The NY Rangers Prospect That Could Force His Way onto NHL Roster

The New York Rangers have one prospect in particular who could force his way onto the team to start the season.

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. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With rookie camp underway and the regular season right around the corner, what the roster looks like for the New York Rangers on Opening Night will be interesting to see. 

Coming off a bad season, the Rangers were very aggressive in trying to improve. Chris Drury made it clear that the team was going to be retooling and not rebuilding, and that was certainly the case. 

New York did have an eye toward the future when it came to some of their moves, but the team was also able to get better for the short term. This is not an easy balance to achieve, but the Rangers seemingly did well at it. 

Improving their prospect pool has been a need for New York, and even though they moved some first-round picks to improve, they have been able to get some younger talent on the team both in the draft and in trades. 

As the team hopes to sustain some success long-term, having a steady group of prospects will be key. With the regular season right around the corner, there is one prospect in particular who could be ready to make the team. 

Smits Could Be Ready Right Away 

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. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When looking at some of the top prospects for New York, their fifth overall pick from the 2026 NHL Draft is the new top one in the system, and he could be ready to go right away. 

With experience playing in major leagues and also in the Olympics this past year, Smits was seen as one of the most NHL-ready prospects in this year's class. 

Improving the blueline was a major goal for the team this summer, and they certainly addressed that. In the trade market, the Rangers were able to revamp their second-pair with the addition of Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi. 

Quality depth was a major issue for the team on the blueline last year, but they have greatly improved in that area. Furthermore, while they selected Smits with the fifth pick, they also added a lot of other blueline players for the future as well. 

Currently, the left side of the third-pair figures to be a job that Smits can win. While New York does have a couple of other options at the spot, if he is ready to go, they should have him in the NHL. 

Overall, while the Rangers have a couple of other good prospects like Liam Greentree and Cole Beaudoin, Smits figures to have the clearer path to a starting spot and might be more ready than both of them as well.