NY Rangers' Alberts Smits Surprisingly Receives Poor Prospect Ranking

Where was Alberts Smits of the New York Rangers recently place in a prospect ranking?

Jun 26, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; NHL prospect Alberts Smits before the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers will be starting up the 2026-27 campaign at the end of the month, and the franchise will be hoping to be much better than last season. 

Following a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, it should be only up from there for the Rangers. This summer, the team was aggressive in their pursuit of upgrades not only for this coming season, but the future as well. 

New York was able to accomplish this goal and appears to be in a strong position to succeed this coming year. While a lot of the attention has gone to the moves that the team made to improve for the short-term, they also had what appears to be a strong draft and have added some good young talent not only from there, but in recent trades as well. 

Now, with an improving prospect pipeline, there is reason to like what the future could hold for the team. However, a recent prospect ranking had their new top player ranked surprisingly low.

NHL.com contributors recently released the top 26 prospects heading into the season. Surprisingly, the Rangers’ fifth overall pick from the 2026 NHL Draft, Alberts Smits, came in ranked 17th. 

Smits Ranked Too Low

Jun 26, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Alberts Smits reacts beside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Considering how high of a pick Smits was and that he projects to potentially be a first-pair defenseman, being ranked 17th is a bit of a surprise. 

There is a lot to like about Smits’ overall game, and in the 2026 NHL Draft, he was considered to be one of the most NHL-ready players in the class. 

Whether or not the Rangers will want him in the NHL to start the season will likely be determined by how he does at camp. New York figures to have a spot on the third-pair ready for him alongside Braden Schneider, but they have some other options as well, with the blueline depth being far better this year. 

Considering his upside as a first-pair defenseman along with him likely being close to being ready to play in the NHL, his being ranked outside the top 15 is a bit surprising. 

Furthermore, with some of the players who were selected after him being ahead of him on the rankings, there will be a little bit of concern about whether or not he was the right pick. Overall, it feels like, as of now, the ranking is a bit low, but Smits can prove the list wrong when he gets on the ice.