Rangers Draft Gabriel Perreault 23rd Overall
With the 23rd overall pick, Chris Drury and co. draft RW Gabriel Perreault out of the USA U-18 NTDP.
#NYR select Gabe Perreault 23rd overall. I ranked him 7th overall.
— Patrick Bacon (@TopDownHockey) June 29, 2023
Perreault scored over 2 points per game in the NTDP and USHL this year - comparable rates to 4th overall pick Will Smith in the same league. The Rangers got an absolute steal at 22nd overall here. pic.twitter.com/ewgazow4xB
The Rangers got a high scoring winger as Perreault posted insane stats playing for the USA U-18 NTDP squad, 53 goals and 79 assists in only 63 games. This production ranks him with some elite company and the Rangers may have gotten a steal here. Here's what The Hockey News has to say about his skill set:
No player in U.S. NTDP history has scored more points in one season than former NHLer Yanic Perreault's son and only three have more career points. He didn't just break Auston Matthews' single-season record - he smashed it by 15 points.
'He's a high level playmaker, he's a great passer, and he can read the play before the puck gets to him.'
There have been legitimate concerns about his skating, and with the NHL becoming a faster game, it is vital the player and organization do everything they can to erase that one flaw in his game. That being said, Perreault has scored prodigiously at every level he's played at, and the Rangers are betting on that ability.