Who should the New York Rangers target with Carolina’s first round pick?

The New York Rangers have the opportunity to make two selections in the first round of a deep NHL draft. Who should they target?

Well, the Carolina Hurricanes, who swept our beloved New York Rangers during the play-in round, have been eliminated by the Boston Bruins. Despite New York’s disdain for Boston sports, this is actually good news for us Rangers fans as it means that the first-round selection we acquired in the Skjei trade will end up being in the 20-24 pick range.

While there is certainly a possibility that the pick could be moved to acquire some NHL-ready talent, such as a center or a left-shot defenseman, it seems far more likely that Gorton will make the pick. During his video conference after winning the draft lottery, he explicitly said he was excited to have two first-rounders in what he described as a “deep draft.” So let’s work on that assumption.

And it should be mentioned that I agree with Gorton’s assessment, as this is a very special draft class that has had players break a number of league scoring records. The top of the draft is very strong, but the draft is also quite deep. It is also unusual in the sense that a lot of the talent in the first round will be coming from the CHL, which is a league the Rangers have avoided for quite some time when picking in the first round. For context, the last Rangers first-round pick who played their draft year in the CHL was Dylan McIlrath in 2010.

Avoiding the CHL talent pool seems very ill-advised this time around. With the inevitable selection of Alexis Lafrenière at first overall, are the floodgates set to open, bringing more Canadian-grown talent to New York? Let’s dive in and figure out who the Rangers should target.

Seth Jarvis, C/RW, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

Seth Jarvis is part of a group of players that Jeff Gorton can only really dream of falling to the Rangers. He had a monstrous season in the WHL, finishing with 98 points in 58 games, good for second in league scoring. Jarvis projects as a top of the lineup player, and while his smaller stature indicates he might be a winger, I think his creative instincts, skill, and speed all point to him being a center.

It would take a miracle for Jarvis to fall this far, but Gorton has already beaten the odds this summer. Jarvis’ skating and playmaking abilities would add two qualities that the Rangers’ prospect pool really lacks, despite how deep it is. Jarvis is essentially a pipedream. But the draft is crazy so I thought it would be worth noting him as a target.

Dylan Holloway, C/LW, Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA)

Holloway came into the year surrounded by a lot of hype and was often talked about as a potential top-10 pick. Unfortunately, Holloway did not have the season that many predicted, although pretty much nobody on that Wisconsin team did. He posted 17 points in 35 games, which is respectable but you would have to be insane to spend a top-10 pick on that kind of production.

Despite his shortcomings this season, Holloway is still viewed as a prospect that will likely be selected near the 15th pick in the draft. Holloway really reminds me of Chris Kreider. He has an extremely mature body and knows how to throw his weight around. Not to mention that he is an excellent skater. His skill level is not as high as his skating ability, but it is still very high and is a selling point of his game. I have a pretty strong suspicion that Holloway will be gone before the Rangers get on the virtual podium to make their second pick in the first round. But if he falls, they will definitely be interested in him.

Connor Zary, C, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

It is very tough to peg where Connor Zary will go in this draft. There is a real chance that he is a lottery pick, but I tend to think he will slip a lot closer to 20. Zary had an impressive draft season, putting up 86 points in 57 games. He is known as a strong two-way center who works his tail off. He is also an incredibly skilled player and has a really entertaining highlight reel. There are serious questions about his skating ability for a player of his size (roughly 6′), and that may scare Ranger fans because he profiles fairly similar to Lias Andersson. If he is available, Zary will certainly be considered.

Hendrix Lapierre, C, Chicoutimi Sanguenéens (QMJHL)

Hendrix Lapierre came into the season with a lot of hype after a huge Ivan Hlinka tournament for Canada last summer. His play at the tournament earned him comparisons to Patrice Bergeron and Evgeni Kuznetsov, two players he has said he models his game after. After a very slow start in the QMJHL, Lapierre’s season took a turn for the worse. Lapierre suffered what was believed to be a concussion and was out for the season. At the time, it was the third documented concussion Lapierre had suffered, and it was fair to question whether he had a future in the sport.

