Why Rangers draft-day duds, busts big part of current on-ice struggles
The New York Rangers are on their way to a second straight non-playoff season. They are 1-5-2 since the Christmas break and enter their game against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night last in the 16-team Eastern Conference.
The Blueshirts are struggling on several fronts. No. 1 goaltender Igor Shesterkin is injured. Their top defenseman, Adam Fox, is on long-term injured reserve for the second time this season. They can’t put the puck in the net (2.55 goals per game, 30th in the League), especially at home (5-12-4, including six shutout losses). Seven players, including each of the top-six forwards, are minus-10 or worse. They get an average of 2.45 power plays per game, last in the NHL, yet allowed a League-high seven shorthanded goals.
Many of those problems are traceable to one issue: poor work at the NHL Draft over the past several years.
The Blueshirts didn’t have a first-round pick in 2014, 2015 nor 2016. None of the position players they selected during that time played more than 16 NHL games. Luckily for the Rangers, they hit it big with the second goaltender they selected in 2014 – the first one, Brandon Halverson, was a dud, but their fourth-round pick was Shesterkin, who turned into one of the best in the world at his position.
Alas, he’s the last impactful player who became a star that the Rangers drafted.
After those three largely wasted drafts, the Rangers had a four-year stretch beginning in 2017 when they selected no lower than ninth overall. Only one of those four players in that group remains with the team, and just two are still in the NHL.
Forwards Lias Andersson (No. 7 overall in 2017) and Vitaly Kravtsov (No. 9 overall in 2018) never did much with the Rangers, were traded away, and are playing in Europe. Another forward, Kaapo Kakko (No. 2 overall in 2019), never found a role in the top six before being traded to the Seattle Kraken just before Christmas last season; he had an assist Monday in his new team’s 4-2 win at the Garden.
The Rangers actually had three first-rounders in 2018; one of them, defenseman K’Andre Miller, played five seasons as a regular on the blue line before New York traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes last July 1 rather than extend his contract. They also used the No. 28 pick on a defenseman, then traded Nils Lundkvist to the Dallas Stars four years later.
Then, of course, there’s the case of Filip Chytil, their second pick in the first round of the 2017 draft (No. 21 overall). Had he remained healthy and not sustained all those concussions, Chytil likely was on the path to being a top-six fixture with the Rangers. Unfortunately, he’s sidelined with another concussion now as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
Alexis Lafreniere not generational player Rangers needed in draft
But the biggest disappointment from that four-year span is a player who’s still with the Rangers.
New York won the NHL Draft Lottery in 2020 despite qualifying for the COVID-expanded Stanley Cup Playoffs and being swept in the first round. The Rangers selected Alexis Lafreniere, a left wing from Rimouski of the QMJHL, who was the top-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. Then-general manager Jeff Gorton said he knew Lafreniere was going to be a Ranger “when the ball came out of the machine” at the lottery.
Lafreniere was regarded as the most talented player in the draft, according to NHL.com. But he’s never come close to living up to the hype.
The Rangers quickly signed Lafreniere and brought him right to the NHL; in hindsight, letting him spend another season in juniors might have been a better idea. He’s now is in his sixth NHL season, and broken the 20-goal mark just once, when he scored 28 times in 2023-24, the same season he had a career-high 57 points. Lafreniere regressed after signing an eight-year contract extension in October 2024, and his offensive production is down again this season (nine goals and 24 points in 47 games). Coach Mike Sullivan demoted Lafreniere to the third line on Monday.
One could argue that 2020 was just not the best draft to win the lottery and land the No. 1 overall pick. Lafreniere was the overwhelming consensus top prospect, and is a good NHL player, just not a generational one. The San Jose Sharks with Macklin Celebrini in 2024, and Islanders with Matthew Schaefer in 2025, for example, were simply more fortunate.
Rangers must hit on draft picks to avoid extended decline
The Rangers’ next two picks in 2020, defenseman Braden Schneider (first round, No. 19 overall) and forward Will Cuylle (second round, No. 60 overall) established themselves as mid-tier NHLers – not stars but useful players who can contribute to a winning team. Two other forwards, Brett Berard (fifth round, No. 134 overall) and Matt Rempe (sixth round, No. 165 overall) bounced between the Rangers and Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Chris Drury joined the Rangers front office in September 2015 as director of player development under Gorton, moved up to assistant GM in 2019, and became team president and GM in May 2021 when the Rangers fired John Davidson and Gorton. Though the Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in two of his first three seasons and won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24, their drafting under his command still isn’t producing the talent needed to keep them near the top of the League.
Forward Brennan Othmann (No. 16 overall in 2021) has played 32 NHL games without scoring a goal. The Rangers recalled him from Hartford this week after a hot stretch in the minors, a season when he’s largely struggled with confidence and lack of production at all levels. At age 23, he’s already the subject of trade rumors and his future may just be with another organization.
The Rangers had no first-round pick in 2022, but fourth-rounder Noah Laba made the team this season, grabbed the third-line center role, and looks like a long-term top-nine fixture. Fifth-round pick Victor Mancini made the Rangers last season, before the defenseman was sent to the Canucks along with Chytil on Jan. 31, 2025, in the trade that brought forward J.T. Miller back to Broadway.
The Rangers hope that their 2023 first-round pick (No. 23 overall), forward Gabe Perreault, becomes an offensive force after excelling in his two seasons at Boston College. The son of former NHL center Yanic Perreault has one goal (a deflection off his skate) and five points in his first 19 NHL games; his hockey IQ is unquestioned but he needs to get stronger and faster. The Athletic’s recent ratings of players under 23 put Perreault at No. 120 (he’s the only Ranger in the 137-player listing) – his puck skills, compete level and hockey sense all are rated as “above average,” but his skating was “below average.”
2024 first-rounder (No. 30 overall) EJ Emery, a defense-first defenseman, is in his second season at the University of North Dakota. Their first pick in 2025, forward Malcolm Spence (second round, No. 43 overall) is a freshman playing well at the University of Michigan.
The Rangers have two first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft – their own, which could be in the top 10, and the Stars’ pick, which figures to be among the final few selections. With most of the core of his team over the age of 30 and a second straight early summer looming, Drury must hit on some high picks quickly – or else this dismal run will extend for seasons to come.
