From the Dorofeyev Blockbuster to the Seventh Round: The Rangers' Full 2026 Draft Recap

It's been an incredibly busy weekend of news around the NHL, and the New York Rangers were not exception to that. After heading into the weekend with eleven total draft picks, the Rangers pulled off four trades which resulted in them making a total of nine picks through the full seven rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft.

The big news of course, came just before the Rangers were set to pick with the fifth overall selection.

Pavel Dorofeyev

In case you missed it, Tom wrote a great piece that highlights not just the Rangers biggest moves, but one of the most significant trades of the weekend. Packaging together the first round pick from the K'Andre Miller trade (26th overall) with a conditional 2028 first rounder (top-10 protected) and one of their four third round picks (Buffalo's, 92nd overall), the Rangers acquired pending RFA Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights. By the end of the night, the Rangers had him signed to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $11 million, making him the highest paid skater on the team.

With many of us on for the livestream for the draft, you can hear our in-the-moment reactions to the trade and everything that comes with it there. However, the long and short of it is this is fantastic business for the Rangers. We know the goal is to retool versus rebuild. They gave up two first rounders, but this is a player that immediately plugs into your first line, has averaged 58 points (36 goals) through the last two seasons, and is only 25-years-old, turning 26 at the start of this season. He's going to be a Rangers through the entirety of his prime and should score plenty of goals along the way. There's risk in giving up the 2028 first, but with it being top ten protected, you're guaranteeing that it's at most the eleventh overall pick. Given where the Rangers plan to be in 2028, that pick should absolutely be in the second half of the round, if not closer to a second if all goes well. This is great business.

Round 1, 5th Overall: Alberts Smits - Defense, Munich EHC, DEL

I believe the consensus around this pick from the fan perspective is generally positive, but there are some that were up in arms about them passing up on Chase Reid and Carson Carels. When push came to shove, the perception around most of the top defenseman in this draft class certainly seemed to be that they were all excellent players with top-pair ceilings. Many felt Reid was the clear-cut best defenseman. Several others, myself included, felt Carels was. The Buffalo Sabres clearly felt Daxon Rudolph was. Alberts Smits was very much in consideration as one of the top defenseman in this draft class.

Here's what I had to say about him back in November when I first mentioned him in the Draft Radar Series:

Another sizable left-handed defenseman that would fit a need with the Rangers, Alberts Smits is a name that is gaining more recognition as he continues to develop his game in Finland. Playing in SM-Liiga at just 17 years of age, the Latvian native is making progress at an impressive pace and could really take off by the time the World Juniors come around at the end of next month.

As I explained on the live show, as well as the regularly scheduled episode of Blueshirt Bandwidth that came out the day prior, there were a couple of things about Alberts Smits that put him in the Rangers favor. Of the top five defensemen in this draft class, he was far and away the most NHL-ready. He has experience playing against grown men in Europe, he looked great in the Milan Olympics, he has the ever-so-slight edge in size (6-3, 205 pounds), and has no commitments to university or any other professional teams, meaning he could begin playing for the Rangers as early as this coming season.

When you factor all that in and combine it with the difference in talent from perhaps the more favored defensemen in the rankings was more minuscule than the average fan perceived, this was a fantastic pick for a team in the Rangers position.

Round 2, 64th Overall: Ben Macbeath - Defense, Calgary Hitmen, WHL

I know many folks were probably hoping the Rangers would take a forward—ideally, a center—with this pick in the draft. But rest assured, Ben Macbeath was great value here.

This is a player I left out of my second round pick's story simply because I was all but certain he would be off the board by the time we got into the 60s. Although, as expressed in the June Draft Radar Scouting Report, he was someone I felt the Rangers should have their eye on. And, sure enough, he became their second selection of the draft. He was ranked 22nd for North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and was someone I even expected to go as early as late in the first round.

Say what you want about Chris Drury, but when he identifies an area of improvement for the Rangers, he goes out and addresses it. The main thing he mentioned at the end of the season was that the Rangers needed more puck-moving defenseman, and that did so not just with this pick, but how the rest of the draft played out.

Macbeath is 6-2, 188 pounds, shoots left, and is coming off a 51 point season in Calgary of the WHL. His ceiling may not be as high as a guy like Smits, but this is a player who can absolutely play in the NHL down the road. He competes, he plays a reliable two-way game, he can help create offense, do some scoring of his own, and has all the tools to do just about anything you need out of a defenseman. He's heading to Denver University in the fall, which is only going to help him. For the best-player-available crowd, this should be an incredibly satisfying pick.