Rangers hoping to beat odds in draft lottery

The Rangers’ last ten top-10 picks

Players are listed in chronological order starting with the most recent. This is not a ranking of players.

1. Kaapo Kakko, Right Wing,  2nd overall, 2019: The Finland native had a fairly impressive rookie season for the Rangers, notching 10 goals and 13 assists. He started well enough to stay on Broadway, fell off after the New Year, but impressed in the qualifying round by shooting more and using his size (6-foot-1, 181 pounds) and speed to create room and chances.

2. Vitali Kravtsov, Right Wing,  9th overall, 2018:  After impressing scouts with strong play in the Kontinental Hockey League, he didn’t make the Rangers out of camp and with the team’s permission returned to the KHL. Following the end of his KHL season, Kravtsov played 39 matches for the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, notching six goals and nine assists. He was on the Rangers’ qualifying round roster but didn’t play in any of the team’s three losses to the Carolina Hurricanes.

3. Lias Andersson, Center, 7th overall, 2017: Had three goals and six assists in 66 games between 2017-18 and 2019-20. Last season, he had one apple in 17 contests and was sent to Hartford. Shortly thereafter, he abruptly left the team and requested a trade to another NHL team. The Rangers’ brass reportedly smoothed things over enough to allow Andersson to play for HV-71 in his native Sweden for the rest of the campaign and again this season after he rejected an invitation to training camp last month.

4. Dylan McIlrath, Defense, 10th overall, 2010: The Rangers were so enamored with his frame (6-5, 236) they took him over defenseman Cam Fowler, center Jaden Schwartz, winger Vladimir Tarasenko, and centers Evgeny Kuznetsov and Charlie Coyle. Most pundits had the Rangers taking Fowler — and they should have. McIlrath has played 66 NHL games and has five points along with 121 penalty minutes and was last seen unable to make the roster of the Red Wings, the league’s worst team. Fowler has played 679 games and boasts 301 points and 185 PIMs.

5. Al Montoya, Goalie,  6th overall, 2004: He lasted just 169 games in the NHL and posted a 2.65 goals-against average and .908 save percentage). Selected before right-wing Drew Stafford (841 games, 428 points), as well as goalies Devan Dubnyk (520 GP, 2.58, .915) and Cory Schneider (409 GP, 2.43, .918).

6. Dan Blackburn, Goalie, 10th overall, 2001: Poor kid’s career was cut short by injuries. According to Guardians of the Goal by George Grimm, Blackburn injured his shoulder lifting weights after the 2002-03 season. At the time, the Rangers didn’t have a goaltending coach, meaning netminders were left to train on their own. Blackburn’s shoulder nerves never fully recovered, and he retired having played just 63 games (3.24, .894). His injury led to the Rangers hiring goalie coach Benoit Allaire, who went on to mentor Henrik Lundqvist.

7. Pavel Brendl, Right Wing, 4th overall, 1999: Got off on the wrong skate from the start, reportedly showing up to his first Rangers training camp out of shape. Never came close to matching the gaudy stats he accumulated while tearing up the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen (172 goals, 320 points). Brendl never played a regular-season match for the Rangers and was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a package for Eric Lindros. In 78 NHL games with the Flyers, Hurricanes and Phoenix Coyotes, he notched 22 points and 16 PIMs.

8. Jamie Lundmark, Center,  9th overall, 1999: Leave it to the Rangers to screw up two top-tens in the same draft. At least Lundmark actually played for the Rangers, notching 11 goals and 19 apples in 114 matches. New York could’ve had defensemen Barret Jackman (876 GP, 186 P, and 1,102 PIMs) and Nick Boynton (605 GP, 144 P, 862 PIMs), and forward Martin Havlat (790 GP, 594 P, 404 PIMs).

9. Manny Malhotra, Center, 7th overall, 1998: Was projected to be a solid two-way NHL forward. And he was, but only after he left the Rangers, who mishandled the kid from the start. Coach John Muckler reportedly never thought of Malhotra as more than a third-liner and often benched him. When Muckler was replaced by Ron Low, Malhotra still floundered. In 206 games over parts of four seasons for New York, he had 19 goals, 22 assists, and 90 PIMs.

Naturally, once he left, he emerged as the player most predicted he’d become, putting up six seasons of double-digits in goals, four with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and one apiece for the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks. He was also acknowledged as one of the best faceoff men in the NHL.

10. Niklas Sundstrom, Right Wing,  8th overall, 1993: Played 315 games for the Rangers, notching 65 goals and 98 assists and 78 PIMs. His best NHL campaign was his second (1996-97), posting single-season career highs in games (82), goals (24), points (52), and power-play goals (five). He also finished sixth in voting for the Selke Trophy and eighth in the NHL with a shooting percentage of 18.2. He was part of a June 1999 trade that landed the Rangers the No. 4 pick in that year’s draft, used on Brendl.