Why Keaton Verhoeff Is Not a Good Fit for NY Rangers in NHL Draft

Here's why Keaton Verhoeff isn't the best fit for the New York Rangers at fifth overall.

Apr 9, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; North Dakota Fighting Hawks defenseman Keaton Verhoeff (18) moves the puck in the first period against the Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals of the NCAA men's ice hockey Frozen Four at T-Mobile Arena. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers are getting set for an important stretch coming up and the team will be hoping to hit their goals this summer. With the NHL Draft coming up, that will be key for the Rangers to find success. 

While they haven’t been in the NHL lottery the last couple of years, they have not had a lot of success drafting early in the last decade, and that is a reason why the team is lacking a bit in terms of young talent. 

Now, while they didn’t get as high a pick as they would have liked, New York is still at fifth overall. The Rangers will have the opportunity to land a young impact player with this pick, and they need to make sure they get it right. 

From a positional standpoint, New York would love to add one of the top three forwards in the draft. However, since they did have the unfortunate luck of dropping to fifth, landing Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, or Caleb Malhotra seems like it could be hard at this point. 

However, with a need on the blue line as well, landing a good defenseman wouldn’t be a worst-case scenario, but not all of them would be a good fit. One name that has been mentioned a lot is Keaton Verhoeff, who, for a while, was being considered as the best defenseman in the draft. However, his stock has dropped a bit. 

Verhoeff Not a Great Fit

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

While Verhoeff is a talented player and a likely Top 10 pick, he isn’t the best fit for the Rangers. With Adam Fox still being in his prime on the right-hand side, the need to use the fifth overall pick on a right-handed defenseman seems unwise. 

If Verhoeff was considered to be a slam dunk of a pick when the Rangers are on the clock, that would be one thing, but there are some concerns with some mixed results as a freshman for North Dakota. 

Furthermore, with defenseman like Carson Carels and Chase Reid seeing their stock rise, if New York is going to go with a defenseman, one of those choices seems more likely. Of the two Carels could very well end up being the choice for the Rangers. 

He is a left-handed defenseman, and Reid has seen his stock potentially go up enough that he could be the second overall pick. While Verhoeff is a good player, he isn’t a strong fit for the Rangers.