Rangers prospect EJ Emery impresses with slick assist at World Junior Summer Showcase
It’s not often that EJ Emery makes the highlights for a pretty offensive play. But that’s exactly what happened Friday for the New York Rangers’ 2024 first-round pick.
Playing for the United States at the 2025 World Junior Showcase in Minneapolis, Emery made a slick pass that sprung teammate Will Moore through the neutral zone and on his way to a pretty breakaway goal.
Emery, a standout stay-at-home defenseman set to enter his sophomore season at the University of North Dakota, doesn’t find his way on to the score sheet very often. He had an assist in his NCAA debut last year with North Dakota, and it ended up being his only point in 31 games.
He’s the first NHL Draft pick in NCAA history to record just a single point in a season. Emery hasn’t scored a goal in college, USHL or international play since the 2022-23 season.
But he stood out at both ends of the rink in Team USA’s 6-3 loss to Finland on Friday.
“Emery is one of the best shutdown defenders in this tournament, but it was nice to see him make a great long-range pass on USA’s first goal,” Steven Ellis wrote in Daily Faceoff. “He doesn’t get a ton of points during a season, but he knows how to get the puck where it needs to be.”
Related: What Rangers want to see from EJ Emery, Malcolm Spence at 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase
Rangers prospect EJ Emery stands out on both sides of the puck at WJSS
The Rangers want to see more production offensively from Emery as he gets older and his all-around game develops. But they’re unconcerned about his point total last season, instead focusing on how well he played a shutdown role as an 18-year-old in his first season of NCAA play.
Emery shrugged off a question about his lack of production at Rangers prospect development camp in July.
“It just shows that I’ve got something to work on,” Emery said “You always want something to work on, to get better.”
Emery and the Rangers are hoping that a strong summer showcase and start to the NCAA season this fall will help him land a spot on Team USA’s roster for the 2026 World Junior Championship. He was among the final cuts last year, when the United States won a second consecutive gold medal at the WJC.
Malcom Spence, New York’s top pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, picked up an assist for Canada in an 8-4 loss to Sweden on Friday. The 18-year-old forward, selected in the second round (No. 43 overall) five weeks ago, has one assist and two penalty minutes in two games this week. Spence also was a standout in Canada’s intrasquad scrimmage to begin the showcase.
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