What makes Rangers’ Jacob Battaglia intriguing and ‘unreal’ prospect
Last week at New York Rangers development camp, Jacob Battaglia wasn’t the biggest name among the prospects in attendance. But the 20-year-old forward shouldn’t be overlooked heading into his first professional season either.
The Rangers acquired Battaglia from the Calgary Flames ahead of the trade deadline in March. In what’s become a recurring theme, he wasn’t the headliner in that trade, because former first-round pick Brennan Othmann was the other player involved, moving to Calgary.
Just prior to that trade, the Rangers picked up Liam Greentree, the top prospect in the Los Angeles Kings system, when they shipped Artemi Panarin to the West Coast. So, Greentree overshadowed Battaglia, too, as the Rangers restocked their prospect pool.
More recently, New York acquired Cole Beaudoin from the Utah Mammoth as part of the return package in the Vincent Trocheck trade. Like Greentree, Beaudoin is a former first-round pick. And, yes, his addition drew more attention than that of Battaglia four months prior.
That said, those who know Battaglia best warn not to sleep on the 6-foot-1, 196-pounder, who was Calgary’s second-round pick (No. 62 overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft.
“First of all, he’s an amazing human being,” Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall told reporters at development camp. “And he’s probably the most creative player I’ve ever played with. Just the plays he makes, sometimes you just have to scratch your head. So, yeah, he’s unreal.”
Aspinall was Battaglia’s teammate and linemate with Flint of the OHL last season, after the Firebirds acquired Battaglia from Kingston.
Back to the original theme, Aspinall overshadowed Battaglia in Flint, breaking out with a career-high 94 points, second most in the OHL. So, needless to say, Rangers followers were more intrigued by the 6-foot-6 Aspinall and his unexpected breakout than by Battaglia, even though he was selected three rounds and 97 picks later in that 2024 draft.
But make no mistake, there’s plenty to like and be intrigued by when it comes to Battaglia, who joins Greentree, Beaudoin, and Aspinall as rookie pros in 2026-27.
Shift to center makes Jacob Battaglia even more intriguing Rangers prospect
Battaglia scored 31 goals and totaled 65 points in 67 games for Kingston during his draft year. He then exploded in 2024-25, scoring 40 goals and finishing with 90 points.
Last season, he took on more overall responsibility and then was traded. In 64 games for two OHL teams, Battaglia had 48 points (26 goals, 22 assists). His production dipped, but Battaglia grew his all-around game.
“I think I play an almost complete game. One of the steps I’m still working on is figuring out the D zone a little bit. I think I made some pretty big improvements this year,” he explained last week. “I like to think I’m pretty smart with the puck and make the right play in the right situations. I like to shoot, I like to pass. I just love hockey, I guess.”
Jacob Battaglia — photo courtesy OHL Images
What makes Battaglia even more intriguing as a prospect is the fact that he shifted to center after the trade to Flint last season. Though Beaudoin is a higher-profile center prospect, the Rangers system is not rich at the position. And developing centers is even a bigger deal now after the Rangers traded Trocheck, and with Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller each entering his age-33 season.
“I’ve been a winger-man my whole life, either playing left or right, so when I got that shift to center-man, it was a whole new world of hockey. I never really had any experience playing down the middle,” Battaglia explained. “I really liked it because I felt that I could really use my speed more and attack with my speed instead of being flatfooted on the wall. … I’m pretty excited to get the chance to keep that up.”
In several twists of fate, Battaglia centered a line at Flint flanked by Aspinall and Darian Anderson, who ended up being selected by the Rangers in the sixth round (No. 163 overall) of this year’s draft.
“We used to have to fight over who’s line he was on, pretty much, that’s how valuable he was to the lineup,” Battaglia said about Anderson. “And Nathan, I’m sure you all know how skilled and how smart he is with the puck. So, those guys made my life pretty easy when I was playing alongside them.”
If Battaglia remains at center, the Rangers will try to develop Beaudoin, Dylan Roobroeck, Carey Terrance, possibly Brody Lamb, and Battaglia down the middle this season at Hartford. That at least is a pipeline to work with for the future with behind Noah Laba, the soon-to-be 23-year-old who enters his second NHL season this fall.
Beaudoin is the top center prospect for sure. But remember, don’t sleep on Battaglia.
