New York Rangers November Prospect Pipeline Scouting Report

Welcome to another segment of our Scouting Report series, where this month we’re going to focus on a wider range of prospects—everything from a late first round stay-at-home defenseman, a late sixth round depth winger, and a middle-of-the-pack center looking to take the next step. Before we get into it, let’s run through a quick follow up on last months prospects: 

Brody Lamb: The captain of the Golden Gophers continues to lead the charge in Minnesota as he now has a total of ten points in 14 games with seven goals and six assists. 

Nathan Aspinall: Aspinall continues to perform well at over a point-per-game pace in the OHL with 32 points in 21 games. With 15 goals and 17 assists, Aspinall continues to prove that he is ready to take that next step following the conclusion of his final season with the Flint Firebirds. 

Malcolm Spence: With five goals and four assists for nine points in 12 games as a freshman at Michigan, any one who is worried about the future of the Rangers should feel better after watching Malcolm Spence highlights. Specifically, the clip of him causing havoc from the penalty box alongside Michael Hage. Not suggesting Spence is going to be the next Brady Tkachuk but tell me not, that’s some Brady Tkachuk energy coming from him. 

Now for our November Prospects, let’s dive into Raoul Boilard, Ty Henricks, and EJ Emery. 

Raoul Boilard - Center, Shawinagin Cataracts, QMJHL

One of two remaining prospects due to sign their entry-level contract this summer, Raoul Boilard did not get off to a good start this season but has since picked it up with 16 points in 20 games. More of a defensive center who can win faceoffs, Boilard has five goals and 11 assists on the season with a 65.8 percent faceoff win percentage. 

Boilard snapped his pointless streak as he picked up a pair of goals and an assist in Shawinigan’s 7-3 win over the Gatineau Olympiques. His first goal came early in the opening period off a simple shot through traffic following a nice pass from his teammate to set him up. His second goal came under similar circumstances as Jordan Tourigny intercepted a pass at the point, allowing him to walk the puck back into the zone with Boilard flanking towards the net as an option. A simple pass found Boilard who found the back of the net to extend his team’s lead 4-0.

Boilard also had the primary assist on Noah McKinnon’s goal to make it a 5-0 game soon after. 

That wouldn’t be his only multi-point night last month as he picked up another two goals and an assist in a 7-4 win against the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Boilard made it a 2-0 game early in the second period as he found himself all alone in the slot where he was able to capitalize on a nice feed from the corner. Later that period, Boilard did a nice job of walking the puck right down the high slot where he let a wrist shot go through traffic for his second of the night to make it a 3-1 game. The assist came on the Cataracts last goal of the night as he sent Felix Lecerte on a breakaway that resulted in the team’s seventh goal. 

Right now, the focus for Boilard should be to play his way into his entry-level contract. With Aspinall—who was selected by the Rangers later in the same draft class—finding the success he is this season and already getting a taste of AHL experience, Boilard needs to take a similar step this season. At this rate, it's not looking like he's going to put up better numbers than his first full season in the QMJHL. While that's a bit of concern, there's still room for him to standout and fill an area of need with the Rangers who lack depth down the middle.