Five Second Round Draft Options for the New York Rangers

With the New York Rangers deciding to send the Pittsburgh Penguins their first round pick in this coming draft instead of their unprotected first round pick in 2026, all the attention now turns to the Rangers second round pick. Acquired in the trade with Colorado that sent them Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey, the Rangers first selection in this year's draft—barring any other trades—will be at 43rd overall. That may not be as exciting has having the 12th overall selection but it is still valuable to have the chance to land a top-50 talent in any given draft class.

Here are five players the Rangers could and/or should have on their radar on day two of the draft.

William Moore, C/LW - U.S. NDTP

I do have this player going at the end of the first round in my mock draft, but in the event he falls and is still on the board at 43rd overall, the Rangers have to take him. At the time of writing this, Corey Pronman of The Athletic has him ranked 42nd on his top 125 list. Tankathon has him listed 34th and the NHL’s Central Scouting has him at 29th for North American skaters. Across the board, he projects to be either a late first rounder or an early-to-mid second rounder, which could align perfectly with the Rangers at 43rd overall.  

Moore is a 6-2, 175 pound left-handed forward who can play either wing or center. You can describe him as a sort of perfect starter pack in terms of building an NHL caliber, middle six forward. He doesn’t particularly stand out in any one area but he is solid in all aspects of the game. He’s a good skater, has good hands, decent size, sees the ice well, and has the potential to produce secondary offense at the NHL level. Moore’s a north-south type of player who is often busy around the net in the sense that he’s either making plays with the puck down low or is finding himself in positions around the net to get a quick shot off.  

As a USNDT product and a Boston College commit, he fits in perfectly with this all-Boston, all-American coaching staff the Rangers find themselves with. In 35 games with the USNDT in 2023-24, he registered 25 points. This past season, he scored four fewer points in 10 fewer games, and also showed up in the World Junior’s Tournament with 11 points in just seven games. Practically every tournament Moore has participated in he’s put up solid numbers which could indicate the potential for him to be a 16-game player. If all goes well for his development at BC, he can become a really useful third line center who can bump up to the second line in certain situations. 

The Rangers can definitely use a player like this, especially after trading Filip Chytil in the J.T. Miller deal. Beyond their current roster, they don’t have a ton of promising centers aside from Brendan Brisson and maybe Bryce McConnell-Barker.