NY Rangers' Prospect Pool Got Major Jolt With Addition of Alberts Smits

The New York Rangers saw their prospect pool get a major jolt with a new addition.

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. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers have been very busy this offseason, and the hope is that all of the moves that they have made will put them in a much better spot. 

Coming into the summer, the Rangers were expected to be an active team, and that has certainly been the case. New York made a plethora of moves in free agency and the trade market to get better, and the results are encouraging. 

However, while improving for next year was certainly a goal, this is also a team that wanted to get younger for the future and to create some more sustained success as well. 

Over the last couple of years, Chris Drury has been trying to retool the roster after seeing the title window close. However, there have certainly been some bumps in the road, and it certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing. 

For New York, this offseason was always going to be key for them with a good amount of draft capital and cap space as well. Using some of that draft capital, the team was able to improve their prospect pool with a major new addition. 

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the top 100 prospects in the NHL. For the Rangers, their new defenseman Alberts Smits was able to make the list in the top 10 at ninth. 

Smits Could Be an Excellent Player

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

There has been no shortage of talk surrounding the lack of prospects for the Rangers in recent years. This is a team that frequently traded away draft capital while trying to win a Stanley Cup, and those moves came back to hurt them. 

The prospect pool for New York had been depleted, and it is one of the reasons why the team is doing some retooling now. However, after finishing in last place in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers were able to improve their prospect pool with a major splash in the 2026 NHL Draft. 

New York was able to do just that by adding Smits with the fifth overall pick. Now, with a top 10 prospect in the league, things feel much better all of a sudden. 

However, while Smits might be considered a prospect now, that could change very quickly. The talented defenseman was seen as one of the most NHL-ready players in this draft class, and he could be on the team coming out of training camp. 

Overall, there is a lot to like about Smits’ potential with New York, and he could be a key piece of the team going forward.