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It has been a busy summer for the New York Rangers and general manager Chris Drury. The Rangers made multiple free agent signings and trades, but were without their first-round pick as part of the trade for J.T. Miller. They would still own eight draft picks, including three in the first 100 picks of the 2025 NHL Draft.
Drury joined the Rangers front office in September of 2015 as director of player development. He became the assistant general manager in 2016 and also spent time as the general manager of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the Rangers.
Drury became the general manager in New York in May of 2021. While there had been prior success, such as the picks of Alexis Lafreniere, Braden Schneider, and Will Cuylle in 2020, there has not been a lot of success since then. In the 2021 draft, Brennan Othmann is the only player who has reached the NHL level, playing in 25 games. Victor Mancini, a fifth-round pick of 2025, also played in the NHL, while Gabriel Perreault has also played five NHL games NHL.
This year, the Rangers made eight selections, beginning with the 43rd pick in the second round. This is how they grade out.
Malcolm Spence heads to New York in the second round
Spence was projected as a potential first-round pick in many mock drafts, but slid into the second round where he was selected by the Rangers. The Canadian left winger spent the last three seasons playing for the Erie Otters of the OHL. In three full seasons, he continued to grow, scoring 67 goals with 110 assists in 195 games. This past season, he scored 32 goals with 41 assists.
The winger comes in with a large frame, standing 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds. He uses that frame well, winning puck battles and on the boards with his size and strength. Spence is also a solid two-way forward while playing well on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Further, he has a high hockey IQ and works well to get to scoring positions.
He needs to develop more offensively and learn to simplify plays instead of forcing them. Still, his physical tools and talent make him a great pick in the second round.
The Rangers made two third-round picks
With the 70th pick, the Rangers took Sean Barnhill, a 6-foot-6 defender out of the United States. Last year he played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL and is slated to go to Northeastern University next year. The blue liner is great at commanding the defensive zone, back-checking, stopping the rush, and working the penalty kill. He has the size and physically that will only help him take his defensive game to the next level.
Joining the college hockey ranks should help his offensive production. He has struggled with puck movement, especially under pressure. While he has the defensive tools to become an NHL-level player, without offensive progression, Barnhill will be slated to be a top-rotation AHL player in his career.
With their second selection of the third round, the Rangers took a second defenseman in Artyom Gonchar from Russia. He spent last year with Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk of the MHL in Russia, where his offensive game took a major step forward. After scoring just five points in 28 games during his first season in the MHL, he recorded seven goals and 18 points in 50 games in his second season. He moves the puck well and works hard in the defensive zone.
This is the opposite pick of Barnhill overall. Gonchar comes in at just 6-foot, 156 pounds. He is a small defender who needs to add size to improve his defensive game. While he has offensive skill, he does not yet have the level of defense to be an NHL defender.
The rest of the draft and the final Rangers draft grade
The Rangers had one pick in the fourth round, selecting Mikkel Eriksen out of Sweden. He spent most of this past season with Farjestad BK 20, scoring 22 goals with 21 assists. There is not much dynamic play or playmaking, but he is solid in all three zones on the ice.
The Norwegian center is also highly reliable in the faceoff circle and wins over 50% of his draws. At 5-foot-11 and 187 pounds, he is not a major physical threat, but his work on the ice and his passing are something that could make him a middle-six center in the NHL.
Zeb Lindgren was the fifth-round pick for New York. He played with Skelleftea J20 in Sweden last season. His defense was wonderful last year. First, he showed a speed in closing in on puck handlers and winning puck battles on the boards that is impressive. It becomes more impressive considering the league plays on the Olympic-size ice instead of the smaller NHL size. The blue liner does need to improve his offensive capabilities, but if that comes, he could find himself on an NHL roster at some point down the road.
With their first of two selections in the sixth round, they selected Samuel Jung, a Czech-born forward who played for Karpat U20 in Finland. He scored 22 goals and ten assists last year in 44 games. He has the physical tools to be a solid player, but the winger was not projected to be drafted in this position. While he has the physical tools, he does have a problem with being overly aggressive, picking up 50 minutes worth of penalties in just 44 games.
With their second pick in the sixth round, New York selected Evan Passmore, a 6-foot-5 defender out of Canada. He is a mobile defenseman who uses his large frame to cover ice well. The blue liner has a hard shot, but does not employ it regularly.
Passmore spent the past two years with the Barrie Colts of the OHL, and saw major improvement in both his puck movement and shot-blocking ability. The defenseman was also solid on the penalty kill. Passmore could be an NHL-level defender if he continues to develop, and would be a solid addition to penalty kill units.
The final pick of the draft for the Rangers was Felix Farhammar out of Sweden. He has solid vision and works hard to be involved in all three zones of the ice, even as a defenseman. He also moves the puck well when in the offensive zone. Still, he can struggle on the rush, and also struggles with turnovers in the defensive zone.
While forced passes are not great, they are far more acceptable from a blue liner when on offense than when attempting to get the puck cleared. His struggles there may limit his ceiling, but for a seventh-round pick, he is a low-risk project player who could pan out in the longer term.
The selection of Spence by New York was solid. They may have gotten a player who should have gone higher in the draft. The same could be true of Mikkel Eriksen. Still, they took some risks in the draft, especially with Gonchar and Jung. Overall, they did a solid job with not a lot of top-end draft capital.
Best pick: Malcolm Spence – Second Round – 43rd overall
Worst pick: Artyom Gonchar – Third Round – 89th overall
Final draft grade for the Rangers: B-
