NY Rangers Reportedly Like Talented Defenseman in NHL Draft

Which defenseman do the New York Rangers like in the NHL Draft?

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan speaks to reporters after an 8-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers are getting set for the NHL Draft, with the combine just recently wrapping up. With two picks in the first round and a need to add some young talent, the Rangers need to make sure they get things right at the end of the month. 

Coming off a bad year, New York is entering an important offseason. The Rangers had the worst record in the Eastern Conference as their retooling continued. New York was a team that needed to make some changes, but the production on the ice has been lackluster. 

While the team did play a bit better after the Olympic break, they have a few notable needs to address this summer. Help in the scoring department is going to be one of them. The Rangers were really bad at times offensively, and how they try to fix the problem will be interesting. 

One potential avenue to help would be the draft, but New York falling to the fifth pick could take them out of the running for the top three forwards. However, they do seemingly like one of the defensemen who should be available. 

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about who the Rangers might take with the fifth pick. He highlighted that the team is high on defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, who would seemingly be available for the team to land with the fifth overall pick. 

Rangers Linked to Verhoeff

North Dakota Fighting Hawks defenseman Keaton Verhoeff / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

It wasn’t too long ago that Verhoeff was considered to be the top defenseman in the class. While his stock might have fallen a bit, the Rangers liking what they see from him shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. 

Even though he might be a right-handed defenseman, New York should be thinking best player available with the fifth overall pick. If that player is indeed Verhoeff, then that should be the selection. 

If the Rangers did take Verhoeff, it would likely increase the chances that the team would move on from Braden Schneider. The restricted free agent is likely going to receive a solid contract and one that might be too expensive for New York’s liking. If they drafted Verhoeff, while he might not be ready right away, he should be in the NHL soon enough to replace Schneider, and the team would be able to avoid a long-term commitment. 

Furthermore, due to the Rangers not drafting great in the lottery over the last 10 years, the team really needs to make sure they get the fifth pick right. Even though  Verhoeff isn’t the perfect positional fit right now, he could be a great player in the league.