NHL Draft 2016: Rangers Select Defenseman Tarmo Reunanen 98th Overall
The Rangers addressed their organizational need of puck-moving defenseman in the fourth round.
The New York Rangers selected Finnish defenseman Tarmo Reunanen 98th overall at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Reunanen, who is property of Liiga team TPS, is a puck-moving defenseman, which the Rangers sorely lacked in the prospect pool coming into today. His upside lies in his puck poise. He's very good passer who is calm on the puck and can set teammates up in the offensive zone. Defensive consistency needs to be improved, but the effort is there and this inconsistency is true for most defensemen drafted after round two.
What really hurt Reunanen is that he was inured for half of the season. He missed significant time, and then was passed over in international play even when healthy because of that missed time. The Rangers' hope is that the injury is a one-time issue and that they got a player with late-second, early-third round talent in the fourth round.
The Rangers are next on the clock late in the fifth round.