5 Prospects the New York Rangers Should Draft in the First Round
Riley Heidt
When it comes to players in this draft that have the ability to be a royal pain in the neck, I think there are very few that come close to the pain Riley Heidt will inflict on teams. As one of the more tenacious players in this class, he would fit the needs and desires of a playoff team. Despite still being a few years away from NHL readiness, this is a player that you have to consider as one of the better fits for this system.
Heidt was one of the more dominant players in the WHL this season with the Prince George Cougars. He was 5th among WHL players in points and was joint top of the league in assists with some guy named Connor Bedard. He’s shown that he can be a capable playmaker against his own age class. A good passer of the puck who is young and annoying to play against sounds like a player the Rangers want tomorrow.
One of the issues with Heidt is that this season kind of came from nowhere. He had 97 points this year with 72 assists and 25 goals in 68 games. This was the first season he had passed the point per game mark and he had never shown the ability to produce like this with the Prince George Cougars. Perhaps this was the breakout year to free himself from the shackles, but there are reservations.
A lot of people have Heidt in the top 20, and I suspect he could go higher but if this player is on the board when the Rangers make their selection in Nashville, there should be a lot of consideration about making a move for someone like this. He would be a great long-term compliment to someone like Othmann on the other wing. Perhaps that is a little early to talk about, but it is exciting to think about.
Oliver Bonk
Hockey is often a family-driven sport. To get into the big time, it helps to have a relative who played in the NHL. For Oliver Bonk, it runs a little deeper than that. Oliver is the son of long-time NHL player Radek Bonk. Radek was a 13th overall pick by the Ottawa Senators in 1994. Many Ranger fans don’t remember that draft because they were all out celebrating the fourth Stanley Cup victory in franchise history.
Going back to Oliver, this is a big defenseman already. At 6’1, 180 lbs at the age of just 18, this is going to be a big man. Not to mention, he’s a right-handed defenseman. Outside of a first-line center, right-handed defensemen are the most valuable commodity in this sport. Finding players that shoot righty is difficult enough, but one on the back end with his size is going to be enticing.
Bonk had a great producing season on the back end of the London Knights with 10 goals and 30 assists for 40 points in 67 games. There is all the talent of a great defenseman there. He’s going to need help putting it all together, but a defenseman that plays the right side and can be a force of nature for a long time on the back end and potentially replace the physical aspect that the Blueshirts lose in the future is a big plus.
It is still going to be a long time until we see Bonk in the league. It’ll probably take two years at least to complete his junior career. He may need AHL time on top of that down in Hartford so please do not think this is an immediate impact player. Outside of the top 5 picks, you are unlikely to find someone like that in this draft. That doesn’t mean this isn’t a player that needs consideration
This player is kind of difficult to get a read on where he goes. Some folks have him at 28, some people have him as high as 25, or EliteProspects has him as an early third-rounder. He splits opinions and could be a good pick. 23 may be a little early for the son of Radek, but it is worth considering.
Axel Sandin Pellikka
Moving from one defenseman to another, let’s talk about Axel Sandin Pellikka. As the Swedish defenseman moves towards his draft eligibility, he is ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the 7th best skater coming out of Europe. This is a player with a lot of pedigree and there is no denying the pure talent that this player has. If this Swedish defenseman falls from his projected placement, this is someone the Blueshirts should jump at.
At just 18 years old, Axel Sandin Pellikka was playing the SHL in Sweden this year, the top flight of hockey in his domestic country. Playing against men as an 18-year-old is no small feat. When he wasn’t with the big club, he was putting up more than a point per game from the Blueline in the Under 20 league. This is a defenseman with a lot of talent and he would fit all the needs of the Blueshirts farm system.
Right-handed defensemen are often the most difficult to find. It is part of the reason that players like Adam Fox are so valuable. Lefty defensemen aren’t easy to find but they are far more common. To have that right-hand shot to change the angle when needed is important and when you combine that with a skillset like the one Axel Sandin Pellikka has, there’s no reason the Rangers should not be all over the Swede.
TSN’s Craig Button has the 5’11, 180 lbs blueliner going 10th overall. Other mock drafts, such as Bob McKenzie at TSN have him going as low as 17th overall and his undersized physique makes him a prime slide candidate. If the Rangers are able to nab him at 23rd, it would be a very successful pick in terms of adding talent to the farm system.
Samuel Honzek
As the Rangers have shown recently, there is no dislike of taking players from Eastern Europe. Whether that is Czechia like in the case of Filip Chytil, Bulgaria like Alexandar Georgiev, or Slovakia for Adam Sykora, it has been a part of the world the Rangers have enjoyed recently. Perhaps going back to Slovakia and picking up one of Sykora’s fellow countrymen is the route to go like with Samuel Honzek.
Honzek had his first season in Canadian Juniors last year with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL where he collected 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points in just 43 games. There is no denying that this is a player who came across the different-sized ice surfaces in North America and continued to find success. While that success was admittedly in a junior league, it is still impressive.
Although the Slovakian Centerman’s size is one of his stronger attributes at 6’4, 185 lbs, this is a player that seems to have all the tools. That long reach he has because of his enormous frame is useful, but there is more to him. His shot is one of his best qualities. He’s got a quick release and for a man his size to be able to get the puck away quickly is a big thing. If he bulks out and learns to fire the puck while leaning on someone, he’s got great potential.
This is another player that seems to divide opinions. Sportsnet has him at 13, the highest I’ve seen. TSN had him at 19th and 22nd overall. There are other people that are not sure of his status as a first-rounder. I’ve seen some mock drafts have him in the late second and even third rounds, and while I think that is unrealistic, this is a player that should be on the board around the time the Rangers are up to pick in Nashville.
Ethan Gauthier
There would be a lot of irony in seeing the Rangers use a pick that they kept because they put a condition on it that they had to win a round to select the cousin of a player they traded away at the same time as they protected the pick, but that could very much be the case with the cousin of former New York Ranger Julien Gauthier, Ethan Gauthier. In fact, Ethan is from a strong hockey family with his father Dennis playing in the league for a decade.
Ethan doesn’t quite have all the tools Julien had at his disposal as a Ranger. Julien had that size to go with the speed. Ethan is just 5’11 and while he will probably grow since he is just 18 years old, that 175 lbs weight is not going to impress some of the older hockey minds. It also doesn’t help that he is not the fleetest of foot which is the biggest thing in the modern NHL.
What Gauthier does well is work. He will hit the ice and immediately go into the forecheck, he’ll go after guys and get under their skin. He’s never going to be the guy that mails it in early and tries to get an extended break. He’s going to fight for every puck, every inch of space, every deflection, anything he can just to be annoying and it is going to have a ton of teams interested in his services at the draft.
In 66 games in the QMJHL, Ethan tallied 30 goals and 39 assists for 69 points. It truly was a nice season for him. But this only has him on the draft boards as high as 16th. EliteProspects put him at 30th so it really does depend on who you ask. This is another guy that is going to be interesting to watch because he has a really bright future in this league.