NY Rangers Make Tough Decision With 5th Pick in Recent NHL Mock Draft

Who did the New York Rangers take in a recent NHL mock 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 NHL Draft starting up on Friday night, the New York Rangers will be major players with two picks in the first round. 

As the draft quickly approaches, there has been a lot of player movement of late that has shaken the draft up a bit. The San Jose Sharks were able to acquire the ninth pick and will now be in excellent shape with two picks in the top 10. Furthermore, due to them trading William Eklund, that likely means they will be taking Ivar Stenberg with the second overall pick. 

Furthermore, the Buffalo Sabres were able to acquire the fourth overall pick and will now be right in front of New York in the draft. This could make things a tad interesting with the Sabres being a hard read after just jumping into the top five. Regardless of who is ahead of the Rangers, the team will be seeking to add some good talent for their prospect pool, and that will start at number five. 

Rachel Kryshak of ESPN recently released an NHL mock draft in which the Rangers went with the talented Albert Smits with the fifth overall pick. 

Smits Could Make Impact Right Away

Nov 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; General view of a flag being waved by New York Rangers staff during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden. / John Jones-Imagn Images

This was certainly an interesting mock right before the NHL draft with a significant change in the top four. Despite having his dad as the coach for the Vancouver Canucks, the team passed on center Caleb Malhotra, electing to go with Chase Reid instead. 

Reid has been considered the top choice of what looks to be a very talented defenseman class this year. However, the Canucks have been widely expected to take Malhotra with the third pick. 

Unfortunately for the Rangers, he didn't make it down to them, with the Buffalo Sabres grabbing him at number four. However, even though he didn’t fall to New York, they were still able to grab a talented defenseman in Smits. 

When it comes to making a decision for the Rangers with the fifth pick, it could very well come down to Smits or Carson Carels. There are cases to be made for both players, but Smits might be able to play in the NHL right away, which could give him an edge. 

Carels is seen as the player who has the higher upside, but Smits is also very good. For New York, with the team likely not being able to make the type of splash they might have been hoping for, drafting a player who could be ready right away might be the preferred path.