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Blueshirt Banter Discussion: Should The New York Rangers Try To Move Up In The 2012 NHL Entry Draft?

This is a question that we will dive deeper into as the week goes on, but today I wanted to gauge how happy you guys were with the 28th pick.

I’ve talked a lot about how Glen Sather, Gordie Clark and the rest of the New York Rangers draft crew has managed to get significant talent out of the second round (Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov, Michael Sauer, Brandon Dubinsky and Christian Thomas to name a few), so a late first-round pick can be incredibly valuable for the Rangers.

Why “incredibly” valuable? Because think about the draft mentality. If you have a pick in the top-10 you are (for the most part) taking a player who is going to be NHL-ready sooner rather than later and is a well-rounded prospect. You’re not exactly drafting for the most upside (who have a level of risk attached to them), so much as getting a player who will be able to make an impact sooner rather than later.

Most teams in the 10-20’s play this the same way, although there are some teams who will reach here in order to find a player with more upside. But from 20-30 you see a lot of teams draft for upside. They take risks on players who can be something great or might be a total bust. The Rangers are in that position now.

Do you want them to stay there? Or would you rather see the Rangers put a package together and maybe try to get into the top-20, or maybe even the top-15?

Thoughts?

Talking Points