Grading the New York Rangers 2024 draft class seems to be a little unfair as it has only been barely six months since the draft. It is also kind of unfair since one prospect advanced to the NCAA from the US National Training and Development program and the other is in Europe.
That said there is still some good things to like about the prospects playing in North America.
E. J. Emery was the Rangers first round pick (30th overall) and it is really hard not to like what has been seen so far. Emery has been the shutdown defender many had hoped he would be in his freshman season at North Dakota.
At 6'3 180 and not due to turn 19 until March, Emery's defensive play is very mature for someone so young. Why he fell to the Rangers at 30 says there will be 29 NHL GMs regretting passing on him in the future.
Few players in the 2024 NHL draft know how to read the offensive play in front of him like Emery. It is like a chess grandmaster looking over the chess board and making the checkmate move.
Emery doesn't make many mistakes in his defensive zone, he can defend against the rush, read the play in front of him and come up with the way to break up the rush. And his use of the physical is made even more impressive when you see only four minors in his first 19 games.
Yes in the perfect world we would like to see some offense out of Emery but the more one watches the Rangers play in their own defensive zone then the less one should care about whether or not Emery puts up points.
Just because of his excellent defensive play Emery rates an A.
If there was a surprise out of the four draft picks the Rangers made then that would be Raoul Boilard of the Baie Comeau Drakkar. The young center was the Rangers fourth round pick in the 2024 NHL draft (119th overall) but he has been the MVP of the first half.
It starts with his skating as it has been outstanding from his first step acceleration to his ability to pivot on a dime. This is one prospect who will also steal the show when it comes to a speed skating contest.
His puck handling skills are going to be his ticket to the NHL as well as his superior passing skills. Got to love how he can create offense for himself and those he is on the ice with. His 7-19-26 leads all the Ranger prospects along with a respectable 53.4 faceoff win percentage.
But despite that Boilard is going to get a B+ because where he needs the most work is his defensive play. Not very physical and sometimes can be frozen with a good head fake. Boilard also needs to shot the puck more often when he has the shot.
He doesn't have to always be the setup guy as his shot is above average when he takes it. He had 22 goals last season so seven in the first half is putting himself below the pace of last year.
The Rangers selected Nathan Aspinall with their fifth round pick (159th overall). The left wing is the latest in draft picks that the Rangers have made who are 6'5 or better.
In Aspinall's case he is 6'7 195 so by the time his body matures, he figures to be around the 225-230 mark. He shows that he is well aware of what is happening on the ice, Aspinall is good with his puck handling and he has a accurate but also powerful shot.
Not the fastest of skaters as he could use some work on his first step and acceleration. Typically, players with Aspinall's size have a rough time staying out of the penalty box but he has just six minors in 26 games.
Consider him a better version of Adam Edstrom as Aspinall has much more offense than him. Aspinall is playing on a weak Flint Firebird team, and our hope is for him to be traded to a team so we can see more of his potential.
Aspinall had a great start but has not gotten back to where he was prior to his injury. For now, Aspinall grades out at a B which should be higher if his team was playing better.
The last of the Rangers 2024 draft class is LW/C Rico Gredig of HC Davos in the Swiss National League. Not having seen him play like I have the other three makes it unfair to grade him out.
What can be said about Gredig is he is playing on one of the better teams in the Swiss National League as a teen. He is also someone who is also on the preliminary roster of Switzerland's Under-20 team.
When the World Under-20 championships start on December 26th, we will have time to see him in action and update this then.