Blueshirt Banter 2025 Top 25 Under 25: 25-21

Welcome to the new and improved resurrection of the official Blueshirt Banter Top 25 Under 25 series. If you need a reminder about what this is, how it works, and how the rankings were (brilliantly) formulated, look no further than my primer piece right here.

(Editor's Note: This first piece in the series is free. The following four pieces will be behind the paywall, so there's never been a better time to subscribe to Blueshirt Banter so you can read them.)

With that, let's jump right in.

25: Mikkel Eriksen, F, 17 Years Old
2025 4th Round (111th Overall) | NYR Selection

We start with the youngest player in the New York Rangers' draft pool, and one of the newest as well.

As I mentioned in the preview piece for this series: The Rangers don't have a particularly deep pool of U25 guys, and in normal circumstances a guy like Eriksen—who could be as much as five years away from seeing NHL action—would make an honorable mentions list more than the actual list. But the Rangers don't have a super deep pool, and I like the idea of Eriksen more than, say, Callum Tung who I ultimately bumped off the list to squeeze him in.

Eriksen was selected 111th overall in this most recent draft, boasting a really impressive season in Sweden's J20 Nationell league (43 points in 30 games) along with some eye-opening numbers for Norway's national team (1-3-4 in five games for the Norway U20 team at the WJC-20 D1A this year).

Is he a sure thing? No. Not even close. Scott Wheeler loves him (major green flag) and we discussed him at length on a Blueshirt Bandwidth episode in July, but even Scott maintained despite his love for him and everything he does right, he still might just be a good AHLer and nothingmore. Still, the combination of upside, how young he is, and what the Rangers have (or, more accurately, don't) in the pipeline is enough for me to give him the nod here.

24: Jaroslav Chmelar, F, 22 Years Old
2021 5th Round (144th Overall) | NYR Selection

Chmelar was a very interesting pick when the Rangers made it in 2021, and his stock has somewhat stagnated since then.

Chemelar is a bigger body guy (6-5, 220 pounds) and has a sneaky good shot. The problem for Chmelar is where he projects to be as a player, and what that role looks like with the big club. I have spoken to various people who all range from liking to really liking him as a player, but everyone agrees his NHL ceiling is likely a solid fourth line guy.

Things need to go right for him to get there, though. The scoring really hasn't translated at the AHL level, and you do expect some semblance of offense at the AHL level out of guys who play their way onto depth roles at the NHL level.

Our Hartford Wolf Pack correspondent Keegan Jarvis discusses why this might not be as big of an issue as it seems on paper:

A combination of size, speed, and skill, Jaroslav Chmelař is a very fun player to watch. Despite standing 6-5, Chmelař moves with speed, breaking into the offensive zone to set up chances for himself and teammates. His 29 points last season may not look like much on paper, but Chmelař was badly snakebit in the scoring department—there were countless times where he’d set up a chance for himself and the puck would roll of his stick or go just wide of the net. If even half of those chances fall, Chmelař likely ends the season with more than 40 points. Chmelař biggest area of development will be on defense, where he’ll need to be more responsible in his own end. If he can work on defense and finishing, the Rangers will have yet another intriguing bottom six option on their hands.

23: Jackson Dorrington, D, 21 Years Old
2022 6th Round (176th Overall) | VAN Selection

Acquired via trade last year, Dorrington was a throw in to the bigger J.T. Miller and Filip Chytil swap.

Dorrington was an interesting addition to the trade, even if his eventual NHL role and upside were in question. A three-year player for Northeastern in the NCAA ranks, Dorrington finished his junior year with a 2-13-15 line in 37 games. Nothing crazy, but Dorrington isn't exactly known for his offensive output.

Dorrington is an interesting prospect for the organization, and one who might be a little too low on this list once all is said and done based on him potentially being a more "NHL-able" prospect down the line.

Keegan's thoughts:

Acquired as an unsigned prospect in the J.T. Miller-Filip Chytil swap, Jackson Dorrington is set to play a key role on the Wolf Pack’s defense next season. In the nine games he played on an ATO last season, Dorrington quickly carved out a role as a responsible defender and a key penalty killer, both roles he held during his time at Northeastern University. Dorrington, like many defensive prospects, likely needs a bit of seasoning in the AHL. However, as one of the two true defensive prospects the Rangers currently have (the other being Scott Morrow), fans should be sure to pay plenty of attention to Dorrington’s performance in Hartford next season.

22: Bryce McConnell-Barker, F, 21 Years Old
2022 3rd Round (97th Overall) | NYR Selection

It probably makes more sense to start with Keegan's take on McConnell-Barker first:

If you look solely at the numbers, you probably won’t think much of Bryce McConnell-Barker’s rookie season in the AHL. However, his impact on the team goes beyond the scoresheet. McConnell-Barker carved out a role as a key defensive and forechecking forward for the Wolf Pack, bringing energy to the bottom six. He showed a bit of his scoring touch with seven goals and 15 points. For a rookie playing out of position (he lined up on the wing in the majority of games) without consistent linemates, that’s a decent clip. McConnell-Barker figures to get consistent playing time for the upcoming season. If he can keep the energy and defense while increasing the point total, the Wolf Pack will have a key player in the former Soo Greyhound.

The issue that we have when we get to these types of guys is there are only so many depth spots available on the big club, and many of them are either locked down by guys with longer contracts or other younger players. McConnell-Barker has to go through another layer of AHL talent that will show up later on this list and then a layer of already NHL-bubble guys to make his way to the show.

I liked him when he was selected, I love the energy and the vibes that he brings to Hartford, and I think he's a fine player to have in the system. I just don't think we're going to be hearing his name much at Madison Square Garden.

21: Brendan Brisson, F, 23 Years Old
2020 1st Round (29th Overall) | VGK Selection

Brisson is one of the outlier of this process, and I'm honestly not sure where to rank him. He has NHL experience, which should automatically place him in the 11th slot based on that alone. However, that experience came with Vegas, and I am having serious issues finding any path to him playing for the Rangers next year.

The Rangers likely already will not have room for at least one of Brett Berard, Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, and Jusso Parssinen. That says nothing about Carey Terrance or Adam Sykora, who would be next on the list. It's a really strange situation for Brisson going into camp.

That results in me pushing his future NHL upside and age into account here. When you roll all that up, I'm not sure what you have in Brisson.

There are flashes in there that show a capable NHL player who might be able to make an impact. Last year he had zero points in nine NHL games for Vegas, but the year before he had a 2-6-8 line in 15 games for them. His AHL production was fine two years ago, but took a major step backward last year for the Henderson Silver Knights and his six points in 16 games for Hartford is nothing to look twice at either.

Now, there is something to be said for a guy simply not being in a team's plans (don't we know it) and then moving to a new team with a new system. The change of scenery thing doesn't happen overnight, and Brisson can use this year to develop and get accustomed to life in the Tri-State area.

Keegan's thoughts are below:

Last season was one of challenges for Brendan Brisson. The 2020 first rounder (#29 overall) broke camp with the Vegas Golden Knights, but was assigned to their AHL affiliate in Henderson after going scoreless through seven games. He spent the majority of the season with the Silver Knights, where his offensive game lagged compared to previous years, scoring just 19 points through 45 games. At the trade deadline, Vegas dealt Brisson to the Rangers for Reilly Smith, and he joined the Wolf Pack, where he’d post an additional six points in 16 contests. This season, Brisson will get a chance to reset and play big minutes for the Wolf Pack. If he can regain form, he becomes a top option in Hartford and another potential option for the Rangers.

My final thoughts are that as a 23-year-old who is turning 24 in October, there is not a ton of runway left for him to really make an impact here.