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What? Rangers’ prospect rankings drop

By Steve Paulus

Oct 12, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) skates with the puck in front of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Joel Persson (36) during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) skates with the puck in front of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Joel Persson (36) during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 12, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) skates with the puck in front of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Joel Persson (36) during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) skates with the puck in front of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Joel Persson (36) during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

For the last few years, New York Rangers fans have had the pleasure of reading about their prospect pool, deemed to be one of the best in the NHL.  Last season, the Blueshirts were consistently ranked first or second when it came to rankings and their young players were considered to be among the top in the world.

The Hockey News just came out with their “Prospects Unlimited” rankings of the best prospects 21 years old and under and it’s clear that their hockey cognoscenti are less impressed by the Rangers’ young players than in the past.  There are certainly reasons to argue that the rankings are wrong.

Here’s where the pride of the Blueshirts rank.

  • #26 –  Alexis Lafrenière
  • #54 – K’Andre Miller
  • #62 – Kaapo Kakko
  • #72 – Zac Jones
  • #88 – Braden Schneider
  • #96 – Nils Lundkvist

Vitali Kravtsov doesn’t make the list because he was born in December 1999 and the cutoff is a birthdate in 2000.  While the publication ranks 2021 top pick Brennan Othmann as a “blue chip” prospect, he didn’t make the top 100.

While it could be seen as encouraging that there are six current or future Rangers in the top 100, the fact that 2020 top overall pick Lafrenière has slipped to 26th and 2019 second overall pick Kakko has dropped all the way to 62nd is somewhat disturbing.

When it comes to Lafrenière, the Hockey News ranked seven players picked after him in that draft ahead of the young Ranger.  Jamie Drysdale, Quinton Byfield, Jake Sanderson, Tim Stützle, Anton Lundell, Lucas Raymond and Jaroslav Askarov are all considered to have a better upside.

As far as Kakko, his position at 62nd overall just doesn’t seem fair.  Players drafted after him that ranked higher include Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield, Spencer Knight,  Moritz Seider, Bowen Byram, Kirby Dach, Alex Turcotte, Matt Boldy, Shane Pinto, Alex Newhook, Philip Broberg, Arthur Kaliyev, Nils Hoglander, Connor McMichael, Cam York and Vasily Podkolzin.  Top overall pick Jack Hughes also dropped in the rankings, but came in at 32nd overall.   That’s 17 players from the 2019 draft ranked higher than the young Finn.

In taking a deeper look, there are reasons to question the rankings.

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