New York Rangers: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about

If there was a perfect example of how to speed through a rebuild, the New York Rangers are the team to follow.

After many years of being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, thanks in large part to goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the New York Rangers went from a contender to a bubble Playoff team at best, though it shouldn’t be long until they are back on top.

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In recent years, the Rangers have traded many high profile players for young prospects and/or picks, making it clear that they were in rebuild mode. However, thanks to some nice moves by General Manager Jeff Gorton, the team never went through the grueling years that most do during a rebuilding phase, and they currently possess a very talented lineup. Of course, the appeal of playing in New York certainly helps, as they were able to sign superstar Artemi Panarin to a seven-year, $81,500,000 deal as a Free Agent during the 2019 offseason. He has not disappointed thus far as he was one of the NHL’s three Hart Trophy finalists in 2019-20 following a stellar 95-point (32 G, 63 A) year.

This offseason marked yet another major move by the Rangers as they chose to buyout the contract of Lundqvist. The 38-year-old had been the team’s backbone for over a decade but, with his game deteriorating, along with having Igor Shesterkin ready to take the reins, made it a necessary move. Making things even better for this Blueshirts team is that they have one of the better prospect pools in the entire league. Whether they choose to continue to develop them or trade some for immediate roster help is yet to be seen, but they are in a great position regardless.

As mentioned in every other Top 8 Prospects articles throughout this series, any player who has played in more NHL games than any other league in a season, regardless of the season, will not be included. (Exception has been made for the 2020-21 season, given that many leagues, including the AHL, have yet to play any games).

Here are the Top 8 Prospects in the New York Rangers system:

8. Lauri Pajuniemi

Deciding who would take the eighth spot on this list was a very difficult decision, as many prospects who won’t appear on this list were certainly deserving, but it was nearly impossible to leave Finnish forward Lauri Pajuniemi off the list. The 21-year-old was drafted in the Fifth-Round (No. 132 overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft after his rookie season in the SM-liiga with TPS Turku where he had seven points in 32 games.

While he is still playing for Turku three seasons later, his offensive totals have majorly increased. Last season saw him score 26 goals, which was third in the entire league, along with 40 points in just 49 games played. The offensive outburst shot Pajuniemi way up the Rangers depth chart, and he is off to another great start this season with 10 goals and 17 points through 22 games. He has yet to sign an Entry-Level Contract, which is something Rangers management will need to try and get done as soon as possible.

7. Julien Gauthier

Almost exactly a year ago, the New York Rangers were able to acquire six-foot-four winger Julien Gauthier in exchange for defenseman Joey Keane. The 23-year-old was taken in the First-Round (No. 21 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes after establishing himself as a goal scoring forward in the QMJHL. After being drafted, he spent just one more season playing junior hockey before turning pro heading into the 2017-18 campaign.

Through the last three seasons he has had in the AHL, he has proven he has the ability to put the puck in the back of the net, particularly during the 2019-20 season prior to being traded when he scored 26 goals in just 44 games with the Charlotte Checkers. Since the trade, Gauthier has remained in the NHL, but has struggled to put up offense for the Rangers with just two assists in a combined 18 regular-season games. There is no doubt that the talent is there, but he will have to find his game at the NHL level soon to prevent his label changing from prospect to bust.

6. Zac Jones

The New York Rangers brass looks like they may have found a major steal in the Third-Round of the 2019 Draft where they were able to select defenseman Zac Jones 68th overall. The now 20-year-old had a fantastic draft eligible season with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, posting 52 points along with a plus / minus rating of plus 38 in 56 games played. Those numbers suggested he should have been taken significantly higher in his Draft, but his size made teams hesitant as he is currently listed at just five-foot-ten and 172 pounds.

Despite his small stature, he is still a very exciting prospect thanks to his raw offensive abilities. He played the 2019-20 season as a freshman for the University of Massachusetts Amherst and impressed in a big way, finishing third in team scoring with 23 points in 32 games. He’s having an even better sophomore season to this point, with 16 points in just 19 contests. It will be interesting to see how Jones adjusts to the pro game once the time comes, but first he will need to get an Entry-Level deal put in place as he has yet to sign with the Rangers.

5. Vitali Kravtsov

One of the hardest prospects to rank on this list was Russian forward Vitali Kravtsov. He is extremely talented, proven by being selected ninth overall at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, but he struggled during his first professional season in North America last year, posting just six goals and 15 points in 39 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. In fact, his season started so poorly that he elected to return home and play in the KHL for 11 games. Unfortunately, things didn’t go any better as he recorded just two goals and one helper with Chelyabinsk Traktor before returning to Hartford.

With the start of the 2020-21 season in both the NHL and AHL being delayed, Kravtsov chose to once again suit up with Chelyabinsk. Thankfully for both him and the Rangers, he has been much better this season, scoring what currently stands as a team high 15 goals and 23 points in 46 games to this point. It is important to remember with him that he is still very young and, while he does have room to grow, his talent level cannot be denied.

2. Igor Shesterkin

It feels odd to consider 25-year-old Igor Shesterkin a prospect, but he fits within the rules of this Top 8 Prospects series. The Russian goaltender has had hype for quite some time now, especially after TSN analyst Craig Button proclaimed that he was the top prospect in the entire NHL just over a year ago. It took quite a while for him to join the Rangers, as he was drafted in the Fourth-Round (No. 118 overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but the time has finally arrived and he looks more than ready to become an elite starting netminder.

Prior to heading to North America, Shesterkin got Rangers fans very excited for what the future held after posting an unfathomable 1.11 goals against average (GAA) along with a .953 save percentage (SV%) in 28 games. He then started the 2019-20 season out in Hartford and continued to post ridiculous numbers, as he had a 1.90 GAA and a .934 SV% in 25 games before earning a call up to the Rangers in January of 2020. Since then, he has played a combined 27 NHL games, and has been as advertised with a 2.43 GAA along with a .927 SV%. He has a great shot at not only winning the Calder Trophy this year, but a Vezina Trophy or two down the road.

1. Alexis Lafreniere

Another thing that greatly helped speed up the New York Rangers rebuild was them winning the 2020 Draft Lottery in order to select First overall. While many were upset they were rewarded the pick considering they finished 18th in league standings last year, the Rangers organization and its fans certainly weren’t complaining. With the pick, they selected the extremely talented Alexis Lafreniere, who had been regarded as the consensus first overall selection for well over a year.

Prior to being drafted, Lafreniere had played three seasons in the QMJHL with Rimouski Oceanic, where he scored an incredible 114 goals and 297 points in 173 points. He has been considered by many to be a generational talent and, while he has struggled early on in his NHL career with one goal in 11 games, it is only a matter of time until he gets things going. Once that happens, the rest of the league better look out.

After all, Alexis Lafreniere is arguably the most naturally-gifted talent to come out of the Draft since the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and, as we’ve seen with the likes of Jack Hughes, it can take some time for even the most elite of prospects to adapt to the NHL and find their feet. Considering that he also had to deal with an incredibly short Training Camp, expect Alexis Lafreniere to figure things out soon and help to spearhead a push for the Playoffs for the New York Rangers.