The New York Rangers bolstered their prospect pool by selecting a number of defenseman at the 2026 NHL Draft last week, but there's hope that they will eventually get a boost from a player they picked 30th overall just two years ago. EJ Emery is in New York this week for development camp, and the 6'3" rear guard has got a laser focus on what he wants to do with his career.
Emery reflects on a transformational season at North Dakota
When asked about his play this year at UND, Emery reflected on his physical growth, the experience he gained playing in the Frozen Four, and also about changes he made to his game. When asked about the last year, Emery said, "Yeah, I think the biggest thing was just, you know, just slow the play down, you know? So I don't have to rush anything. I can use my skating to my ability and just really, what I just realized, I can hold onto the puck a little bit longer."
He was also asked about signing with the Rangers, and his response was pretty straight to the point in that "right now, I'm just focused on UND and winning a national championship there. And when we get to that, we get to that."
Emery's year over year growth was very promising
As a freshman Emery appeared in 31 games for UND and he recorded just one assist to go along with 40 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of plus three. The concern at the time was he general inability to have any offense as part of his game, not even a handful of secondary assists.
This year was a different story as he scored three goals and added 10 assists for 13 points in 38 games to go along with 32 PIMS and a plus/minus rating of plus 17. That jump over the course of a season speaks loudly, especially given how quiet his output was previously.
Emery touched upon that a bit when he was asked about his role on the team, and his answer just gives some additional context to why his numbers don't standout as much. When asked about what the coaching staff asked of him, Emery said, "in that defensive, PK role, just kind of maintaining that stability. Be able to eat up minutes and defend the other team's best players. That's really what I was there for."
The hope is that as a junior he's even more comfortable, and he's able to put into practice more the concept of slowing the play down and using his skating to his advantage. The Rangers will certainly take his defensive contributions and stability, but the modern NHL is a game where you want to try and get offense from each pair, so Emery continuing to grow that part of his game would be very beneficial to him.
2026-27 will be important season for Emery
With the Rangers having selected Alberts Smits at No. 5 overall, one wonders if that will give Emery a little something extra to play for from a motivation perspective. To that point, Emery was very complimentary of Smits in saying that "he's a big, young kid that's going to be incredible. He's going to be an awesome player, and super excited to be here with him and get to know him a little bit."
Emery is certainly in a better spot than he was at this point last year. Ideally he will have an even better season with North Dakota, which should be possible with the additions the team is making to the roster, and that will put him in a spot where he can go on a lengthy run before ultimately turning pro. In some respects, Smits overall readiness will have an impact on when Emery gets his shot, but for now it is just best to focus on the Rangers having options, and players who are focusing on getting better than they were the year before.
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