2026 NHL DRAFT
The retooling New York Rangers will have 11 draft picks in this weekend’s NHL Draft held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY.
Friday, June 26
Day 1 — Round 1 coverage starts at 7p ET on ESPN, ESPN+, and Disney+.
Saturday, June 27
Day 2 — Rounds 2 thru 7 start at 12n ET on the NHL Network and ESPN+.
RANGERS DRAFT PICKS
- Round 1 (#5)
- Round 1 (#26 from Dallas, via Carolina)
- Round 2 (#64 from Carolina)
- Round 3 (#67)
- Round 3 (#77 from the NYI)
- Round 3 (#81 from Los Angeles)
- Round 3 (#92 from Buffalo)
- Round 5 (#131)
- Round 6 (#162 from Chicago)
- Round 6 (#163)
- Round 7 (#193 from Vancouver)
RANGERS ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS
Unlike the NFL Draft, it is rare for hockey teams to fill immediate needs in the NHL Draft. For instance, only 9 of the 224 players selected in the 2025 draft made their NHL debuts last season. Only three played more than 12 games led by the New York Islanders’ rookie-of-the-year Matthew Schaefer (82 games), Pittsburgh Penguins’ Benjamin Kindel (77 games), and the San Jose Sharks’ Michaell Misa (45 games).
Therefore, despite the fact that the Rangers’ current roster is considered strong at center and in goal, those are two of the three long-term organizational needs. Here’s why.
- Center — Noah Laba, who turns 23 in August, was the only Rangers’ center born later than 1993 on their roster in 2025-26. Laba (drafted #111, 2022) projects to remain a solid third-line anchor, highlighting the need for the Blueshirts to find pivot prospects with Top 6 potential.
- Defense — The Rangers top two defensive prospects are EJ Emery and Drew Fortescue. Emery, 20, is right-handed and expected to return to the University of North Dakota for his junior year. The former first round pick (#30, 2024) is strong defensively but scouts believe he needs to improve his offensive and physical game.
Fortescue, the 21-year-old former third-round pick (#90, 2023) played in nine games this spring after Boston College ended their season. He showed signs of being a solid puck-mover — though I believe he needs a full year at Hartford in 2026-27 to adjust to the professional game. Both players are projected to max out as 4/5/6 defenseman.
- Goalie — Dylan Garand, 24, is primed to become Igor Shesterkin’s backup in 2026-27. After completing four apprentice seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the former fourth-round pick (#103, 2020) aced his late-season audition with the Rangers to the tune of a 2-0-1 record with a 1.62 GAA and .948 Save%. However, behind him the cupboard is bare.
NYR DRAFT BOARD
The Rangers have two first-round picks (#5 and #26), while the New Jersey Devils (#12) and the New York Islanders (#13) have one each. What follows is my Top 13 list of the players I would select, in order, if available. I hereby grant Devils’ GM Sunny Mehta, Islanders’ GM Mathieu Darche, and Drury permission to use my work.
RANK | NAME | POS | MY COMP | FLOOR |
1 | Gavin McKenna | LW | Artemi Panarin | Trevor Zegras |
2 | Chase Reid | RHD | Noah Dobson | Shayne Gostisbehere |
3 | Carson Carels | LHD | Ryan McDonagh | Brady Skjei |
4 | Caleb Malhotra | C | Jordan Staal | Manny Malhotra |
5 | Ivar Stenberg | LW | Joel Eriksson Ek | Artturi Lehkonen |
6 | Viggo Bjorck | C | Logan Stankoven | Yanni Gourde |
7 | Albert Smits | LHD | Mattias Ekholm | Brendan Dillon |
8 | Keaton Verhoeff | RHD | Colton Parayko | Cody Ceci |
9 | Daxon Rudolph | RHD | Evan Bouchard | Tony DeAngelo |
10 | Malte Gustafsson | LHD | Jonas Brodin | Carson Soucy |
11 | Ryan Lin | RHD | Jared Spurgeon | Nils Lundkvist |
12 | Tynan Lawrence | C | Boone Jenner | Luke Kunin |
13 | Nikita Klepov | LW | Nikolaj Ehlers | Vitali Kravstov |
THE REAL TAKE
This has been referred to as the “Gavin McKenna Draft” for a few years, as the uber-talented Canadian winger has had many highlights go viral across his Medicine Hat Tigers, Penn State, and Team Canada careers. He still needs to improve his competitiveness, consistency, and defense — but the likely #1 draft pick should be able to get Toronto Maple Leafs fans to stop obsessing on Mitch Marner.
The only other player that seems poised for superstardom is Reid — who is a classic late bloomer. He was cut by his USHL team two seasons ago, then played briefly in the NAHL before joining the Soo Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League. Late bloomers excite scouts because the arrow is still pointing up on draft day.
Speaking of scouts, I should remind you that I am not one. As the great Mike Greenberg of ESPN said during an April episode of “First Draft” with Mel Kipper, Jr and Field Yates, “I am not a scout, just an aggregator of scouting reports”.
Based on all the information that I have consumed, I’m comfortable stating my Top 7 prospects all safely project to have long, productive NHL careers. Therefore, the Rangers should be in a great position at #5 to secure a player that can start impacting at the NHL level no later than 2028-29.