After taking Alexis Lafrenière with the first overall pick, the New York Rangers traded up to get the 19th pick and selected defenseman Braden Schneider
There was a lot of suspense when it came to the second first round pick for the new York Rangers. It was heightened when Calgary was due to pick 19th overall. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the first trade of the draft. The Rangers had swapped their first round pick (22nd overall) and their third round pick (72nd overall) for Calgary’s 19th pick in the first round.
Jeff Gorton announced that the team had selected defenseman Braden Schneider. Schneider is a righthanded shooter who just turned 19. He plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL and is 6’2″, 202 pounds. He’s got a reputation as a tough, physical defenseman who is hard to play against.
Ryan Kennedy of the Sporting News had the Rangers taking Schneider with the 22nd pick and had this to say about him.
“When you already have an elite forward in the draft, you might as well add elsewhere. Schneider is a rock-solid two-way defenseman who plays physical and skews more towards the defensive side of things. But he does skate well and has ‘pro’ written all over him.”
That’s it for the first round and the Rangers. They selected two players who fit the profile of the type of player the Blueshirts are looking for. We’ll have more analysis coming as well as full coverage of the picks taken in the later rounds.
The first round
Here are the picks taken before the Rangers’ 19th overall selection:
- New York Rangers: Alexis Lafrenière, LW – Rimouski, QMJHL
- Los Angeles Kings: Quinton Byfield, C – Sudbury, OHL
- Ottawa Senators: Tim Stützle, C – Mannheim, Germany
- Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, C – Frolunda, Sweden
- Ottawa Senators: Jake Sanderson, D – US National U18
- Anaheim Ducks: Jamie Drysdale, D – Erie, OHL
- New Jersey Devils: Alexander Holtz, C – Djurdaren, Sweden
- Buffalo Sabres: Jack Quinn, RW – Ottawa, OHL
- Minnesota Wild: Marco Rossi, C – Ottawa, OHL
- Winnipeg Jet: Cole Perfetti, C – Saginaw, OHL
- Nashville Predators: Yaroslav Askarov, G, – St. Petersburg , Russia
- Florida Panthers: Anton Lundell, C- HIFK , Finland
- Carolina Hurricanes: Seth Jarvis, C, – Portland, WHL
- Edmonton Oilers: Dylan Holloway, C/LW – Wisconsin, NCAA
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Rodion Amirov, LW – Ufa, Russia
- Montreal Canadiens: Kaiden Guhle, D -Prince Albert, WHL
- Chicago Blackhawks: Lukas Reichel, LW – Berlin, Germany
- New Jersey Devils: Dawson Mercer, C/RW – Chicoutimi , QMJHL
- New York Rangers: Braden Schneider, D – Brandon,WHL