Making The Case: A New York Rangers 2026 Draft Preview Series
With the Rangers picking fifth, the path to the right prospect isn't obvious. Over the next few weeks, we make the case—for and against—10 of the top names in this draft class, from Ivar Stenberg to Ethan Belchetz.
Thanks to a regular season finale win from the Calgary Flames, the New York Rangers secured the third best odds of winning the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. That meant, leading up to the draft lottery, the Rangers had an 11.5 percent chance of drafting first overall, 11.2 percent chance of drafting second, and a 7.8 percent chance of drafting third. What would cause the largest problem for the Rangers is if a team with lesser odds moved their way into a top pick.
Sure enough the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had just an 8.5 percent chance of winning the lottery, went on to secure the first overall pick, which pushed the Rangers down a spot. Once the San Jose Sharks won the second overall pick, it pushed the Rangers down as far as they could possibly fall. As a result, the Rangers hold the fifth overall draft pick ahead of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, which leaves them in a bit of a tough position.
At fifth overall, there’s a chance a prospect of high interest can fall to them. But it's more likley that they will have to think outside the box. They’ll need to really assess their priorities and decide exactly whatis in their best interest. Do they draft based on positional need? Or do they strictly go with who they feel is the best overall player available? Are some of the prospects who could be considered the best player available actually the best players available?
To make sense of the options the Rangers will have, Roberto and I will be bringing forth a new series called Making The Case. Throughout the series, we will be making our arguments for 10 of the top-15 prospects from this year's draft class and why the Rangers could, or should, have an interest in selecting that player. More specifically, we will revisit basic information about these players, including who they are, where they’re projected to go in the draft, and how they performed this season, as well as in seasons prior.
Ultimately, we will argue for why the Rangers could, or should, draft these players or highlight potential red flags or why the Rangers shouldn’t draft the player altogether. We'll also look at potential timelinse for when these players could be NHL ready, how they would fit into the Rangers lineup, as well as explore the likelihood each player will even be available when the Rangers are on the clock.
Since they did not end up with a top-three pick, we will be excluding Gavin McKenna from this series, as the chances of him falling to fifth overall are nearly impossible—and if he somehow does fall that far, the choice is easy. We will however, be including Ivar Stenberg and Chase Reid, as there are scenarios—however unlikely—in which they either fall to fifth overall on draft day, or the Rangers attempt to move up to pick them.
In addition to Stenberg and Reid, the list of players we be examining are Keaton Verhoeff, Caleb Malhotra, Carson Carels, Albert Smits, Tynan Lawrence, Viggo Björck, Oscar Hemming, and Ethan Belchetz.
Our first mock drafts will debut tomorrow. Then, this Making the Case series will kick off Wednesday, and we'll roll out two player profiles each week leading up to a final mock draft series that Roberto and I have done the last several years.
For more NHL Draft coverage, check out the following:
Joe Fortunato
Blueshirt Banter Staff
Chris Feldman
Chris Feldman