Lapierre sought further medical consultation and it is now believed that he has only had one concussion, but the first concussion he suffered affected his back in a way that mimicked concussion symptoms after the fact. It sounds pretty bizarre, and while I think the combine is generally pretty useless, I am sure teams would like their own doctors to take a look at Lapierre to confirm that information. Because of all of this, Lapierre is no longer even a first-round lock, but he is certainly a first-rounder on talent. The Rangers may consider him.

Mavrik Bourque, C, Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

While Lapierre’s draft stock deflated, Mavrik Bourque’s skyrocketed. Bourque had an excellent season, putting up 71 points in 49 games with very little support. Bourque is undersized and not an amazing skater, but those are the only two knocks against him. He is an incredibly skilled player and is very intelligent. His lack of speed makes me think he might be a winger in the NHL, but he is smart enough to stick at center. Lafrenière will be the Rangers’ first Quebec-born first-round pick since 1977, so why not make it two!

Tyson Foerster, C/RW, Barrie Colts (OHL)

Foerster is one of the draft’s premier snipers and he boasts an extremely powerful and accurate shot. He finished the season with 80 points in 62 games, including 36 goals. He is a truly sub-par skater and it is a legitimate issue in his game, but he is very intelligent, has good hands, and strong vision on the ice that compensates for his pure lack of speed at the junior level. He kind of reminds me a bit of Brock Boeser, although Boeser is a better skater. I think he might be a bit of a reach in this range but he would bring the shoot-first mentality that the Rangers are sorely lacking.

Sam Colangelo, RW, Chicago Steel (USHL)

We know that the Rangers like their American developed players and Sam Colangelo is a good one. The 6’2″ winger played on arguably the best team in USHL history this season, and put up 58 points in 44 games. Colangelo is a very well-rounded, highly skilled forward who knows how to use his skill to hold onto the puck. He has a very good shot and I could see him hitting 25-30 goals in the NHL.

The Steel play a very creative offensive system, so creativity is a part of his game that comes naturally to him. I really like Colangelo’s upside and could see him becoming a good second-line winger. He will almost certainly be available when the Rangers make their pick, and I think he would be an excellent choice.

Brendan Brisson, C, Chicago Steel (USHL)

Brendan Brisson is the son of hockey super-agent Pat Brisson. Like Colangelo, Brisson spent his draft season playing for the Chicago Steel, where he put up 59 points in 45 games playing as the team’s number one center. Brisson is a pretty average skater and is undersized, but he is a very, very intelligent player. He has excellent positional instincts in the offensive zone and has a great one-timer that he knows how to use effectively.

He is a highly-skilled player and has the ability to beat players one-on-one on a consistent basis. Despite being a bit undersized, he is a pretty direct player. That attribute, coupled with his intelligence, leads me to believe he will stick at center. Brisson is slated to join the University of Michigan hockey team, which has a loaded incoming freshmen class. If you want skill and intelligence, Brisson brings that in bunches. I could see the Rangers really liking what he brings to the table.

Thomas Bordeleau, C, USNTDP (USHL)

Bordeleau is a player that I like but don’t love. He is very small, standing at only 5’9″, and his in-game concentration is not always the best which makes me worry about his compete level. That said, he is a skilled player with an underrated shot and good offensive instincts. The appeal of Bordeleau is that he spent the past two seasons on a pretty uninspired team offensively, but his natural ability was still able to shine through. The upside is certainly there and I am interested to see how he develops. Bordeleau will join Brisson at the University of Michigan next season, where quality minutes will be hard to come by if they are not earned.

Not even one left-shot defenseman? It is our biggest need!

In a draft so deep with talent at the forward position, using a first-round pick in this range on a defenseman with pretty limited upside would be foolish considering the players already in the Rangers’ pipeline. The only player that may garner some rational consideration is William Wallinder, but that would be a bad pick in my opinion.

The Rangers have K’Andre Miller, Matthew Robertson and Zac Jones. There just isn’t a defenseman in this range who is better than those players. Take a forward with top-six potential and reap the rewards. Never reach for need, especially in this range.

As you can see from all the players mentioned, it is very tough to predict how the Rangers will use this pick. Maybe they will try to move up in the draft! It is fun to speculate regardless.