NY Rangers Need to Strongly Consider This NHL Draft Strategy

The New York Rangers need to think about using this strategy during the NHL draft.

May 8, 2025; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. / The Journal News-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers have a lot of areas of weakness to address on their roster, and the 2026 NHL Draft will be their first opportunity to fix them.

In an ideal world, the Rangers would see Caleb Malhotra fall to them at No. 5. He would instantly fix their lack of talent in the organizational pipeline up the middle as the best center prospect in this year’s draft class.

Alas, his floor is expected to be No. 3 to the Vancouver Canucks, who hired his father, Manny, to become head coach. The elder Malhotra was also a first-round pick of New York back in 1998. If not his son, a defenseman is expected to be targeted by the Rangers.

They are going to have ample opportunities to bring in talent with 11 selections in this year’s draft. However, they should strongly consider consolidating some of those selections, especially in the middle of the draft, to pursue targets in the first two rounds who may slip down the board.

Rangers need to be aggressive getting their guys in 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

New York currently owns four picks in the third round; their own and then selections from the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. Armed with multiple sixth-round picks as well, team president and general manager Chris Drury has some ammunition to move around the board as he sees fit.

No one would fault the Rangers for wanting to hold onto those selections and maximize their chances to add young talent to the organizational depth chart. However, it is fair to wonder just how much room there is for four third-round picks within one franchise.

With that in mind, it would be smart to canvas the league and see what kind of offers exist. Maybe there is a team that is thin on draft capital and would be willing to move back spots if it meant picking up an extra selection or two.

Things are fluid during a draft; nothing goes according to plan. Drury and the front office need to be prepared for all different kinds of scenarios and ready to pounce if an opportunity presents itself.

Can Chris Drury step up during 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

If there is a player whom New York has ranked highly that starts slipping down the board, beyond their two selections in the first round, they need to be ready to make a deal to move up and snag the players they like.

Of course, that is something Rangers fans may even be hesitant about, given how Drury has handled things in the past and how poor the organization has been at identifying and developing young talent.

Ultimately, this is the best opportunity New York will have to add young, high-upside talent to the organization. That includes continuing to hold negotiations centered around veteran center Vincent Trocheck, who could return quite a haul after the market was set by Brady Tkachuk being traded to the Florida Panthers.