It was said for many years that the New York Rangers had one of the brightest futures in the NHL. As that future is starting to transition into the present, there is a further future on the horizon. The next generation of the New York Rangers is starting to come into focus with the spotlight shifting to the next group. Five Rangers prospects will be at the World Junior Championships to show off that they are some of the best young talents in the world.
With prospects representing Canada, Slovakia, the United States of America, Czechia, and Finland, Ranger fans and the Blueshirts front office will get to see their talents and possessions at the highest level of juniors. The best of the best will be at this competition from this age group and will be able to show their talent to the watching hockey world. This is the first time they will see some of the prospects from other leagues, and it’ll be a great test for the kids.
It should be noted that due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, the IIHF will not allow Russia to take part in any international events for the foreseeable future. Russia will not be icing a team at this World Juniors event, so there will be prospects that are Russian that may have taken part in this event under different circumstances but are just not eligible to take part due to these restrictions.
Ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline, these prospects will be important for New York to show off their capabilities. If they can play well and push up their trade values, it will mean that the Rangers could use these prospects as trade bait to land a player that could help at the deadline if they wanted to make a push for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Alternatively, performing well here will give them a boost to their development and make the Rangers’ future better.