Dynamic and versatile Swedish forward makes perfect sense for the New York Rangers

The resurgency of Mika Zibanejad this past season, a time in which he spent time between center and wing, is all you need to know about why the New York Rangers should consider taking a bold approach for the upcoming NHL Draft.

The Blueshirts find themselves locked in at No. 5, and unless they trade up or someone falls, they will likely be left with options that are alternatives to what they otherwise would have preferred. That is, unless, they take a bold approach and draft a player who currently make a surge up draft boards.

The case for drafting Viggo Björck

The expected draft order, as of right now, is Gavin McKenna to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chase Reid to the San Jose Sharks, Caleb Malholtra to the Vancouver Canucks, and Ivar Stenberg to the Chicago Blackhawks. That order would leave the Rangers a number of choices, primarily defenders, but you can make the case that Viggo Björck is the player to take.

Björck is a 5'10" and 172 forward from Sweden that plays center and right wing, and currently projected to be a top 10 pick. He recently shot up Craig Button's list at TSN, as he's been described as "Swedish Nick Suzuki". Suzuki is an accomplished two-way center for the Montreal Canadiens, and a player who has developed over the last few years quite nicely. Any version of that would be amazing for the Rangers in the future.

The reason for Björck's ascension likely has to do with his play at Worlds, as it gives analysts and scouts a chance to evaluate how these youngsters are performing on the world stage against some NHL level talent.

In a perfect world, the Rangers would have won one of the draft lotteries and had a chance to draft McKenna or Stenberg. That didn't happen, and with Maholtra as the other top forward of interest unlikely to be available for the Rangers, it makes sense to be bold as opposed to settling for a defenseman.

Rangers need to think big in the context of Letter 2.0 rebuild

While one of the defenders available at that spot would be nice to add to the pipeline, potentially Carson Carels, the franchise has a bigger need for impact forwards. There's a lot of buzz around Björck right now, and some feel he's the most skilled center in this draft.

The Rangers have a need for centers, and even if that doesn't end up being the best spot for him, right wing is an area of need. Left wing is a spot where the Rangers are pretty good right now, and Björck being able to slot in down the middle or on the right side would be a bonus.

New York has already reaped the benefits of versatility by plugging and playing Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller at multiple positions, and adding Björck to the mix would be an extension of that organizational strategy.

Not that it means a whole lot now or should factor into whether or not the Rangers ultimately draft him, but Sidney Crosby is one established player who has watched Bjorck at Worlds, and he walked away being impressed at the job he's doing so far as a young player going up against established pros.

There's a ton of time between now and the draft for the Rangers' braintrust to make a decision, but I think most fans would agree that it would be nice to see the team take a swing for talent as the organization embarks on what they hope is a transformational retool.

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