Get To Know New Rangers Prospects Aiden Thompson and Jacob Battaglia

The 2026 NHL trade deadline was underwhelming. Not just from a New York Rangers perspective, but around the entire league there weren’t a ton of trades that really made your jaw drop. And the ones that did were, for the most part, announced and completed the night prior.

Still, the Rangers did make a total of three trades—which in a way, was around the total many expected them to make. Of course, none of them involved Vincent Trocheck or Braden Schneider, which was somewhat of a surprise. 

Let's look at the moves the Rangers made and the new players they brought in from those deals.

Rangers Acquire Forward Aiden Thompson From Chicago Blackhawks in Exchange for Derrick Pouliot

This trade was the butt of a joke, in the sense that it was a very minor move compared to the Trocheck-sized moves many were expecting the Rangers to make.

What can be labeled an AHL-swap was actually a very productive trade for a team like the Rangers to make. Despite being a once-upon-a-time eighth overall pick, Pouliot has become a career fringe NHL/AHL defenseman. At best, he’s a guy who can be a team’s seventh defenseman. But in reality, he’s best used as a veteran AHL defender. Since COVID, he’s only played 26 games in the NHL. He had spent the entirety of this season with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL, where he collected two goals and 26 assists for a total of 28 points in 52 games played. 

Those are respectable enough numbers for a veteran of Pouliot’s status, but just not what the Rangers need at this point in time. Pouliot was signed as a free agent this summer to a two-year, league minimum, two-way contract. With Jackson Dorrington having a solid year and some more defense prospects hopefully making the jump to the AHL soon, the Rangers could afford to move Pouliot for something that could help them more down the road.

A young, former 90th overall draft pick that can play center is certainly that . 

On paper, Aiden Thompson may not seem like anything to write home about, but a change of scenery can sometimes work wonders. A 5-11, 185 pound left-handed center, Thompson spent three years at the University of Denver before joining the Chicago Blackhawks AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs. Thompson was a NCAA standout, as he and Florida Panthers prospect Jack Devine were the leading force on that Denver team that won the 2024 NCAA championship. Prior to that, Thompson played in the USHL and was teammates with Rangers forward Noah Laba on the Lincoln Stars. 

In eleven games at the end of last season, Thompson recorded his first assist in one of his first four regular season games, and collected four points in seven Calder Cup playoff games. This was a promising start to his professional career, as he was set to begin his first full AHL season last October. In 40 games with the IceHogs this season, Thompson put up six goals and nine assists for a total of 15 points. Since being acquired by the Rangers, he has two assists in just one game played. 

What are the Rangers getting in Thompson? He’s been praised for having a high hockey IQ and, unlike many of the prospects Chris Drury covets, is a quick skater. His edgework and acceleration really help him, and despite his smaller frame, he plays the game hard and physically. He won’t shy away from a board battle or throwing the body as needed, but the real selling points are his ability to shoot the puck and make plays. He’s the type of player you can trust in either end of the ice and a guy some are expecting to be a late bloomer in terms of development. 

Rangers Acquire Forward Jacob Battaglia From Calgary Flames in Exchange for Brennan Othmann 

At 3:00 p.m. on trade deadline day, it seemed that the Pouliot trade—along with the Sam Carrick move—were the only trades that were going to take place, despite all of the attention on Trocheck. As it turned out, there was one more trade in the queue at that deadline cut-off.

The Rangers finally made the decision to move on from their former 16th overall pick in Brennan Othmann, and brought on a former second round draft pick (62 overall in 2024) in Jacob Battaglia.

Honestly, given where the Rangers were with Othmann, this is a perfectly fine trade for them to make. It was clear they had no interest in giving him any more chances, as it just wasn’t clicking for him at the NHL level in New York. I had even mentioned the last time the Rangers assigned Othmann to Hartford that it wouldn’t surprise me at this point if they just let him walk to free agency at the end of this season.

While Battaglia was a later pick than Othmann, he is a couple of years younger which, at the very least, gives the Rangers a slight redo in terms of developing a young forward. 

Battaglia will turn 20 later this month and is in the midst of his fifth and final season of playing in the OHL. After four and a half seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs, he was traded to the Flint Firebirds where he is now teammates with Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall. In 60 games split between the Frontenacs and Firebirds, Battaglia has a total of 43 points. That comes as a bit of a drop off from last season where he finished with 90 points split between 40 goals and 50 assists.

Listed as a right winger wh0 shoots left, Battaglia is 6-1, 202 pounds and comes as a versatile winger who can score goals as often as he makes plays. At the time he was drafted, many thought of him as a great value pick. But given how last season played out, it was looking like he was set to be a steal in his draft class. The answer is likely somewhere in the middle. Many believe his ceiling is that of a middle-six forward. The upside to that is maybe he can hang in a top-six role, but realistically you're likely looking at a valuable third-liner that can be counted on to contribute secondary offense.

One thing that sticks out is that during his last playoff run with the Frontenacs, Battaglia had 16 points in 11 postseason games, with 11 of those points being goals. Those are rather impressive numbers and could indicate his potential of being a 16-game player. He shares similarities to Thompson in that he's a hard-working player who won't shy away from the dirty areas despite his average size.

Of course, he's not a perfect prospect by any means as he shares a weakness many of the prospects Drury favors tend to have. He's not the best skater, specifically when it comes to straight-line speed. His edgework is fine, but when it comes to NHL pace, especially against top of the line talent, there could be some concerns—to the point where The Athletic's Scott Wheeler believes it could hold him back a bit at higher levels.

Still, this is a player who has plenty of skill and could very well become an option for the Rangers down the road. He will be a big name to keep an eye on once the OHL Playoffs start, especially since he'll be playing alongside Aspinall, who has been having a remarkable year. Once their season comes to an end, the Rangers should absolutely prioritize getting both of them to Hartford. Battaglia is already in the first year of his entry-level contract that he signed with Calgary.

If you're interested in getting to know Jacob Battaglia more, the Steve Dangle Podcast had him as a guest during a live show in December of 2024.