NY Rangers Have Two Clear Needs to Address in NHL Draft

What are the needs for the New York Rangers to address in the NHL Draft?

Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; The video board shows the 20th overall pick for the Columbus Blue Jackets is about to be announced in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With the start of the NHL Draft on Friday night, the New York Rangers will be hoping to make some big moves in order to improve and begin to build for the future. 

Friday night is going to be an important one for the Rangers for years to come. With two picks in the first round at fifth and 26th, New York will have a great opportunity to improve their prospect pool. 

This is an area that the Rangers have been lacking in, and their young talent, while improving, still has a ways to go. New York would have liked to be higher in the draft, but the team didn’t have luck on their side when the ping pong balls dropped in the NHL Lottery. 

Now, they will be seeking to add some impact talent. While the Rangers won’t be able to control what happens ahead of them, as a team that finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, there are needs in multiple areas. However, when figuring out what types of players the team should be pursuing, that should be pretty clear. 

Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the biggest need for the team heading into the NHL Draft being to improve their speed and scoring. 

Rangers Need To Keep Up With the Times

May 8, 2025; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. / The Journal News-Imagn Images

The NHL has certainly changed a bit over the years, and the game is now featuring more skill and speed rather than grit and power. New York might have been a bit behind the times when it comes to this, and it will be an area to address. 

Fortunately, with two picks in the first round, they will have a good chance to be able to do so. With the fifth overall pick, while they would have loved to get one of the top forwards, that appears to be unrealistic. The Sabres are a bit of a wild card right ahead of the Rangers with the fourth pick, but the top three forwards could be off the board by then. 

For New York, with it being likely that they will be taking a blue-line player with their first pick, that should result in them trying to get some help for the forward spots with the 26th overall selection. Overall, getting the best players available should be the goal for the team, but prioritizing players who can skate and score will be important.