NY Rangers Wisely Seen as Round 1 Winner in 2026 NHL Draft

The New York Rangers were wisely seen as a winner in Round 1 of 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

The NHL Draft has come to its conclusion, and the New York Rangers have appeared to do a very strong job. 

Coming off a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the pressure has been on this summer for the Rangers. This was a team that was seemingly lacking a bit of direction, with the front office trying to balance between competing and getting younger. 

It is not an easy task to be able to do this, and New York has had some bumps in the road along the way. However, this past weekend was an encouraging sign for the team going forward. 

With nine selections, the Rangers were able to add some much-needed talent to their prospect pool. There was certainly a heavy focus on improving the left side of their blue line, and they added five new players for that group. However, it was their first round that really stood out with a strong selection and a blockbuster trade. 

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about some of the winners and losers from round one of the NHL Draft. For the Rangers, they were seen as winners with their selection of Alberts Smits. 

New York Does Well in Round 1

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. / Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Even though the Rangers came into the draft with two picks in the first round and ultimately traded one away in the Pavel Dorofeyev deal, they still did a good job overall. Keeping the fifth pick out of that trade was huge for New York. 

After seeing the Chicago Blackhawks have to part ways with the fourth overall selection in order to acquire Bowen Byram, it appeared like the Rangers were going to have to do the same with their top pick to get a talented player in a trade. However, New York was able to hold on to the selection and land Smits. 

The talented defenseman projects to be a strong two-way player in the league, and a major plus is that he might be able to help the team right away. The Rangers have stated that they aren’t rebuilding, and with the addition of Dorofeyev, the retooling plan is taking place. 

Overall, getting a player the caliber of Smits, who might be one of the most NHL-ready players in the draft, is a major luxury. The Rangers should be happy with how the first round went, pulling off a major trade and getting a strong player for their blue line.