, ranked in January after the WJC.
ISS Hockey – March rankings of the top 31 players
McKeen’s Hockey, Ryan Wagman – The top 31 picks ranked midseason
NHL Central Scouting – The official final draft rankings divided between North American and European skaters and goalies.
The Sporting News, Steve Kournianos -Top 125 picks ranked in December..
Sportsnet, Sam Cosentino – He ranked the top 31 picks on April 8.
TSN, Craig Button – The TSN prospect guru revealed his top 103 picks on March 30.
The Athletic (subscription required) – Corey Pronman ranked the top 31 at the midseason on January 29