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Olympic medals for the best Rangers draft picks, round by round

By Steve Paulus

Rangers Brian Leetch gets the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP following game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals at Madison Square Garden June 14, 1994. The Rangers won the game 3-2 and the Stanley Cup.Rangers Win Stanley Cup
Rangers Brian Leetch gets the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP following game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals at Madison Square Garden June 14, 1994. The Rangers won the game 3-2 and the Stanley Cup.Rangers Win Stanley Cup /
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Dominic Moore #28 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during a game at Consol Energy Center on February 10, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images)
Dominic Moore #28 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during a game at Consol Energy Center on February 10, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images) /

Third round picks

Gold: Dominic Moore (2000)

Silver: Don Luce (1966)

Bronze:  Mike McEwen (1976)

Honorable mention:  Louie DeBrusk (1989)

Future medalists?:  Pavel Buchnevich (2013), Zac Jones (2019)

To be honest, the list of players drafted by the Rangers in the third round is pretty unimpressive.  We all loved Dominic Moore’s  compete level and faceoff ability, but for him to win the gold medal is an indication of how weak their third round picks have been.

Don Luce had a long NHL career and topped the 20 goal mark six times, but of course, he did it after he was traded away.  Mike McEwen was a gifted offensive defenseman who once scored 20 goals for the Rangers.  He too was traded away at age 23 and he went on to play nine more years in the NHL.

Louie DeBrusk got medal consideration as a physical player who had 1,161 penalty minutes in his career.  He never played a game for New York, sent to Edmonton in the trade for Mark Messier.

Pavel Buchnevich gets medal consideration and a few more years like the last one and he could sneak in and take the bronze medal.

The fourth round is next and some players who saw their best years away from New York.

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