Jack Hughes and Macklin Celebrini showed Rangers fans the true power of a No. 1 pick

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan just concluded, and for two weeks the world watched as the best of the best gathered in an attempt to define their legacies. The gap between Sochi in 2014 to now made these games feel extra special, and the games brought something extra that just wasn't there for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Despite the fact that Team USA, and all the Rangers apart of it, won gold, there's good reason to feel like the tournament as a whole felt less like a celebration and more like a recurring nightmare for Rangers fans.

Olympics were a painful reminder of what could have been for Rangers fans

There are fans out there who don't care a whole lot about international hockey, and are strictly NHL fans. As Team USA captured its first gold medal in men's hockey since 1980 and Canada fought through a grueling schedule to take silver, the stars of the show weren’t just NHL players. The main characters at the center of the biggest moments were the elite, game breaking, No. 1 overall picks that every franchise dreams of.

If you wanted to focus on the negatives, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are two of the league's best players, and No. 1 overall picks who were on the ice for Canada and failed when they were needed most. Jack Hughes, another No. 1 overall pick, scored the golden goal.

There is no sharper image from these Olympics than Jack Hughes sliding the puck past Jordan Binnington in overtime to secure gold for the United States. In that moment, Hughes didn’t just win a game, but he cemented himself as one of the most important faces of American hockey. American Rangers fans certainly enjoyed being able to root for Hughes over the last few weeks, but that changes with the Olympics over and him reporting back to the New Jersey Devils. But it didn't have to be that way, and Rangers fans know that.

In 2019, the lottery balls fell in a way that felt like a franchise-altering miracle, landing the Blueshirts the No. 2 overall pick. They took Kaapo Kakko, a powerful winger with a high floor who was traded last season to the Seattle Kraken. New Jersey took Hughes first overall, and seven years later their careers have gone in wildly different directions. While Kakko played a responsible, depth-oriented role for Finland in Milan, Hughes was the engine of Team USA. He finished the tournament with seven points in six games, and more than redeemed himself from a poor showing at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Hughes has had his fair share of injuries over the years, and there's no way of predicting how things would have panned out if he ended up a Blueshirt. The Rangers, prior to these last two years, were one of the most successful teams in the league, but they are at a crossroads right now following the Letter 2.0. What they need is their current young talent to become difference makers, and specifically they need Alexis Lafrenière and any other future lottery picks to be more like Macklin Celebrini.

Celebrini is latest example of what an elite No. 1 pick can do for a franchise

While Hughes was a reminder of the Rangers draft past, Celebrini should serve as a warning for the future. At just 19 years old, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick wasn't a passenger on a stacked Canadian roster loaded with multiple Hart Trophy and Stanley Cup winners, he was the engine that got better as the tournament progressed.

Celebrini finished the Olympics with a line of 5-5-10, and he led all skaters in goal scoring. The San Jose Sharks wunderkind played with a level of gravitas and tenacity that Blueshirts fans have been craving from their No. 1 overall pick from 2020. Lafrenière was a highly touted prospect, one that had achieved something only previously done by Sidney Crosby prior to being drafted, and that what makes his inability to get it together so infuriating. Lafrenière and Crosby remain the only two players to have won the David Branch Award as the Canadian Hockey League's player of the year in back to back seasons.

While Celebrini was in Milan competing for gold, Lafrenière’s future and potential remains a point of intense debate in New York. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but he has yet to command a game, let alone an international tournament, the way Celebrini just did. The best that can be said about Lafreniere is his 2023-24 playoffs in which he finished with a line of 8-6-14 in 16 games played, but that doesn't stack up in the same way to anything that Celebrini has done to this point.

With Rangers on track to pick in the lottery, they need to make sure they are able to get their guy this go round

The 2026 Olympics served as a master class in the superstar gap. For New York, these games were a painful reminder that not all No. 1 picks are created equal. As the Rangers slide back into the lottery, the margin for error has vanished. They cannot afford another high floor prospect. New York need an elite high ceiling driver. The roster remains devoid of a homegrown, elite, top-line center who can drag the franchise across the finish line. Hughes and Celebrini proved they are exactly that, and while 2026's projected top prize, Gavin McKenna, is a winger, his performance in the NCAA so far suggests he might have a similar gravitational pull. Or as the kids these days might say... "aura".

There are some interesting center options if the Rangers don't pick as high, but none with the projected ceiling of McKenna.

The urgency is compounded by a 2026 free agency class that has shifted from generational to underwhelming as the season has progressed. With the premier players of note already locked up, and the Rangers' trade assets depleted, the draft is now the only viable path to building a sustainable future.

The brain trust of Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan had a front-row seat to this reality in Milan. Sullivan, leading Team USA, saw firsthand what happens when a No. 1 pick like Hughes takes over a gold medal game. The hope is that this experience forces a shift in philosophy and a realization that they must do whatever is necessary to land a top-tier talent and, more importantly, cultivate an environment where that talent can actually breathe. Given the Rangers' recent track record with developing high-lottery picks, that second part is easier said than done, but it’s the only way forward.