Rangers now have stronger case for high upside pick with 5th overall selection

The New York Rangers' 2025-26 season will go down as a disaster. Sure, there was promise late in the season, but they still finished in last place in the Eastern Conference. To make matters worse, the Rangers received the fifth-overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft after having the third-best odds to win the lottery. That's because the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks leapt ahead of them for the first- and second-overall picks, respectively.

Given the Rangers having the fifth-overall pick, that means they are likely to miss out on the top forward prospects in Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, and Caleb Malhotra. That makes it likely they will take one of the top defenseman prospects. However, there is one forward they could take a chance on, and he received an incredible pro comparison.

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button unveiled his latest top five rankings for the prospects in the 2026 draft, and there is a new addition to the list, and it's Djurgardens Viggo Bjorck. Button originally had Bjorck as the sixth-ranked prospect, but has since moved him up to fourth. Button called Bjorck a "Swedish Nick Suzuki."

Potential Rangers draft target Viggo Bjorck called 'Swedish Nick Suzuki' by TSN draft expert

“I thought he was Sweden’s best player at the World Juniors,” said Button. “I thought he was just unbelievable in respect to his two-way play [and] everything he did.

“I just watched how they used him. Three-on-five, four-on-five, key defensive zone face-offs, power play, five-on-five matchups, everything. I think he’s brilliant. He’s everywhere he needs to be and he’s everywhere an opponent doesn’t want him to be.”

A prospect being compared to Suzuki, who is one of the main cogs of the Montreal Canadiens core that is four wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final? Rangers fans sure would sign up for that. While Suzuki's bread and butter is quarterbacking the top line and power play, he is one of the best defensive forwards in the game, which is why he is a finalist to win the Selke Award this year.

It's no secret that the Rangers need to add some forwards with upside to their prospect pool. The team has already called up Gabe Perreault and Adam Sykora, but besides them, there aren't many difference makers remaining in the AHL. With the Rangers likely to trade away center Vincent Trocheck, they need to start bringing in some, high potential players to help them through their retool. Perhaps Bjorck could be that player if that's the route they go in.

One thing about Bjorck is that he is on the smaller side when it comes to what teams are looking for in forwards. Bjorck stands at 5-foot-10 and weighs 172 pounds. But he has shown that he can compete at the highest level in Sweden. Playing for Djurgardens in the SHL this past season, Bjorck recorded six goals and nine assists in 42 games, while posting a plus/minus rating of +5. In three playoff games, Bjorck scored one goal and two assists.

Bjorck is currently playing for Sweden in the IIHF World Championship. Through three games, he has one goal and one assist. His lone goal arrived in a 6-2 win over Denmark, where fellow first-round prospect Stenberg provided the primary assist.

Bjorck is an enticing prospect for the Rangers to take a chance, if they indeed want to address the center position. He showed he can do a bit of everything on offense and defense, which would be beneficial for the Rangers long-term. Ultimately, we'll see how the draft board looks once they are on the clock, especially if they stay put at the No. 5 spot.

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